Do any Americans have specialized "track cars"?

[CAM]

First off, I wasn't sure if this was supposed to go in the motorsports subforum, but I put it here since I was intending it for casual track goers.

I've heard this term used a lot on this forum, yet I live in an area with plenty of race tracks and I don't know a single person with a dedicated track car. Any explanation?

 

[Cale]

Having a car you can drive to the track and then back home just makes more economical sense, especially if you aren't good enough to reach the limits of your street car.

 

[CAM]

Having a car you can drive to the track and then back home just makes more economical sense, especially if you aren't good enough to reach the limits of your street car.

So you're saying having a track car is smart? I couldn't really follow your post, I'm having a slow day.

 

[Cale]

So you're saying having a track car is smart? I couldn't really follow your post, I'm having a slow day.

No, I was saying for most people having a street car that is an admirable track car makes more economic sense than a car strictly for track use. Take an Elise, a car you can drive to the track, on the track, and back home versus a Radical or something similar that may have to be trailered to the track.

 

[CAM]

No, I was saying for most people having a street car that is an admirable track car makes more economic sense than a car strictly for track use. Take an Elise, a car you can drive to the track, on the track, and back home versus a Radical or something similar that may have to be trailered to the track.

Very good point. I guess its more of a European thing. And off topic, I never knew Elises were so cheap (for sports cars at least), I looked the other day and I saw a really nice looking one for $20,000.. I was really surprised.

 

[McLaren]

Plenty of Americans have track cars. Like Europe, though, they're just not very well known to the general public of the other continent. It also doesn't help that Europe manufacturers tend to make quite a few "track"-ready models for various cars where as in the US, you'd have to most certainly pick up a moderately quick sports car with the option. We have very rare instances of our manufacturers making cars similar to the affordable, sport/track hatchbacks of Europe. The market is to blame partially for that as well.

 

[Cale]

However something I do see from time to time is as someone gets older and has more time/money, they begin to modify their car to a point so they don't want to drive it on the street anymore, and get a tow rig. So even though it may not look like a Radical/Atom, for all intents and purposes it's a dedicated track car.

 

[CAM]

Plenty of Americans have track cars. Like Europe, though, they're just not very well known to general public of the other continent.

I'm just trying to think of an economical performance car that's readily available here. The first thing that comes to mind is the new Focus, and I do see a lot of Mazdaspeeds around here. So I suppose you're right.

And yeah, Cale, one of my older neighbors where I used to live did have some kind of hatchback with a cover on it. I only saw it out once, it had some type of livery on it. So that may be the case in that situation.

 

[McLaren]

I'm just trying to think of an economical performance car that's readily available here. The first thing that comes to mind is the new Focus, and I do see a lot of Mazdaspeeds around here. So I suppose you're right.

And yeah, Cale, one of my older neighbors where I used to live did have some kind of hatchback with a cover on it. I only saw it out once, it had some type of livery on it. So that may be the case in that situation.

In the US, Mazda vehicles have pretty much covered all the bases for affordable track cars. That's not to say nothing can be tracked (I've seen an A4 track regularly here), but it takes a lot of money to really prepare those cars for the hardships where as the Mazdas are pretty well setup from the get-go.

 

[JCE]

First off, I wasn't sure if this was supposed to go in the motorsports subforum, but I put it here since I was intending it for casual track goers.

I've heard this term used a lot on this forum, yet I live in an area with plenty of race tracks and I don't know a single person with a dedicated track car. Any explanation?

SCCA auto cross, SCCA circuit racing, rally racing or drag racing? The answer to all of these is yes. Some more than others. Drag racing and auto cross tend to be the most popular in this state at least. Finding a good rally course here is somewhat impossible. I wish we had some good ones out west so that would give me a reason to build a rally car. Doubtful that will ever happen.

I've seen enough of these vehicles being tailored to assume that a small portion of Americans do participate in these events.

 

[CAM]

SCCA auto cross, SCCA circuit racing, rally racing or drag racing? The answer to all of these is yes. Some more than others. Drag racing and auto cross tend to be the most popular in this state at least. Finding a good rally course here is somewhat impossible. I wish we had some good ones out west so that would give me a reason to build a rally car. Doubtful that will ever happen.

Yeah, I live in North Carolina (NASCAR country), and driving on the highway today I must have saw 10 or 12 quarter-mile dirt ovals in about 50 miles. Basically all the racing here is just stock cars on those ovals, and NHRA style drag racing. I think we have one or two asphalt tracks around here as well. And yeah, Mclaren, I can see the Mazda argument, they really are nice little cars. And then I guess you have your muscle cars for people who enjoy that, they aren't outrageously priced.

 

[zr1chris]

Then again if you take your daily driver to the track and something brakes then your without a car until it gets fixed. If its strictly a track car then you can fix it whenever and dont have the headache of how to get back and forth on your daily routines.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

http://www.factoryfive.com/

That came to mind when speaking of American trackday cars..

 

[Eric.]

