Getting Into Legends Racing

[GCTaylor]

Hello everyone,

There was a time about 2 years ago that I started to become interested in the possibility of getting into Legends racing. Being in the part of North Carolina that I lived, the nearest track that had them was an hour or so away, with the next closest being over two hours. Since this past December, I have been living in the Central Florida area, and seeing that there are 4 tracks that have Legends races within 2 hours or so of my home, and seeing the number of cars that regularly appear at Auburndale Speedway (the second closest to my home at about 45 min to an hour away), I am really getting an itching for racing.

Obviously, to join would require me to have a car. While I have seen that there are several topics for the differences between buying new vs. used, what I would like to try and find out more about is funding options. From what I have gathered, buying used would require you to have the cash on hand, but is that also true of buy new, or do many of the Legend dealers have financing options? Has anyone ever gotten financing for a used car? Another thought I had was the possibility of seeking sponsors ahead of time, and using the money to buy the car, but I kind of feel like that idea might be best dismissed since most people would probably hesitate to fork out money for a car that is not already purchased.

If anyone could offer suggestions or experiences on how they initially got started, I would greatly appreciate it!

-Gary

[knoxracing]

I am a Legend Car Dealer and I have seen folks finance cars and it NEVER end in a good way. I will be honest being in this for 12 years, if you can not buy a car and have cash in hand for expenses do not get involved. This may sound harsh, but it is the reality/

[justfreaky]

Gary,

One word; SPONSORSHIP.

There are several threads about sponsors and how to get one. Do a quick search. If you are having trouble finding them let me know and I will post them for you.

I am not aware of any financing through the dealers. Perhaps some of them could chime in and let us know if they offer any options (payment plans, rent to own, etc...). Not sure of your age, credit, etc... Perhaps a signature loan from your bank, or some such other collateral type loan. Might not want to mention to your bank that it's for a race car. lol! Perhaps tell them it is for an off road vehicle. <chuckle!!!!> Perhaps someone may be interested in trading a car for something you have (Motorcycle, car, services, etc...). Dennis is right though... This sport of racing is expensive! Cash or trade up front is your best bet.

Trying to find sponsors without having something to show them is hard. Not that it can't be done, but it is hard to find someone to lay out a bunch of cash when they have nothing to look at. Most sponsors want to see some investment on your part. It's not too hard to find sponsors for oil, tires, gas and the likes. Besides the car itself, there is the expense of equipment to haul it with (truck & trailer). Don't really have to have anything fancy, but dependable is always a plus. Expense of racing gear (suit, helmet, gloves, etc...). You don't need the most expensive stuff available, but I would not cheap out on safety.

I got started by helping friends and neighbors with their race cars. Lots of free labor!!!  lol! Got my chance to drive in a mechanics race. That got me hooked! Traded my ski/ fishing boat for a race car. Did everything myself (pit crew, mechanic, driver, transportation). Racing scared hell out of my wife. Eventually traded my first race car for a ski boat to keep my wife happy. Should have kept the race car.  

Steve

[Lochner Racing]

Im right there with you trying to get in. i would recommend used and just have the cash on hand. I am working 80 hours a week a two 8 buck an hour jobs to pay for my racing. it sucks but I am hoping to meet the right people to find the "s" word steve mentioned, SPONSORSHIP!! they want to see what they are sponsoring, work hard and get the disposable cash needed to buy a car without financing. save yourself from all of that trouble!! also, be patient! Ive wanted to race legend cars for 15 years now, Im only 20, but ive always had either time and no money or money and no time. I am dealing with the second of the two right now but a quote my boss always says, Do what you have to do when you have to do it, so you can do what you want to do when you want to do it. it is no fun right now but Ill be racing a legend car soon some way or another I also learned that the tools are extremely important to your racing operation too, learned this the hard way racing karts for the past year.

set a goal for yourself, mine is that I want to be racing a uslc by january 2013

set a budget, I am working to get 15,000 bucks in cash to buy a used car, 24' trailer, safety equipment, and tools

stay motivated, dont get burned out if you dont find the perfect package this week or this month or even this year!! remind yourself that you have a date you want to be racing by and keep working hard until then so you can afford that great pakage deal you had been scouting out the past few weeks

finally, post ALL of your questions on here, im new but have already gotten enough info to know at least what i am talking about when I go to the pits to meet the people I will be racing against.

best of luck to you and getting your racing career started!!

