Seriously how the fuck do you get into professional racing anything?
I'm becoming severely depressed as nothing excites me on this planet except driving like I don't give a shit if I die
And then I research research and research some more only to find sob stories of people who started in kart racing then miracoulously make it to the big times HOW?
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Because that's pretty much how people make it - doing kart racing and junior leagues from a young age, nailing sponsors, and being successful. Also not dying at it. You probably missed your chance.
Git gud fag boy
This. If you're parents don't push you towards it as a child, you'll probably never be able to do it. Especially if you're like me and don't live near anything but drag strips. It sucks pretty hard.
>step one: have money
>step two: don't be poor
You're probably too shit by now you have to start when your like 5 and you need to stop being poor.
Like the others have said it is unlikely unless you already have made connections. Now if you live near a track and they hold big events for the public you and you some how are very good, then maybe someone can notice you. Other than that just have fun. Its alot less pressure
These. I was pretty good and started at a young age but was too poor to continue some people who raced with me at the time are in nascar and indy lights.
Millions (billions?) of dollars and parents who will literally kill you if you aren't winning kart championships by 5 years of age.
Otherwise, just try getting gud at Gran Turismo. Or is the gamerboi endurance racing program dead?
Don't worry, user. Just get a tofu delivery job!
Joining the choir here:
Have rich parents
Race since childhood
Have rich parents that'll invest in your hundred thousand dollar a year hobby before you can read and write up until you get a fat contract
its like any sport. start out small, show you have a certain amount of skill and maybe if you are lucky someone will pick you up. major racing teams have people that just go to kart races and dirt tracks looking for people with talent, not to mention a lot of big time drives still do small name racing.
>mfw raced 1/4 midgets since 7
>mfw FD pro2 Licence
Although, Like most "child stars" I can't stay away from addiction because I always feel like I'm not good enough and I need to prove I'm the best driver around.
>mfw I'm going to start my firstborn at 4 1/2 to make up where I fell short
I saw people do this at go-kart and autoX events. Looked severely depressing considering how much the kids didn't want to do it. Most of them were crying.
>be good enough sponsors wanna pay you
>use that to pay for seats in big racing
>be so fucking good that you get contracts to race for teams
>-keyword- Be REAL fucking good.
If you are under 25 or 30 you can still do some form of important racing and earn some cash out of it. Its never about how good you are. Its always about the chance everyone gets, the information regarding it (for some people its QUITE hard to LEARN where to start with karting) and getting the cash to do your shit.
And no sponsors aren't easy to come by.
A small workaround i thought about was to just make yourself a big fucking car meme. Be so fucking market-able that everybody wanna sponsor you.
>quarter midgets
My nig, started when I was 5 and later moved to karts but couldn't keep with it.
I also feel obligated to outd drive everyone normies won't go over 100 with you.
I wouldn't trade it for any other childhood, I'm a fucking racecar driver. I just never understood how easy-going it would have been if I would have been raised normally.
What chassis did you have? I was that ioperateonanotherlevel.png kid that rolled 5 different BullRiders out of an air conditioned toy hauler
Matching livery too
Mostly had Nervos and had one eagle and bull rider. We also mostly ran Decos mod, B and A they were fun but nobody really ran them. Heavy 160 was the most fun but they crashed all the time. pic some what related Ziggy did all my engines now he only does motorcycles.
Lol I still have a slant port AA in my garage. I forgot who built my engines when we actually cashed out, but when it was a sponsor I ran M.R.E. engines. Nigger didn't know how to build a good motor worth half a shit, and everyone praised him because they were too retarded to tune their own carbs. Also fuck Jerry Rice and every family that races a Rice. I actually saw that cheating fuck in a speedhunters article and reeeeeeee'd. When my my kids are old enough, I hope he's still at it so I can start a handler fight.
If you haven't gotten into the sport by the time you're 20, you never will.
There are still track days and autox events you can go to.
...
>racing professionally
just take your car to the track and have some fun. Why do you want to take something fun and make it not fun because it is your job?
Lot of options in America. Join one of the dozens of auto racing groups, get a racing license, sign up for events and get good. Having a lot of money, winning a lot and networking for sponsors will make it easier to get into nascar or formula. Of course you have to be elite and rich, and since you probably aren't just stick to video games
There is a guy on /ovg/ that made it. Ask him.
