Financing Karting

If you've gotta borrow all that then your just a mooch. I understand making it happen anyway possible but if your borrowing all that karting then you need to find another hobby because Sprint cars are way more expensive and the people are less likely to let you borrow stuff. Good luck..
 
Deadman#73 said:
If you've gotta borrow all that then your just a mooch. I understand making it happen anyway possible but if your borrowing all that karting then you need to find another hobby because Sprint cars are way more expensive and the people are less likely to let you borrow stuff. Good luck..
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View it how you like. I am just sharing how we got started. Phone goes dead, you need light to see. You don't have a driver/rear gear combo to change to your first time at the track you borrow. Pretty sure we own every gear from 13-21 and 53-72 now if you care to know. Plus I finally hit Harbor Freight last month and fixed our tool issue :)

As for scaling, why spend $1,400+ on used equipment for something you do once or twice a year? Over our planned 7 years of karting that is $200 a year for something I can pay someone $40 or $50 for. Doesn't make sense to me.

Also, you can get a race ready 305 for $12,000 (I know, I owned one) and get paid every week to help offset costs. Run some math and tell me which is more of a sink hole?
 
LOL--- I'll loan out anything been beat by my own stuff and advice or help before .
After you beat me 13 times , I might not have what you need :cool:.
Unless of course we put you in the fence and you bent something ;).
Nahh. Just kiddin .
 
JoshuaGuiher said:
Why? If you haven't wrecked and all the bolts were tight, what has moved?
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Has nothing to do with wrecking or a loose bolt, has everything to do with simple wear and tear. No track is perfectly smooth, just like no tire is exactly the same. Karts flex, seats stretch, bolts wear even though they are tight, spindles flex, heims loosen up.

Now add a handful of different tracks, different tire rules and different weight rules and you’ll be scaling before every race like we do.
 
dirt karter said:
Or you could go ahead and spend the money on 15" pad use them threw your karting career up into sprints or full blown late models scales wont change...
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Did that years ago, one of the best investments I’ve made for racing, Intercomp SW650RFX scale system. We’ve used them for cars, karts and snowmobiles.
They are mainly setup year round on a set of Jesusfreaks roll off scale stands and people come over all the time to use them.
 
racer_48 said:
I have been wanting to start karting for some time now. The main problem I have is that I don't have any tools to get started. I've been looking into the price and realized that I don't have enough money to get started. Anybody have tips on how to find sponsorship or get some money to start?
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Not something you should do to get into the sport but we do offer a place to get a credit card through and you can setup your own payment plan and length of time to pay if your approved with decent credit. Again we offer this as an option but it’s nothing I would push on folks if the money is tight or if your credit is far from decent. Best of luck and hope it all works out for ya.
Thanks,
Transfer Tornado Cuts
 
Thanks for that tip, I've been looking at my finances and realized that my original budget was way higher than it needed to. I've found ways to cut costs, and can get into racing with money to spare. Still looking for ways to find sponsorship and cut costs in as many ways as possible.
 
Sponsorship is work . You need to show that your going too benifit them in some way .
Simply asking for money isn't going too cut it .
Search sponsorship or some phrase similar , theres plenty of relevent discussions .
Put on your leather skin though 😎
 
Tire tools are important. Tools to dismount, mount them, air compressor for your work area, tire band for your own safety and sizing tires will make your life a lot simpler. A cordless impact driver of course isn't necessary but will certainly make life easier. A generator and lights for trackside pit lights and power for the compressor aren't required but it beats the heck out of a flashlight in the dark.
Sponsorship is pretty iffy in karting because tracks do little to attract spectators. So who is going to see or hear your sponsors name?
 
Nah. Every single piece of racing equipment and tools I have are paid in full. Personally I am not going to the track any other way.

After a 5 year break and selling most my stuff I spent 18 months gathering the pieces to get back in. Could I have went and slapped a card down and financed it? Yes.

The most expensive parts to get into the hobby are the pieces that are less than $100 each......wheels, gears, clutch drivers, etc. Anyone can go buy a new kart but you have to have all the less than $100 pieces to make it all go.

Set a goal and go after it. Race within your means and have fun.
 
A few words of wisdom (if you can call it that LOL) from someone who has been around this sport for 23 years as a budget racer and my personal story.

