From someone who has done all the legwork, and will be going to comp school next week in a self built from scratch racecar:

BUY ONE BUILT AND GO RACE NOW.

It is very nice to have intimate knowledge of the car before I break it racing... but literally it has taken a year to sort it out. I have spent more money than it costs for comparable cars for sale. But it was fun, and it is built my way.

Good luck!

EDIT: Holy crap just re-read you don't have any previous track experience. Get a NA 944 and go from there. I guess the path I followed is wise in that case. Upgrade as your skills improve. It will keep things cheaper in the short term too.

 

So true!!!

What area are you based out of, then - Chi-town or Flint?

 

Pony up for a rent a racer before you turn your car into a race car. Then, buy someone else's car for 50% of your budget, you'll most certainly need the other 50% to fix stuff and update the car.

Any racing is expensive, Porsche's are a wee bit more expensive. Whatever you do, don't skimp on your safety

 

You absolutely crack me up. If you ever get to Philly, beers on me!

 

There is always one person who has to spread dirty, filthy, underhanded truth.

 

Petu - I bet I spent less cash on racing last year that you did in DE!!! And I raced in a dozen races too. Put that in your pipe and smoke it

 

A slippery slope!!!

 

so what you're saying is that I shouldn't just try racing in a 996GT3 cup car out of the gates, eh?

lolololololol

 

Right...go with the 997 GT3 Cup....

 

I know- they're better!

but hey in all seriousness, I'm renting a mx-cup this summer/fall a few times to see if my DE/lapping/video game skills can really translate. I'm not really allowed to race because of my "job" right now, but am soaking up all the advice and instruction possible. Instead of vacation this offseason, I'm going to a few driving/racing schools.

I just have to save up enough $ to do some wheel to wheel later in life.

 

The biggest determining factor of how you should approach this is how many tens of thousands of dollars you have to pi$$ away now, and how often you can dole out a thousand more at a time.

If you can say what that is, and how important winning is to you, you'll get a lot more specialized advice.

For example, if you want to WIN, and you only have $5K in your pocket now, and you only have $500 a month to blow, go with karts. How long it takes to win will depend solely on your talent and ability to learn.

For $30K up front and $800 a month, you could have a winning spec miata setup.

I can't really comment on PCA stock class racing costs - don't know.

 

I'd recommend keeping your car stock as possible and just get out and do some DE's though.

"Here you go, kid, this one's free. Tell your friends..."

 

In addition to all the other advice here, you need 3 things to get into racing in a big way: lawyers, guns, and money.

 

I think Finn and VR have it about right.

 

Learn to drive. You will learn a lot about the sport as you do. Not so much as the on-track craft of racing but more the dos and don't of track car ownership. After you learn to Drive (you will know when you are ready) then lean to Race. Peformance driving and racing are not the same thing. You can be a good peformance driver and not know how to race but you have to be a good peformance driver to race.

The good news. Join PCA if you have not done so yet. Sign up for DE. Listen to the DE people on and off the track. You can drive your car on track and learn lots at a reasonable price to start. All you need to start is a car in good working condition. You can rent a helmet for the first event if you are on a tight budget. After you get hooked you will need to purchase your own safety equpment.

The bad news. This track drivng stuff is all kinds of fun.