Just get a shitbox, tune it up and smash up the touge every once a while
This thread reminded me of a great story:
>go to school with a bunch of rich kids
>some kids dad buys him a spec miata
>he starts talking mad shit
>hes gonna be the next senna
>drives it to school one day
>all the guys are jelly af
>all the chicks are on his dick
>week or so later his first race
>locks the brakes and slams into the wall of the first corner of the first practice session
Everyone called him speed racer for the rest of HS
also OP the answer is money
This
Just race in local open series that won't cost an arm and a leg. Or become rich and race GT or endurance or touring cars or whatever. That might actually be easier than becoming a good race car driver.
Not professional, but more or less living that lifestyle of fly out to races and play vidya 24/7.
Oval racing is the easiest to get started in because all tracks want more cars to put on a better show, and they don't give a shit if you suck - shitty drivers are entertainment. By comparison, there's lots of elitism and "club fees" around road racing. Don't even think about drag racing.
I started by going to my local track and doing their "racing school." All tracks have them, either a couple of street stocks or de-tuned late models on the property. Not the "10 lap test drive shit" they offer for dad birthdays, but the proper full day affair where usually a driver gets on the headset and properly coaches you.
I ran well, paid for the license, and then just sort of started frequenting places where racers would go - here, it was a racing simulation center. Eventually I bumped into one who raced at the track I did the school at. Tossed him money to build me a shitbox, and I was lucky there's a good shitbox scene around here.
youtube.com
Then talent took over and I had the points lead in my rookie season by almost a full race gap. Blew some motors and finished 3rd overall with Rookie of the Year, against guys who had been driving/building cars for 5 years.
>A small workaround i thought about was to just make yourself a big fucking car meme. Be so fucking market-able that everybody wanna sponsor you.
This is what I did. Let it slip on my video game blog that I was racing shitboxes and doing well. One of the developers I shit on thought it was cool I was trying to put my money where my mouth is and tossed us a bunch of cash to leapfrog like 8 classes.
Also, pro is impossible without a major sponsor and/or abusing the shit out of local/regional race track politics.
Always start in shitbox racing because anything professional or even sportsman tier is going to kill or severely frustrate you if you aren't some freak of nature behind the wheel.
For example, last event out we almost won the heat race and set fastest lap. Main event, leader blew the corner in turn 1 and I got cycled all the way to the back because I couldn't drop down in time. I was fine with the evening regardless, because I understand how this racing works and know it's something that happens. Like playing wideout in football and getting jammed at the line of scrimmage.
But for your first experience in ANY competition environment, it would be demoralizing as hell, and that would increase tenfold if you had zero car control and just sort of jumped into it for the lulz.
>Although, Like most "child stars" I can't stay away from addiction because I always feel like I'm not good enough and I need to prove I'm the best driver around.
What did he meme by this? Addicted to proving that he's the best driver around, or addicted to drugs?
addy
>addy
tfw have to be rich to get into amateur racing
tfw have to be rich to get access to prescription uppers
fucking richfags get all the fun stuff in life
What kinda shitbox did you drive?
/Thread
Even if you have god tier talent nobody will discover you in a beat to shit miata tearing up a parking lot course. Gotta have money to get into a series that will get recognized.
Look up hornets. All ovals have a fwd 4 cylinder class as a hobbyist thing. Usually it's full of kids so be prepared to get wrecked by a non-driver; ours was full of tryhards so the racing was surprisingly good and actually meant something if you won or placed well.
Cars are usually found at insurance auctions, written off for minor body damage. minimal safety requirements so you're not spending thousands on fire bottles or roll cages.
addicted to drugs
Thanks i'll look into it
nice thread
being a pro racer must be fun
>Get into kart racing when younger
>Eventually your parents will be pissed off because they're dropping $40k a year for you to do irl Mario Kart unless they're making high six, low 7 figure wages.
>Hope you get spotted and get a sponsor.
>Price jumps to six figures to keep racing a year
>Get sponsored in rookie leagues
>Make it to big boy leagues and hope you continue to be sponsored and don't fuck up.
>Make 7 to 8 figure salaries a year.