It's all in how bad you want it. This isn't something cheap that anyone can do and while it is very possible to find a local sponsor or two to help you out-that avenue is not likely to cover what you are going to need to spend. Get a better job, or get a second job, or if you have to-even a third job. Right now I am working three jobs to be able to afford to buy enough stuff to go back again full time in 2020 after being out a few years. I could be competitive on far less money but I wan't to race at a slightly higher level so I work more. I had to take the last 3 years off to get an education that would give me a better job (proof there is life in a late 30's age driver who started at 14 LOL).

I and my wife/kids have always had to sacrifice in order to race. It's something we all love doing together, working on together, and we are all in as one team-even if it is a small team. By the end of next season I'll have a Junior 1 class driver starting who is nipping at the bud to race but she knows she is going to have to earn it and be willing to work. The life lessons taught to me as a kid racing, I now get to teach my own kids and hopefully when they are old enough race against at least one of them someday.

There will always be more that you want, more that you could buy to help you, more this, more that, a bigger this, a better that, more more more! Don't get sucked into thinking you HAVE to have every little thing under the sun to be competitive. I know this won't sound like much to some, but I have won over 30 races in my time, most in the past 10 years of my career. I have won state races and a few money races, came close at a few nationals but can't check that off my bucket list yet. I've also won 3 championships both on asphalt ovals and dirt ovals. Everytime I have ever ran good you know what the biggest compliment I've heard from my competitors was? Usually something along the lines of "I don't know how you do what you do with as little as you have". It's all about making the MOST out of what you have. All 3 of those championships I won racing out of a (too most people) TINY 4x8 wooden homebuilt enclosed trailer against fields of 10-20 karts, most whom had way bigger trailers and more expensive equipment. The last few years I raced ( and what I'll be racing in when I return next spring) has been out of what I call a serious upgrade to that- a 5x8 enclosed cargo trailer. In that trailer I can fit 2 karts, 8 sets of tires, toolbox with all the tools I need, kart stand, and anything else I need at the track. Is it ideal? Heck no, but trailers DON'T win races.

Find a level of racing you can afford-don't try to go out and run all the nationals or big money races, just find something local that your budget will allow you to run and have fun with it! Spend all your free time trying to learn something new. Spend even more time watching all of the classified posts for used equipment both here and on other online websites....On that note-learn WHAT is and is NOT a good deal BEFORE you start buying stuff! Meet people. Talk to people. Connect with people and build friendships. If you devote enough time to it and are willing to learn you will find you can have highly competitive equipment for less than half of what a lot of people spend.

Be willing to work hard, as hard as it takes both at your job, or jobs, and on what you are able to afford and I bet you will have the time of your life. This sport isn't for everyone, but there are a whole lot of people who pass it up because they spend money in all the wrong places and fall on their face, OR, they listen to all the wrong people who tell them if they don't have a pile of money to spend they'll never amount to anything. Trust me, nothing feels better than working hard, even years if that's what it takes, and finally having all the stars align your way once in awhile on a Saturday night to prove that crowd wrong. You'll be screaming under the helmet with fist in the air taking the checkered flag whereas the regular winners often just act like a win is no big deal and go home complaining about everything that happened a particular night.

I have never spent more than $8k in a year racing. Next year I think I might actually break 10k spent but I'm working 3 jobs to afford it. You could run a short schedule at a local track 8-10 races per year on 5k and be competitive if you spend your money wisely and are willing to stick it out and work hard to progress as a driver and setup/tire person.

On a final note- DON'T borrow money to go racing- it's a never ending hole of financial ruin that you WILL end up regretting!

There's my speech for the night LOL. Best of luck!

