A different response as mentioned by Jim
I run Asphalt in the FASTMidwest series (
www.fastmidwest.com) and this is my first year racing anything.........
1.) I travel to several tracks in my region so I average $125 a week (that includes gas money to get to the track, pit passes for me and my wife and car gas money)
2.) I usually have to change my rear end gear every week due to different tracks which takes about 1 hour itself. If I was at the same track every week all you would need to do is maybe change the oil and nut and bolt everything.
3.) I have run them a couiple of times and know others who have ran them more. You should be able to get 15 race nights or so on the left sides and 4-5 race nights on the right sides
4.) You will get a variety of answers on this one. When I started (this past March) most people told me that you should rebuild your engine every year or two (in my series most guys run 20-30 races a year). However I am currently borrowing an engine from a guy that has over 300 races on it (having never been rebuilt) and I got 3rd place my first race out with it (I don't think these results are typical though). I would say you could comfortably run 50-100 races on a motor if you are still learning. Maybe 30-40 if you are real competative. Keep in mind even with my old worn out motor I can break the tires loose coming out of the corners if I am not driving the car right. So, setup and driving skill are far more important than motor power.
Let me know if you have anymore questions, I have learned way to much (learned some things I would have rather not needed to learn) during this, my first year of racing.
Gerad