I'd recommend rally racing instead or something.
Reminder that there is some 18yr old shit in F1 at the moment making more money then we'll ever make.
Travel sucks. Then again I'm a massive fag and get homesick easy.
I don't work a normie job so if I want to do something with my bros, it frequently turns into "I'm too tired from work" and then you're like "oh yeah I sit on my ass playing vidya all day." You can only go out karting at 11pm on a Monday night by yourself so many times before it gets old.
Lots of superficial bullshit from women. This is the part that bothers me the most.
Have some numbers
Top level karting: 50k per year
Formula 4: 200k per year
Indy lights: 1.2mil per year on a good team.
Ive been karting for 9 years and I race and beat some of the best in the country but my dreams of making it big died a long time ago
Im jealous we couldn't keep anything besides bodywork. When I first got my A it was rebuilt by someone else who didn't even torque down the rod bolts and it came apart on the stand it was the last time anyone else rebuild any engines I had. Before I was forced to quit by my dads business getting sued we were going to do karting and sprint cars with the 600cc yamaha motorcycle engine. We got to do karting but never mini sprint.
Clay Regazzoni started racing at the age of 24 and eventually made it into F1 where he had moderate success. It's not the 60s or 70s anymore, but 20 isn't some hard limit. OP does sound like he'll never be a successful racing driver since he seems to be depressed and suicidal, not a very good combination in anything.
How far do you travel for races and who foots the bill for all the expenses? What vidya do you play?
Wasn't his dad an F1 race car driver as well?
>Karting
>50k
I fucking wish. I raced with some guys in rotax jr who spent over 100k a year just so they could go get stomped at the world championship and jerk themselves off. They were stupid though, there's really no need to spend that much. get how you feel though, I haven't done any karting in about 4 years now, but it's tough seeing those people you beat pay their way into being famous and having your dream.
Yeah, he raced back in the 90's. Pretty much everyone had some kind of connection like that, although some are less obvious.
Be rich.
Racing has always been a rich man's sport. Always has always will. Most racing drivers start off by just having deep pockets. That's it.
If your dad didn't have you competing in kart races at 5 years old and racing a miata by 12 you have literally no chance.
All those reflexes and natural driving ability has to be developed at a young age.
>Top level karting: 50k per year
Lol. Maybe they earn that but they spend 100k/year doing it so it's more like -50k/year
Where do you go to get a kart made or even buy one?? Is craigslist the only place, or are there usually local shops that would make and sell them?
For reference, I'm in Houston, so the only real racing scene I see out here is the drag racing scene over by Royal Purple Raceway. Drag racing seems like fun, but I've always preferred track. I don't know of many professional type of go kart places I could go to, other than basic figure 8 small tracks with go karts that barely get past 25-30mph at the fastest. Any help br/o/s?? I just wanna race around and have fun, but fuck just going fast in a straight line.
HAYABUSA
If I wanted to kill myself going fast I'd do it on a motorcycle.
Problem is, yeah, you can't just decide to be a professional racer in your fucking 30's, user. With millions, billions of drivers on earth there is going to be that one freak of nature gifted with unusual driving skills, that started driving when they were 3 years old and all they know or care about or think about is driving really fast in a loop. You're not going to be able to compete.
Maybe demolition derby? There is always track-day drag races against other losers. Nobody is going to pay to to have their company logo sewn on your shirt though.
maybe in the '80s
now if you haven't karting AND been playing Gran Turismo you have no chance at top-level motorsport. If you know simulators or can turn a wrench well you have a very good chance at a job with a racing team, just probably not driving.
That said there are numerous amateur and semi-pro racing events that anyone with enough money can enter -- racing is not just NASCAR and F1. If you actually love motorsport you will have no problem devoting your life to racing in bush leagues.
Pobst: "Depends a lot on how much money you got"
If you're not a richfag, focus on 24hrsoflemons. You won't make any money off it, but you will get to race something.
You're probably too far to ever race professionally but you can still do it for fun. Join a well known auto/moto club in your area that holds actual races against other teams. Move up in the classes and you may get local sponsors to be a weekend warrior
KEK
You literally spent no mental energy on your life, and you say it would be BETTER??!?!
Fuck college, fuck money, i just want to drive