You can test out cars here or host a different event in the grass. At a minimum, two million dollars could be a ballpark figure for a basic setup, not comprising the added features. Drag car build basics - posted in Slot Drag Racing: Hi, I would like to build a few drag cars and was looking for some info on the type of basic specs for the different classes of cars being raced. What kind of infrastructure already exists nearby (roads)? In terms of maintenance and upkeep, there are many things that should be taken into account when it comes to maintaining your track such as cleaning procedures, making sure that all structures are sound and safe, and making sure that all equipment will still function as expected. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Most drag strips require that the owner of the property has a business license, and that the track is open to the public. Bring up drain risers for 6" x 12" drains every 20' at the walls. 1/5th. What chassis,motor etc type of thing . This article applies to the C5 (1997-2004) and C6 Corvette (2005-2013). You can also get other types of coverage such as property damage (for accidents not involving drivers), personal injury protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage (MedPay). The first thing that you need to consider is the kind of surface that you want to use. They can also be used as bleachers at concerts, festivals, and other events. The track surface is primarily made up of asphalt or cement. I'm pretty sure Clive has a strip with timing up in Norfolk and Gareth has plans (and all the pieces) for an HO strip in his shed in Bevendean. You can go tear up that quarter-mile anytime you like without worrying about paying entry fees. The length of the shutdown area depends on the distance between the starting line and the point where the track has to end. The shorter the strip, the slower they can go. My class project/idea of changing oil at a customers place of work was shot down due to insurance liability issues. This guide will walk you through both so you can squeeze the best possible performance out of your car in a drag race. New age drag strips are purposed built facilities, consisting of a vast network of establishments. Yeah Todd, I was thining it would mostly be for the street racers, this area I found is right in the thick of where all the street racing takes place on the north side of town. In general, the equipment you will use to maintain your drag strip is very important. The usual minimum length is 60 feet. A larger track will also require more equipment and concrete, and the asphalt could cost more as well. Previously, drag racing comprised individual competitors taking average road-going vehicles and modifying them to compete in a race. Many hundreds of people must have raced on it Our house was built in 1972 and is nearly as strange. The labor involved in building a racetrack can be upwards of $300,000. While doing the engine swap, get rid of the power steering and fit a manual rack. While there were a couple of objections to building a drag strip, the local council granted the permits in 2004. It is said that the first drag race was held as soon as the second car was manufactured. Is this track in your backyard or something you will hold races with spectators etc? Top Fuelers are the fastest type of race car because the driver has full control over his vehicle throughout the entire race. Drag racing is the sport of accelerating cars and motorcycles to racing speeds, where both rider and machine participate in the testing of the speed, acceleration, and handling limits. 1/10 gives you a few options as far as setups and chassis layouts so we'll start there. Typically, insurance companies will require proof of liability coverage in case theres an accident involving a driver at your track. Even though there are specific rules in most states regarding where you can build your drag strip, there are still many who use their land to build and run their own private racetracks for those who want to race but do not want to wait for all the permits and other requirements. For the princely sum of $1 the club now had a 10 year lease on a piece of land that would fit an 1/8th mile drag strip. A shutdown area is required at all tracks so that drivers can safely come to a stop after crossing over any barrier between lanes at a race track. Plus, you can make some money inviting other local racers to take advantage of your track. Site prep Site prep includes grading (making sure there are no dips that could catch tire), drainage (making sure water flows away from track), resodding (if needed), gravel base (if needed) and concrete pad (if needed). In addition to the array of venture facilities, seating and viewing areas make up a considerable part of the infrastructure. DOT-approved drag radials have grooves to provide better traction on the street. We'll show you the car build and share what worked and what didn't work in regards to budget, sponsorship, and building a team. Here's how: Step 1: Buy a motor and controller Your first step will be to buy a motor and controller from your local hobby shop or online store. The two types of drag racing are bracket racing and heads-up racing. I remember my college professor putting holes in everyones business plans in "Small business management 101" quite sobering. However, there are ways to make building your own track affordable without sacrificing quality or safety. Step 1: Get the Vehicle First you must buy a suitable piece of land, close to half a mile long, and at least a couple of hundred feet wide for most of it's length, so as to have room for necessary spectator's seats, garage area, parking, etc. Choose a location for your drag strip. