2008 Spec Focus racers

[Ted7rns]

Well there’s no question that NASA has got a lot of support for the series. There hasn’t been a series in NASA that has been promoted as much as Spec Focus has in its first two season and we’re looking into more promotions and marketing from Ford in 2008 as well.

NASA and Ford have done a great job promoting the series, with all its magazine ads and etc. But, the best way to promote the series is to get cars on the track. F2 is our West Coast supporter for SF and FRPP, but because of lack of sponsorship in 2007; F2 wasn’t able to help as much in 2007. This is one of the reasons why I’m currently looking for sponsors for myself and/or for F2 to get their cars on the track for 2008. F2 is also currently looking for renters and sponsors as well. Sometimes spending $1,000+ to rent a car for the weekend is less then running your own car. I would expect most SF racers to spend $10-15K a season to race and that is above the price of the car for a 10 race season.

Now, do you have something in mind what we could do better? or do you know of a sponsors that can bring product and money to the series?

[f2focus]

I will always give major props to those who are out there running with there hard earned dollars.....Sure we would all like free rides and yes at the moment time attacks are a hot thing! But eventually it will not be fun if you are not fast and have a lot of money in the car.

I am working on bringing in a series title sponsor to help out and get more people interested in running SF, my goal is to get more people that already race and have them start running Foci. Of course new people will also come over and build cars but that will take longer. As for details I will save for later but I really hope this goes through and we can all fun with this.

Thanks to FRPP for the support and Leo for the hands that he offers Ford and the Series.....Hard work gets rewarded...Leo, Ted, FRPP and F2 have been working hard!

[brads03zx3]

Originally Posted by JB-S1

Derek probably spends twenty or thirty grand a weekend to run in SM...

What would cost that much? New engine, suspension, and 4 sets of tires every race? That's a lot of money.

[JB-S1]

Originally Posted by brads03zx3

What would cost that much? New engine, suspension, and 4 sets of tires every race? That's a lot of money.

He brings a full "shop-in-a-tractor-trailer", very similar to what the Rolex DP teams use, plus his Fleetwood motorhome, plus a small professional crew. I happen to know he reads this forum (primarily, I think, to PM me and make fun of me for not having my own Grand-Am car) so maybe he'll give the exact numbers - but figure that he's taking probably $500K worth of depreciating stuff hundreds of miles at four miles per gallon with people who are earning a living working on his race cars.

In all fairness, he runs two Miatas every weekend, plus his Noble M400 in the Time Trial classes.

[ZX3autoxtasy]

Since when is TT cool?

Maybe I missed that.



Wheel to Wheel>TT anyday.

[Soundguydave]

Originally Posted by Ted7rns

Sometimes spending $1,000+ to rent a car for the weekend is less then running your own car. I would expect most SF racers to spend $10-15K a season to race and that is above the price of the car for a 10 race season.

Ted,

Can you offer some detail on the expenditures to be expected through a racing season in SF? I'm a complete newbie to road-racing, but I just finished my first HPDE this month, and I AM HOOKED! More to the point, though, my 2006 Mustang GT is NOT the car that I should be learning on, primarily because I can't afford financially to really risk the car. My thought would be to buy a Focus donor, and build it up to SF during my "education" period leading to a comp license. That way, I should be in good shape to get into the class, since I'll have a car that I'm very familiar with right out of the gate. The 1000-1500 per event cost does raise an eyebrow or two, though... I can see fuel, tires, some wear items, and entry fees, but that still shouldn't amount to more than $500 per event. What else am I missing?

[BUR_ZX3]

Tires alone are $500.



The way I budgeted it was to cost about $12000 for the build (I think my total was $11677 retail). That included some non-essential parts (fuel cell, radiator, fans, etc)... and was for a zetec build.


Now, depending on your region and their fees, I suppose you could expect to spend $700 a weekend, more if you include a new set of tires for each weekend, not including transport and lodging.

[Ted7rns]

Originally Posted by Soundguydave

Ted,

Can you offer some detail on the expenditures to be expected through a racing season in SF? I'm a complete newbie to road-racing, but I just finished my first HPDE this month, and I AM HOOKED! More to the point, though, my 2006 Mustang GT is NOT the car that I should be learning on, primarily because I can't afford financially to really risk the car. My thought would be to buy a Focus donor, and build it up to SF during my "education" period leading to a comp license. That way, I should be in good shape to get into the class, since I'll have a car that I'm very familiar with right out of the gate. The 1000-1500 per event cost does raise an eyebrow or two, though... I can see fuel, tires, some wear items, and entry fees, but that still shouldn't amount to more than $500 per event. What else am I missing?

