Ed Cavalier wrote:Are noses, tails, and radiators considered "consumables"?

Only when the cones left on the track are made of depleted uranium.

Is he asking how much it cost to race our cars a weekend or how much I tell my wife it cost to race?

Tow fuel, 25% entry fee25%, tires25%, consumables 10%, long term stuff (trans, engines) 10%, SRF fuel 5%

Big away weekend $2500
Local regional $1500

Tell wife nothing about racing costs - keep mouth shut.

Dog Licked Racing wrote:..... Tell wife nothing about racing costs - keep mouth shut.

Some of the best advice ever offered to me was at our wedding reception 20+ years ago by four or my five brother-in-laws (I have seven sisters). To the man they offered, "Take 5% of what you make and put it in an account she knows little or nothing about to fund necessary expenses".

Feff

Wife and I operate under the "don't ask don't tell"principal.
I didn't ask her what showing Quarter Horses cost, she does not ask me what racing costs

Over the course of a season (8-10 racing weekends) I usually figure about $1200-1500 for a 3 day weekend at home and $1800-$2500 for a 3 day away weekend (away weekends from Portland involve 1000 mile round trip to nearest SF Region track). A local weekend at home can be only entry fees plus 20 gallons of fuel for the SRF and the next local weekend can be crash damage repair plus a new set of tires. So your individual weekend costs will vary.

One other tip. Never ever add up your expenses for an entire season and certainly not for multiple seasons. You would be amazed how many kids you could have put thru college or how many times you could have paid off the mortgage! Save yourself some money, a good drug habit will probably be cheaper and more socially acceptable!

PS Test day at Portland is $400. But that is 0900-1600 open track all day.

Yeah, I decided to add it all up one time... it was kinda depressing... so I realized it's just much easier to think about it a weekend at a time. But when I figure I'm getting to live out a childhood dream, that's priceless! Not to mention getting the opportunity to compete on race tracks that host major league events, Yes, the "cool factor" is worth a certain amount of $$$.