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. As Scott explains, we are definitely running groups 3 and 4 but were looking closely at the feasibility of group 2. Drag strips are usually a quarter-mile long, after which is a "speed trap" of about 70 feet (21.3 m), where your top speed will be measured. Well be speaking with representatives of the group 2 classes to make sure its viable for everyone involved and the track can handle it.. Some strips may even have a total of four lanes for drivers. A very good question and with lots of variables. A timing system is necessary for a drag racing track because it records the time it takes for a car to reach the finish line. This figure can vary depending on factors such as location and revenue generated by the track. Unfortunately, most of the drag strips are illegal since landowners tend to build them in secret. Youll be in this for the long haul even with sponsorships from racing events and product manufacturers, it will likely take you a long time to recoup your money. They used some sort of brick that has black glass in it (?!). VP Race Fuel is available onsite. Finish Line: Exit the drag strip at the gate in the right side guard wall. It is because adults do not get as bored in life as you might think; their careers are almost always interesting; their family lives are sometimes not all that exciting; and some may simply enjoy showing off their cars or motorcycles at local meets. In fact, 4 years after setting up the new club the guys were no closer to finding a block of land or raising the funds to build a drag strip. Typically, a standard drag race is run along 14mi (1,320ft or 402m) from start to stop, with a run-off area that follows. This cam specs out with .525-inch intake and exhaust valve lift. Features a brand-new 2-piece air intake for maximum performance. 700m of run-off is required as a safe distance for the vehicle to stop. However, if notit might be worth considering buying some land in another state and moving there temporarily until construction has finished (if possible). There are a number of ways of building a Drag Strip and it would be worth chatting to the guys on-line who've been through the pain! Drag strips are a place where you can drive your car at top speeds, and theyre also events where people come to watch cars race. One of the tracks around here is buddy buddy with the cops. Consider the type of track you want to build. 60ft or around 20m would be regarded as an acceptable width for the two lanes, from side to side. It would be best to have a collaboration between the government and the regulatory motorsport institution. NHRA National Dragster Senior Editor Kevin McKenna wanted a car that was capable of 10-second elapsed times on the dragstrip and would be an effective weekly bracket racer, but it also needed to . Weve provided some sample budgets to show the range of costs in different circumstances, such as Construction costs, and Private Drag Strip. A private drag strip is any track that is not open to the public for racing purposes. The strip and double-wide return road are well lit for night racing. Do I need a Knoblock if I have a deadbolt? In heads-up racing, each driver races against only one other driver at a time. This is called the shutdown area, or shutdown box. The length of this area depends on various factors such as vehicle weight, horsepower and tire diameter. A dragster is a vehicle that uses nitromethane fuel, usually in the form of liquid spray, and is controlled by computers, while a Top Fueler is a car that uses nitromethane and allows drivers to set their own engine. For example, if a hot dog stand sells 100 hot dogs at $3 each, they would give back an extra $300 to the track owner after paying their expenses (rental fees, utilities). This is our journey in building a race car on a working man's budget. Nowadays, however, vehicle manufacturers have identified this passion amongst their consumers, and one can have a race-prepped vehicle purchased in the form of a new car. Having your own drag strip, for many drivers, is a dream come true. At the end of the strip, SLOWLY apply the brakes and follow directions away from the track. There are zoning laws to be considered, especially in more densely populated areas. the owner makes around $2000 per track day. Concrete is one of the most versatile and durable construction materials and will likely be more cost-effective for your drag strip build than asphalt, at least at the beginning. Some racers also spend money on customizing their cars so they can go faster than other racers in competition events. The Engine Systems Kit features all the components needed to make your Drag Pak engine breathe right and stay cool. These lanes, commonly referred to as return lanes, run parallel to the actual drag strip. With its sleek build and aerodynamics designed for piercing the air at warp speeds, this '97 supercar from the UK is a terrific choice for speedsters. With the green light, 5 trucks ran back and forth from the local quarry for 2 weeks to deliver the base for the drag strip. This high-end deluxe fitted drag strip will surely host all your largest events and some. In the drag racing world, a Christmas tree is the post at the start line that sequentially lights up a set of yellow lights followed shortly after by a green light to tell the . The cost of building a drag strip will vary depending on where you live and what sort of permits are required for this sort of construction project, but the general consensus is that, on average, a fully functioning drag strip will probably cost you anywhere from $1,000,000 to $4,000,000 just to get it off the ground. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. View attachment 266257. Lets break the cost down into three main areas: construction costs, equipment costs and ongoing operating costs. Drag strips are usually constructed on abandoned airstrips, which makes them relatively affordable. A racing driver must slow down before crossing over any barrier between lanes at a race track because it could cause a collision if someone is behind him or her. If your interest is in tearing up your local drag strip, some could argue there is no better platform than a Corvette. Local fans will be able to experience drag cars and bikes they would otherwise be unlikely to see in the flesh. If you have a large track and you have a lot of cars coming in every day, then this number can go up significantly. If you want to drag race, you've got to do it on a racetrack under the proper conditions. Drag strips are great investments and they will provide you with many years of fun, so make sure that you invest your money in the right way! Today, it's how to build a drag strip. How close are you to local quarries or concrete plants to be able to source materials? Scheduled for the 4th and 5th of January 2013, the RARS round is part of the ANDRA drag racing championship for sportsman racers, consisting of groups 2, 3 and 4. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Medical rooms and mechanical workshops are standard within the drag strip sphere. For type A: Should the minimum braking area for a 201,15m strip be 500m plus emergency area and for a 402,33m drag strip a braking area of minimum 700 m plus emergency area. The total cost depends on what you choose for the topmost layer but should start at around $100 per square foot for simple concrete or asphalt surfaces with no special features such as grooves or seams; it could increase significantly if you go all out with fancy graphics or colored tarmac like at airports where airplanes taxi onto runways beyond which theres nothing but grass fields surrounding them, Grandstands are not just for racing fans. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. What kind of soil is there? What about an old airstrip? It could be advisable to get government involvement, reducing individual investor costs, and working on a lease-type agreement. Massive 15,000 person grand stand and V.I.P viewing area will entertain all your guests while the drivers and crew work away in the 6x stall work stations (1x single/5x double). Drag Racing Timing system for HO slotcars. Historically the rules didnt allow for ANDRA championship racing to be conducted over less than the full mile. Most consider that the land price accounts for about 80% of the entire investment since it involves how much land you will need to build the track and how much money you need to spend in order to satisfy all government regulations regarding the construction of a drag strip. For example, if there were 10 racers participating in an event with $1 million worth of prize money up for grabs and each racer paid $100 for entry fees, then each racer would owe the track owner 10%. Performance times can be calculated from equal-distance or terminal-speed timings. Windows XP or Higher Required. Some radials are even street legal. The same type of track in asphalt would be twice as expensive at $150 per square foot, $150,000 for one mile. Most races only last a few minutes and are in a different location, so its hard for the cops to keep up. There are other expenses that need to be considered such as the labor. Take the time to do your research first, though. On average, a drag strip owner makes $1 million to $2 million every year. When a car leaves the starting line, it has to accelerate up to speed before it reaches the end of the track or else it will lose time because it didnt get up to speed in time. This is why you should always make sure that you have a landowner who is willing to assist and cooperate with you if you want to build your own drag strip. This, however, has not yet been approved or adopted by motorsport sanctioned facilities. The track surface is Sintra (expanded PVC) that's been CNC routed to maintain the height of the raised steel power rails to +/- .002 inches. Drag racing was originally popular in the western United States before spreading around North America and overseas. If your dream is to own your own drag strip, what do you need to keep in mind before you can cut the ribbon and drop that checkered flag on opening day? The type of material used also influences its price tag: concrete is about two times more costly than asphalt and has higher maintenance requirements than asphalt does due to its tendency toward cracking over time (especially when exposed to excessive moisture). Initially the plans were to start small and keep costs down. In Australia, most drag races are held at purpose built facilities such as Willowbank Raceway in Queensland, Sydney Dragway in South West Sydney or Adelaide International Raceway in South Australia. Commentdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "ab44dc17b6ddda1c6e7bb5c3be13bc90" );document.getElementById("bd10f83f6c").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Add chat time display (with radius configuration options) If you study a slot car track wiring diagram, you'll see that is all any 3 wire controller is doing, creating a "short" when the brakes are applied. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Drag racing is a spectator-filled sport that draws massive crowds of all age groups, keeping the grandstands full of cheer. Wild, custom Harleys are cool and all. They are the primary safety zone for vehicles and spectators, as well as a place to stage cars before they take off. This assists track owners to maintain the upkeep of the infrastructure and meet running costs. The starting line should be marked with some sort of tape or chalk, and the finish line can be marked with cones or flags. The next thing is the length of the strip that you want to build. Hello? A drag strip is a racing facility that allows vehicles to drive on a straight track, usually asphalt or concrete. But we also have a love for all things fast. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. The standardization of the sport and the regulatory aspects are growing exponentially, hoping that this passion amongst the competitors can be safely carried out within controlled environments. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Today it is one of the most common forms of motorsport in the United States and Canada with professional competitions such as NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series being broadcast live on television. Drag racing is a form of motorsport that involves two or more drivers competing against each other to cover a set speed or distance in the shortest period of time. Maybe you could buy one and convert it. If the If it is public then there will be more costs involved such as paying for insurance and maintenance costs. But I did want a medium-term solution using plastic sectional track. The slot car drag strip is 24 feet long, with a timed 1/4-mile (in HO scale) and eight feet of shutoff. 