I am planning on have a basic budget posted on the website soon. I will let you know. But here's an example.

Tires $600 est (shaven)
Tire Mounting $150 (just 4 tires)
Entry fee $350 est
Gas (SF) $140 (8.0 MPG)
* Misc $100 ~ $300
Total $1340 ~ $1640

* Brake Pads, Oil, Coolant, Brake Fluid>>> Some teams change fluids every other race events... and some every event. Now, if you tow your car to the track rather then driving you street car, it could cost you more money on gas.

Now, Food and Lodging is going to cost the same no matter if you rent a car or not. but you still have to add that into the budget.. Motel is like $75 a night? maybe $25-$35 on food and water a day.. Now start looing at $1560~$1860 total for the weekend no matter if you rent or not. Now, if anything goes wrong, like flat spotting tires, bent rim, broken parts, Half Shaft and things that don't cost a lot, it will start to add up fast.

Now you could do it cheaper and maybe do say $700 a weekend with used tires, skip a few session to save on gass... and bring your own food water plus stay at the track, you could do that. But a top running team will not do this. But, it can be done less.

[Ted7rns]

One thing you can do with NASA is to get another driver to split the cost and races, then run the whole season as a team (Say Team Focaljet). The season points will be collected as the team rather then a individual driver. This a good way to save money.... Of course you won’t get as much track time.

If you look at the season standing for SoCal, you'll see some team names rather then the drivers name, that's because they multiple drivers. http://socal.drivenasa.com/points.php

[Matt Marks]

Here's a breakdown of my costs



There's room to trim some costs out on the cage (mine was certainly on the expensive side, but I got what I wanted), and on the wheels. Also, things like the CAI, exhaust, rear subfrmae and some other parts could wait as you start to build the car up. The most important part is that you leave yourself enough cash to actually get on the track!

Also, 2.3 cars are expensive. Zetec cars have the lowest entry price, but junkyard 2.3 motors are availavbe for as little as $600 on the east coast. Swap that into a $1500 donor car and you're way ahead of the curve.

My operating expenses are "back of the envelope" estimates extrapolated from what I've spent to this year. Some are guestimates as even worn tires have utility for practice or HODE use. Gas expenses will vary depending on local prices and length of races, but the differences are marginal.

Factor in your hotel stays vs. willingness to camp, and tow/drive costs, and you'll have a decent estimate. I've left these out as they are quite variable depending on what tracks you're running.

[InFocusTraSTi]

So can you stay and camp on most tracks? It would be nice to do if I get a little 12v fan and a inflatable bed in the back of my truck... BTW great Thread.

[sleeperlove]

Originally Posted by InFocusTraSTi

So can you stay and camp on most tracks? It would be nice to do if I get a little 12v fan and a inflatable bed in the back of my truck... BTW great Thread.

Most allow camping I think, since many teams don't do hotels they just bring RVs then party friday and saturday night. Air matress in the back of the truck would be great if you have a Bed cap to keep any rain out

Don't try to sleep in your focus though I tried that once with my non spec focus and it did not end well. Something like 3-4 hours of "sleep" waking up at least once per hour to re arrange myself to keep limbs from dying

[Matt Marks]

Check with the track for camping rules.

Some tracks require the organizing body to pay an extra "security fee" in order to allow people to stay overnight. Some groups choose not to pay it, and you may find yourself evicted. (BTDT).

[InFocusTraSTi]

ok.. I can always find a walmart to stay at...

[Soundguydave]

Mark,

Thank you for the info... My "seat of the pants" guesstimate was around $450 per event, strictly in terms of operational expenses. This would not include event fees, transport, lodging or food... I'm really trying to figure out roughly how much it would cost to run the SF in comparison to something like an AI car, and yes, it is a fraction of the cost. I'm figuring that spending $450 per event on the car while I learn to drive is not out of the question, but I nearly broke my jaw on the floor when I heard $1000-$1500. Entry fees, transport, lodging and food are essentially fixed expenses (HPDE or AIX, no real difference), I was trying to dial into the car itself. Certainly the cost of acquisition/build is considerably lower in SF than in AI or AIX, and the running expenses are also considerably lower. Info like the frequency of brake and tire replacement is exactly what I'm looking for. What would you recommend in terms of on-hand spares? I'll assume that a set of hubs would be handy to have, but what else just dies on these cars?