I only know one person personally who has a dedicated autox car. Its a 76 Porsche 911 and I think the only thing keeping it off the street is that he doesn't have any street tires for it. I think the registration is up to date. He has a 91 Turbo that he's working on for the street. Plenty of dedicated drag cars here, but no circuits nearby (Autobahn Country Club is about six hours north and pretty expensive).

Unfortunately for those of us that compete with our street cars, this can happen:

 

[CAM]

I only know one person personally who has a dedicated autox car. Its a 76 Porsche 911 and I think the only thing keeping it off the street is that he doesn't have any street tires for it. I think the registration is up to date. He has a 91 Turbo that he's working on for the street. Plenty of dedicated drag cars here, but no circuits nearby (Autobahn Country Club is about six hours north and pretty expensive).

Unfortunately for those of us that compete with our street cars, this can happen:

Yeah, I don't know anyone that races in their daily driver, but to keep it fair, not many people race at all around here. And those that do normally drive late models on those ovals I referenced earlier, and they are nowhere close to street legal.

 

[Eric.]

Road racing a daily driver is asking for problems. I wouldn't have a problem doing a track day with mine.

 

[CAM]

Road racing a daily driver is asking for problems. I wouldn't have a problem doing a track day with mine.

All I can say is I wouldn't think of doing a track day with mine, I'm still on my first car and that thing is my child.

 

[MEJ1990TM]

All I can say is I wouldn't think of doing a track day with mine, I'm still on my first car and that thing is my child.

You gotta beat them once in a while. Do I always hold my foot to the floor and bang some gears? No, I certainly do not. Most of the time I drive it in quite the normal manner. However, there are the times when I feel like pushing the cars as hard as they will go. If something breaks it needed replacing anyway.

I am guessing by track you guys mean road type tracks. My '71 will be mostly a strip car once I get the LS7 in it. I can deal with the high cruise RPM's of a 4.56 gear out back, but I am not going to be too fond of 5 miles per gallon on gas that costs over $6 a gallon.

 

[CAM]

You gotta beat them once in a while. Do I always hold my foot to the floor and bang some gears? No, I certainly do not. Most of the time I drive it in quite the normal manner. However, there are the times when I feel like pushing the cars as hard as they will go. If something breaks it needed replacing anyway.

I am guessing by track you guys mean road type tracks. My '71 will be mostly a strip car once I get the LS7 in it. I can deal with the high cruise RPM's of a 4.56 gear out back, but I am not going to be too fond of 5 miles per gallon on gas that costs over $6 a gallon.

Yeah, well its used and I won't have the funds for another one for a real long time so I gotta take care of this one 👍. And plus its a BMW SUV, so not your normal track car haha .

 

[Tyger]

I'm not sure the situation in the US is so different to Europe, or the UK at least. There are very few "new" track-only cars available here in the UK, if memory serves one or both of the Radical and Ultima are street legal, though you wouldn't want to drive too far. Atoms are street-legal, even the crazy V8. I think Ginetta make a track only car, then of course in Italy there was the waaay more expensive Zonda R and FXX

I also seem to remember a track-only Lotus or two in recent years, forget the models, someone can surely remind!

I think a lot of other track-only cars in the UK are old cars also, like ex hillclimb, rallycross or even pure rally cars which surely should be driven hard rather than locked in a garage or museum forever. A lot of these are also street cars modded to be track-only, old Austin Healey Sprites like the one that was in Top Gear once against some ricer springs to mind.

Can totally see the appeal of having a second or third car which is street legal but burns up the track too though. Wondering just how many fully-maintained racetracks there are in the US, as there are very many in the UK and other European countries, which have all kinds of regular events as well as "open" track days. Perhaps the whole experience is a little bigger and more intense in the US?

 

[CAM]

I am ignorant on the subject mostly, but I know a lot more race fans here than actual racers.

 

[MEJ1990TM]

I am ignorant on the subject mostly, but I know a lot more race fans here than actual racers.

Being this is by and large a video game forum that really isn't too surprising is it? I've never done any official road racing, just racing at the drags. It is pretty fun to go out late and night and play around on windy roads though. The '70 might do "ok" on a road course for forty year old car standards, the '71 wouldn't handle all that well though. Got too soft a suspension under it. That'll change one of these days.

 

[YSSMAN]

... I don't know a single person with a dedicated track car. Any explanation?

It is a money thing, and I would also assume a 'space' issue. Not a "I don't have space for another car" type of situation, but that more or less, the average American lives quite a long ways from the closest racetrack that they may be able to use that car on. By comparison to the UK, that amount of distance is much, much smaller.

On that note, the market for track-ready vehicles here becomes that much smaller. While Dodge was happy to offer a track-ready Viper ACR, and Ford has their Laguna Seca version of the BOSS 302, those are among the only track-ready vehicles that are ready to be ordered at your local dealer.

Were there to be more tracks near a greater number of people, my guess would be that more track-ready options would be made available to the buying public.

 

[Xavier2342]

I think you'd find more Americans with dual purpose (street/auto-x or drag racing), than you'd find with dedicated track cars. Atleast for me, I don't like the idea of owning a car that I can't legally drive on the street.