2. For example, you may need to buy parts like tires or engines if they break down during use or maintenance activities like oil changes and tire rotations. The display spaces provide a very viable opportunity for companies to place their brands, often through sponsorship. There are two stages to this - building the car and tuning it. Dec 17, 2003 (Edited) Cool!! For instance, a 1-mile long concrete surface will cost approximately $80 per square foot to install, and $80,000 for a 1-mile strip. 8" concrete 3000# mix w/ air 100' before starting line, 750' past starting line, to blacktop. The cost also depends on whether or not it is public or private. , Scott recalls. Whats the Best First Motorcycle for Beginners. Amarillo Dragway is being sold and the asking price is $550,000. We measured between our lower brackets and then placed a threaded rod, cut accordingly and placed it between the wheel brackets. It does not store any personal data. These tracks can be found in many different parts of the world, but most are located in North America or Europe. Shift appropriately during the proper shift points and move up the gears. the average price of a used drag strip is $30,000. I hope so with the proxy races. While this is quite the wide range of prices, there are some factors that can help to determine what kind of budget a particular track needs and how much it will cost. Finally, if all these steps arent done professionally on-site then we estimate this could add another week or two at least depending on the complexity/skill level required etc. Duration at .050-inch is 219 degrees on the intake, and 228-degrees on the exhaust. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); How much does it cost to build a performing arts center, How much does it cost to build a pergola diy. Again, various factors would need to be considered. The key to a successful drag strip is making sure that the surface is level. You should be able to get track specs from the NHRA with a phone call, and maybe even some rough price estimates. 1 1. The surface of your drag strip is the most expensive component, but it also depends on the length of your track. While a drag strip can be built on a square mile of land, the popularity of the sport has led to drag strips becoming fully-fledged motorsport environments that can occupy several square miles and more. How Wide is a Drag Strip? Something went wrong. Assemble your track pieces. Which Countries Have Hosted The Most F1 Races. The answer varies across different states, countries, and provinces. at least concrete for the first 1/8 and asphault after that. This can be in your garage basement or even outdoors in your backyard. The larger your track is going to be, the longer it will take because theres more ground to cover with surfacing material (like asphalt). Next make sure that its something that makes sense financially, because as we all know too well these days money can be tight. The average income for a drag strip owner is $32,000 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And do not forget about the drag strip racing supplies! There are different classes of drag racing and the winner in each category do tend to receive the same trophy at the end of the race. You must log in or register to reply here. The construction of a drag strip can range from $5,000 to $100,000. This way, you will be able to get many more years out of your investment. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". We then test-fit the lower portion of the wheelie bars before getting to work on the X-member. http://www.dragracingonline.com/deadon/iv_7a.html, http://www.oilbutlerinternational.com/low_cost_franchise_business_d.html. The car is light, aerodynamic, powerful and the aftermarket is bursting with performance parts to lower your ETs and raise your MPH in the quarter mile. Specific equipment needs to be well thought out as well otherwise you may end up wasting many resources. Learn the basics about race cars and race car design from our free online knowledge series. These questions all factor into whether or not building an NHRA-approved racing course on the private property makes sense for your situation. This policy isnt just to protect the drivers who utilize your drag strip its to protect you from costly legal or medical fees in the event of an accident. But, generally speaking, it costs between $1 million and $5 million to build a drag strip. These tracks are often run by volunteers who do not charge any money for use of the track or even for joining the club. The dragstrip features a 700' full concrete strip with a 90' concrete burnout area, 200' sand trap and a Accutime timing system. Chevrolet Nova ('70-'73) Similar to every community in car culture, there's a lot of debate swirling around the drag racing enthusiasts as to which muscle car is the best. We're very fortunate to have a dedicated bunch of guys. most versatile and durable construction materials, maintain liability insurance with a minimum of $1 million, 7 Must-Know Tips for Your Electric Car Road Trip, Diagnosing Car Problems: 5 Tips for Beginners, Car Wont Start With a Jump? Many people sell their tracks because they want to retire or they no longer have time to maintain them properly due to other obligations such as work or family commitments. Its not just about safety. b) Get the car of your choice, put bigger brakes on it and put the engine in. Some tracks will have a timing system that allows you to see how fast your run was, but its not necessary for the first time out. Drag strip owners also make money by selling concessions such as hot dogs and soda during the race. Bruton Smith is still thinking about buying the NHRA which could mean a 1/4 mile track at TMS. If you want to build a quarter-mile track, then you should budget at least $250,000 for construction costs alone. Twenty feet of clearance on each side of the runway turns the 1-acre runway into a 3-acre parcel with a respectable grass strip measuring 60 feet by 2,880 feet.