-Rowdy Wayne
 
We started out on a very small budget. To get my son started I took on extra work wherever I could find it. I have skills that I have been taught over the years. I shingled a few houses, then partnered up with a friend who was a roofer. The first summer we shingled 3 or 4 houses. The money I got from those jobs I put half in an envelope and the other half in the bank for bills. I had a few financial setbacks and had to use my envelope money a few times and had to start over. I also hired out to a construction company to help whenever they got behind. I worked part time for a tree service clearing pastures for $10 per hour. Half of each check went to racing. After a couple of months I had enough to buy my son his first kart, an almost 20 year old ultra max. That was around Thanksgiving and I gave 800 for the kart. The next spring I was back at the construction work. By race time I had enough saved to buy his safety gear. I pulled an old homemade 4x8 trailer out of a friends junk pile and rebuilt it for our first trailer. I replaced the wheel bearings and the tires. The deck and a tool box were made from scrap wood I had taken off a damaged roof or two. I bought a set of gears every time I had the extra $10, bought tire prep and bought a box stick clone motor the first season he raced. I used to be a mechanic so I had the basic tools. We raced with a socket set, a wrench set and a handful of screwdrivers. We were definitely low budget racers. We actually enjoyed it because he stared beating the big money show off racers.
I kept up with the part time jobs, working night shift at my regular job 6A to 6P then working days at the odd jobs I could find. I got a couple of sets of tires given to us from someone on these forums. That was a huge thigh this person did, and made a big difference in his racing. All this time I was buying things we would need like Gears and wheel bearings but mostly we did what we could when necessry. I started taking in repair jobs in my garage on my nights off. Small things like brakes, fuel pumps, oil changes, typical vehicle repairs. I also do lawn mower repair. This brings in about 1500 to 2000 a year to help pay bills and pay for racing. I still stuff half of the extra money I make into an envelope for racing.
A couple of years later I saved up and got my daughter a kart. I picked up another older kart for $1200.
For scales I use bathroom scales. To set camber I use an angle meter on an iPad. For toe in I use a seamstress tape measure.
In our first 4 years racing karts my son Has one third place season ending points finish, 2 second place season finishes and one first place points finishes and a track championship. His first kart was 800. His second kart was 15 years old and cost $2500. That one included 3 sets of tires, 4 spare fresh rebuilt engines, kart, kart stand, 3 spare clutches and a pickup load of parts. Now he is running a 600 micro sprint.
My daughter has 2 third place season finishes on her record. This year she moved up and is racing with the adults and finished the season 6th place.
We did get a couple of sponsors this year. One provides an enclosed trailer and $500 per year. The other helps us with fuel and buys done stuff once in a while. The problem with having a sponsor is it gets more serious. You have to show up and do good every week to give them their moneys worth. I still do odd jobs and handyman work with mechanic work to pay for racing.
The only tools to really worry about to start is a basic tool set. Go to Harbor Freight and pick up a cheap socket set, a cheap metric and standard wrench set and a small screwdriver set. Other than that have a hammer, pry bar, Allen wrenches, pliers and vice grips and wire cutters. Carry zip ties and duct tape. Other than that you don’t need a lot to start with. For tire prep I use an old metal coffee can and a foam paintbrush that has the foam held on by zip ties. Also carry a few jugs of water to clean tires and rubber gloves for the tire prep.
I believe a person could get started for $2000. This would buy tools, a cheap kart, and a few parts you might need. For tools also check Ace Hardware Black Friday sales. Also check Harbor Freught, Menards Lowe’s etc. go kart tools don’t have to be high quality tools to get started.
Going cheap, rigging repairs with zip ties and duct tape and building our own engines gave my kids a big sense of pride. Others were buying their speed, paying someone to set their karts up and spending big money on racing. It was always fun to see their look then my kids gear them!
 
Realize that if you land sponsorship money, and expect to ever get it again, you now work for that sponsor and need to make it worth his while. So that means graphics displaying his name / logo, doing PR work for him not only at races but also at strip malls or stores or schools or wherever you can find, inviting him to see you race, sending him results e-mails and / or Facebook posts and / or blogs... it can be a lot of work. Remember you're spending his money to have your fun, so he needs to get something back - and more customers is a way he definitely appreciates. However, if you do all of this stuff you'll probably attract other sponsors as well. There is a reason that all professional drivers cannot answer a media question without first listing all of their sponsors...
 
