$$COST$$ to get to the next level in SCCA!

[chewy8000]

The Basics - It's extremely expensive in TC and even more frustrating than the price tag is the constant rule changes that give all manufacturers an "opportunity". I agree that it's very hard to keep all these cars equal and it needs to be done but it keeps you sinking money in the car to change things constantly. It is indeed $3600 a double and the tires are around $1700 a set. You need two sets for a double so you can see how it adds up. Crew, travel, food, etc... We have teamed up with TDI cup driver Devin Cates who had already purchased another GTI to lower our logistics costs and work together on track. Two cars out there is always better than one.

For independents like us it's almost a necessity to do well or we can't continue. This isn’t an ideal situation for me as a driver having that pressure rest on my shoulders. But hey I'll do it right down to towing to California with a dolly and hitch on the xterra if I need to.

Stop your bitching - There are no (go to the tower) discussions either in World Challenge, everyone is out for blood and racing for craploads of money so there is lots of "sorry I didn't see you" and "oh my brakes didn't work so I punted your ass on the last lap". So damage level is very high once again adding to the price tag.

Development - We have consistently dropped about $3-4k on the car in between races on development and testing. This is an absolute must against some of these big dogs like K-pax and Compass 360. Don't think for a second the car will ever be the best it can be or you might as well be happy with mid-pack for the season. We were hesitant at first but everyone is getting faster and faster as the season continues. Cameron at RennGruppe has shown us the light and we would have struggled on numerous occasions if we hadn't done this.

The Rental - is expensive but the deal there is that 75% of the teams put full loss insurance on the car and they roll that into the price of the rental. With all the carnage I have seen with these standing starts I would never rent one of these cars. On average 2-3 cars get totaled every time and if it's not that bad their still pretty torn up.

I've only experienced St. Pete and Miller so that’s my two cents for what it's worth. Hope that helps answer a few questions and feel free to ask anything. We head for Mosport next Wed. and then two months off before Mid-Ohio.