So I got to crew for an amateur race

[berettafan]

A friend likes to run a spec Miata in enduro races. I've been able to crew for him twice now at a 12 hour race and what a blast I've had. It's been a great learning experience and if anything has convinced me that when the time and budget support it I want to be at the track.

What I've found really interesting is that some of these guys are not so much 'car' guys as they are 'race' guys. Doesn't matter to them what the tool is as long as they are on the track dicing it up with similarly prepped competitors.

For example at night I was on radio duty and both drivers wanted me to call out any fast closing cars from other classes. I'd say 'yellow bimmer two cars back' and get 'what?'....'yellow BMW'...'Oh!'. These are hard core, hands on drivers that have been in the sport for decades.

If you're like me and jonesing to be at the track but don't have the time or budget to do it right then try finding someone you can crew for. It really is a great time.

[Jim Richards]

Which track(s) have you been crewing at? It does sound like a great learning experience.

[berettafan]

NJMP. It's a nice facility thought it's hard to see much of the track at once unless you are on the tower.

Pretty cool to see all the other setups at the track as well. Some guys with homemade open trailers and a tent while others have big motorhomes and luxury enclosed trailers. I know the track rats at dorkiphus would probably not be terribly excited about it but for a guy who hasn't spent a lot of time at the track it's all fascinating.

I got to check out some spec E30 cars and IT cars as well. The miatas certainly seem to be the most reliable as a group though there was an Acura there that ran like a swiss watch as well. I think that team has a ton of experience though.

[herr_oberst]

That's a great idea. I did crew work for a roundy-round car 25 or so years ago; had a blast. I hadn't thought about crewing for a road race group.

[Jim Richards]

I imagine the Miatas are pretty cheap to race, relatively speaking.

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by Jim Richards

I imagine the Miatas are pretty cheap to race, relatively speaking.

Relatively is the key word here.. I find the big difference is when (not if) you crumple it up it's LOT"S cheaper than other cars to fix..

[porsche4life]

I crewed for Trekkor and Todd at a LeMons race... Pretty damn fun weekend...

[legion]

I looked into spec Miata racing a few years back and quickly found doing more than 2-3 events a year would be out of my budget. Heck, even kart racing was way more expensive than I thought it would be.

[9dreizig]

Chris, Kart racing is way more expensive than Miata..
If you're doing Miata on a budget it's a $1000 weekend ( $350 entry fee, $100 gas, $200 tires , food , booze, hotel, etc). BUT you can buy a pre-built car for $8000 and go racing!!!

[berettafan]

Yes, I briefly looked at carts and was stunned at the costs.

I was about a week away from taking ownership of a quality built SM right about this time last year. Business opportunity forced me to pass.

Based on what I've seen at the track an enclosed trailer should be part of the budget as well. Saw an awesome looking used interstate brand on racingjunk.com recently. $5.5k iirc.

Todd that $200/wknd on tires...is that expecting 3 weekends from a set? What's the usage pattern to get that kinda life (how many practice laps, race laps)?

[kevin993]

Cool story and glad you're having fun. In a prior life, I was unskilled labor a few times for a team that ran support races in Daytona and Sebring. The big lesson I learned was how much work was involved in just getting the car running and keeping it running - preparing, servicing, brakes, tires and fuel, managing multiple drivers in multiple practice sessions, etc. All of that had nothing to do with trying to develop the car, improve the set-up, go faster, etc. The stuff we all focus on from the outside as racing fans barely scratches the surface of the amount of work that happens behind the scenes.