Once I actually stated meeting people in life who go out to the track, I saw street racers in a new light. I never admired them in the first place, but I started seeing them as absolutely pathetic, once I became aware of how easy and popular it is to take your car out to a track and actually push its limits and/or compete with others.
A lot of people like to go to the firing range, too. But you don’t see them doing target practice walking down the sidewalk. That’s essentially what street racing is.
KoalaUnknown@lemmy.world 2 days ago
That would be a great option if tracks stopped getting bought out, torn down, and replaced with suburbs.
Know_not_Scotty_does@lemmy.world 2 days ago
What I have seen is that if you get in with local car clubs, you can get autox runs for not much money. If you don’t mind dirt, rallyx or dirtx days are also a good way to get track time on a budget.
Yes, proper track days on a real circuit are expensive but when you look at the consumables like tires, brakes, oil, etc, the entry fee is minimal compared to the actual cost. Even when I had my mini, it was like that. It also really depends on the track. In Houston we have MSR and Grandsport, msr is pricey. Grandsport used to be rented for the day for like $2k and split between 10 or 15 people, that was cheaper than a speeding ticket.
Realistically, the street racing that occurs around me is all drag style highway blasts or streetlight races. None of these douches are doing circuit drives. So the $20 number wasn’t far off (at least it was before Royal Purple was shut down)
The problem of tracks getting closed is a major one. Nimby ruins it for everyone. The “racers” are also still to blame here. Its impulse control, and personal responsibility/accountability. Realistically too, a speeding ticket here is $150 minimum, plus court fees of $150ish, plus defensive driving course of $100ish so you are basically to the $500 figure anyways.