[GCTaylor]

knoxracing, I had a feeling that getting a race car financed usually isn't the best of ideas. I was just wanting to see what options I may have for getting started, even if I may not be likely to do it.

Lochner, I appreciate the support! I completely understand what it is like to do two jobs.

Steve, sponsorships has been a plan of mine since I first thought about getting involved. I had a chance to read over some of the forum threads about the subject, and found the information to be really useful. I had already begun typing letters up for potential sponsors, and after seeing what was discussed, I figured that when the time comes I could always give it to them personally while talking to them about the car. I have also begun to compile a list of people and businesses that I would talk to about potential sponsorships.

I do have some questions about how you handle sponsorships though as well as the financial aspect of the car. Since it was mentioned that having the race car is kind of like a business, do you have to treat it as such in the sense that you obtain a business licence, file paperwork for taxes for the sponsor money and winnings, set up an accounting program to track your income and expenses, and so on. Or is all of that not really necessary? Do you believe that it would be necessary to set up a seperate checking acount for the car, and open it under the racing name (for example: Joe Smith Racing) so that if a sponsor wanted to write a check, they could make it out for the car, or would it be better to just have them make it out to you?

I appreciate the input so far guys, and certainly hope that if anyone else has any information to offer that they will!

-Gary

[The Tank]

I do have some questions about how you handle sponsorships though as well as the financial aspect of the car. Since it was mentioned that having the race car is kind of like a business, do you have to treat it as such in the sense that you obtain a business licence, file paperwork for taxes for the sponsor money and winnings, set up an accounting program to track your income and expenses, and so on. Or is all of that not really necessary? Do you believe that it would be necessary to set up a seperate checking acount for the car, and open it under the racing name (for example: Joe Smith Racing) so that if a sponsor wanted to write a check, they could make it out for the car, or would it be better to just have them make it out to you?

I appreciate the input so far guys, and certainly hope that if anyone else has any information to offer that they will!

-Gary

I can answer that one, yes it's very important to keep up with paperwork. Some get a business license but depending on the level of racing I don't really think the license is necessary. A separate checking account would be handy.

[justfreaky]

As this whole racing thing is more of an expensive hobby for most of us, I don't think a business license and such would be necessary. Perhaps if you were selling parts and whatnot on a regular basis...
I do like to keep track of how much I am spending, so I do keep receipts and a little journal on my expenses. It helps me to try to stay within my budget. I don't think it's necessary to have an accounting program, unless you plan to use your racing as a business expense. I do have a seperate savings account for my racing stuff so that I am not breaking into my household money. lol!

I like to see this subject of getting started brought up every so often. It does make one think about how they got started and how we cope with the expenses of our racing addiction.Your best bet is going to be to set goals, work hard and save until you can buy your car.

Keep The Faith!

Steve

[VMS Motorsports]

As far as the business aspect, you are not going to make money, so most accountants will not file a seperate business return for the race car, as it would be a money losing business

[GCTaylor]

I don't think it was so much of a "making money" kind of thing, just want to keep out of "legal" trouble if you will, as I would almost guess that you would need to report spomsorships as income on taxes? Or is that not the case? Do most of you just have the account under your own name and have the sponsor check made out to yourself?

-Gary

[Schmitt20]

I have a LLC and separate checking account that all my racing money goes into. One of my sponsors thought it would be wise to make an LLC so all my personal things were protected incase something happened.

[justfreaky]

The bulk of us are small time racers. Sponsors are usually race fans and know that they aren't going to reap huge gains from their sponsorship. Getting their name announced on the PA system every time you race, their name on the car, perhaps a showing at their business and an 8x10 are usually good enough. No need to complicate things unless you are planning to go all out. I sponsored my race car for many years through my printing business. Wrote most of it off as advertising. Was fortunate that I could do that.

Steve