[ZX3autoxtasy]

Originally Posted by Soundguydave

Mark,

Thank you for the info... My "seat of the pants" guesstimate was around $450 per event, strictly in terms of operational expenses. This would not include event fees, transport, lodging or food... I'm really trying to figure out roughly how much it would cost to run the SF in comparison to something like an AI car, and yes, it is a fraction of the cost. I'm figuring that spending $450 per event on the car while I learn to drive is not out of the question, but I nearly broke my jaw on the floor when I heard $1000-$1500. Entry fees, transport, lodging and food are essentially fixed expenses (HPDE or AIX, no real difference), I was trying to dial into the car itself. Certainly the cost of acquisition/build is considerably lower in SF than in AI or AIX, and the running expenses are also considerably lower. Info like the frequency of brake and tire replacement is exactly what I'm looking for. What would you recommend in terms of on-hand spares? I'll assume that a set of hubs would be handy to have, but what else just dies on these cars?

I see the concern, but, you can also get small-time sponsors correct?

Alot of local places/shops/whatever may be able to sponsor your for the entry fee or to help out with some costs or parts/work.




*It's all about how you sell yourself. My mom does marketing stuff, and she could sell a freezer to eskimos. If you pitch it good, get a good website and/or blog on the site, maybe hold a little sponsor night at a restaurant if you get a few, send them updates, etc etc you can really grow yourself.

It's just about making connections. Granted, 49/50 times you won't get anything but that 50th time is what it takes.

[thefrush]

Originally Posted by sleeperlove

Don't try to sleep in your focus though I tried that once with my non spec focus and it did not end well. Something like 3-4 hours of "sleep" waking up at least once per hour to re arrange myself to keep limbs from dying

I got a solid 8 hours of sleep in the back of an SVT once , fully laid out, as flat and comfortable as if I was in a bed.

[JB-S1]

SF running costs are going to be a fraction of AI costs. A good halfway point is Camaro-Mustang-Challenge. The cars are about five seconds a lap faster than SF (at Mid-Ohio) and they are considerably more thrilling and challenging to drive. Buildup costs are similar to SF - but instead of starting with a 2004-model car, you might have a '93 Camaro or '96 Mustang.

I'm planning to sit in for a couple of CMC races next year as well. One downside: the cars aren't as well-matched, so the races tend to spread out more.

[Matt Marks]

There are some other threads on spares, but other than the hubs and lots of wheel studs, I would defer to Leo or Ted. I haven't been running long enough to know what is going to break on a regular basis.

I suspect we'll have a good list posted as a sticky one of these days.

[Matt Marks]

I'm figuring that spending $450 per event on the car while I learn to drive is not out of the question, but I nearly broke my jaw on the floor when I heard $1000-$1500

If you break out the entry fee costs which are the same regardless of class - you'll be in this region. Things to keep in mind as you're learning is that you can run the whole season on maybe 1 set of tires and brakes depending on how many events you do. Also, the tire costs are incurred only once or twice a year, so they are not apparent in the cost/weekend.

CMC cars, being heavier and more powerful, will also burn through tires and brakes much more quickly.

[JB-S1]

Originally Posted by Matt Marks

CMC cars, being heavier and more powerful, will also burn through tires and brakes much more quickly.

While I would never dream of contradicting Matt, it's worth talking to the CMC fellows about this before you make a decision based on consumables. The mid-pack guys are getting amazingly long run times on their Toyos; I was also just chatting with Leo about how easy the CMC Mustangs are on tires. Not only do the CMC cars have the luxury of splitting cornering, braking, and accelerative loads among four tires instead of two, they are running a nice wide tire compared to the 205s we had this season.

There were a lot of well-used tires finishing in the top half of the CMC Nationals.

Speaking of brakes, though - CMC cars aren't allowed to have ABS. This is either utterly miserable or a great training aid in one's career. When I went surfing off-track with four locked wheels, it felt like the former, but after twenty laps in the car it felt like the latter.

[InFocusTraSTi]

So are bigger tires being considered for next year? The stock focus SVT comes with 215...

[Ted7rns]

Originally Posted by InFocusTraSTi

So are bigger tires being considered for next year? The stock focus SVT comes with 215...

We don't know what tire we're running next year. We need to find out the availability before we change. We're looking into that right now.

[InFocusTraSTi]

Sweet!! coming from a STI I love grip!!!

[sleeperlove]

Originally Posted by InFocusTraSTi

Sweet!! coming from a STI I love grip!!!

Heh Sti's have nothing on the focus by way of handling. Once you put some real tires on the focus of course