jacobsdad said:
We started out on a very small budget. To get my son started I took on extra work wherever I could find it. I have skills that I have been taught over the years. I shingled a few houses, then partnered up with a friend who was a roofer. The first summer we shingled 3 or 4 houses. The money I got from those jobs I put half in an envelope and the other half in the bank for bills. I had a few financial setbacks and had to use my envelope money a few times and had to start over. I also hired out to a construction company to help whenever they got behind. I worked part time for a tree service clearing pastures for $10 per hour. Half of each check went to racing. After a couple of months I had enough to buy my son his first kart, an almost 20 year old ultra max. That was around Thanksgiving and I gave 800 for the kart. The next spring I was back at the construction work. By race time I had enough saved to buy his safety gear. I pulled an old homemade 4x8 trailer out of a friends junk pile and rebuilt it for our first trailer. I replaced the wheel bearings and the tires. The deck and a tool box were made from scrap wood I had taken off a damaged roof or two. I bought a set of gears every time I had the extra $10, bought tire prep and bought a box stick clone motor the first season he raced. I used to be a mechanic so I had the basic tools. We raced with a socket set, a wrench set and a handful of screwdrivers. We were definitely low budget racers. We actually enjoyed it because he stared beating the big money show off racers.
I kept up with the part time jobs, working night shift at my regular job 6A to 6P then working days at the odd jobs I could find. I got a couple of sets of tires given to us from someone on these forums. That was a huge thigh this person did, and made a big difference in his racing. All this time I was buying things we would need like Gears and wheel bearings but mostly we did what we could when necessry. I started taking in repair jobs in my garage on my nights off. Small things like brakes, fuel pumps, oil changes, typical vehicle repairs. I also do lawn mower repair. This brings in about 1500 to 2000 a year to help pay bills and pay for racing. I still stuff half of the extra money I make into an envelope for racing.
A couple of years later I saved up and got my daughter a kart. I picked up another older kart for $1200.
For scales I use bathroom scales. To set camber I use an angle meter on an iPad. For toe in I use a seamstress tape measure.
In our first 4 years racing karts my son Has one third place season ending points finish, 2 second place season finishes and one first place points finishes and a track championship. His first kart was 800. His second kart was 15 years old and cost $2500. That one included 3 sets of tires, 4 spare fresh rebuilt engines, kart, kart stand, 3 spare clutches and a pickup load of parts. Now he is running a 600 micro sprint.
My daughter has 2 third place season finishes on her record. This year she moved up and is racing with the adults and finished the season 6th place.
We did get a couple of sponsors this year. One provides an enclosed trailer and $500 per year. The other helps us with fuel and buys done stuff once in a while. The problem with having a sponsor is it gets more serious. You have to show up and do good every week to give them their moneys worth. I still do odd jobs and handyman work with mechanic work to pay for racing.
The only tools to really worry about to start is a basic tool set. Go to Harbor Freight and pick up a cheap socket set, a cheap metric and standard wrench set and a small screwdriver set. Other than that have a hammer, pry bar, Allen wrenches, pliers and vice grips and wire cutters. Carry zip ties and duct tape. Other than that you don’t need a lot to start with. For tire prep I use an old metal coffee can and a foam paintbrush that has the foam held on by zip ties. Also carry a few jugs of water to clean tires and rubber gloves for the tire prep.
I believe a person could get started for $2000. This would buy tools, a cheap kart, and a few parts you might need. For tools also check Ace Hardware Black Friday sales. Also check Harbor Freught, Menards Lowe’s etc. go kart tools don’t have to be high quality tools to get started.
Going cheap, rigging repairs with zip ties and duct tape and building our own engines gave my kids a big sense of pride. Others were buying their speed, paying someone to set their karts up and spending big money on racing. It was always fun to see their look then my kids gear them!
Click to expand...
Great post....inspiring as well. Thanks for sharing your story. This is great as I look to get started
 
I'll just throw in that I'm just getting into this whole deal, running dirt oval karts. I already have a trailer, generator, and most of the tools I needed, so that helped with the costs. I have a 2016 umax with a predator $1500, it came with a couple well used sets of tires and two sets of wheels. I ordered a set of cobras and a round of prep $200. I bought paint for the kart which is all Walmart brand spray paints $75+. I have hauled this thing to a buddy's house twice who lives 2 hours away to get it ready to race. He has scales so we scaled it. In gas alone $200. I bought an electric stand from some local guys that I am going to add material to for $500.

I've yet to turn a lap, or prep a tire, and I'm over $2500. I'm working like mad to get entry fee moneys built up before I have to start shelling out cash for repairs, etc. I'm a college student with a full time job, why am I eating bread and cheese sandwiches? Because I want to race. How bad do you want it?
 
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