How to Get Started Racing on the Dirt Track
There are many people, both young and old, who would love to have a chance to drive on the dirt track. Some families allow their kids to drive in fields and on private property when they are old enough to reach the gas pedal. Perhaps they live on a farm or in a rural area where it's not an issue. Those are the kids that usually decide that they want to give racing a try. After all, they must have some risk taking in their blood to even try to drive a car or truck before they can barely see over the steering wheel.
With that being said, if you want to give dirt track auto racing a try, you do need to know a few basics. If you have an old car, you just need to go online and see what the requirements are for modifying the engines for the type of car you have. You may be able to just drive any old 4 cylinder car onto the dirt track, but each track has specific rules. To find the dirt track nearest to you just simply go to Google or Bing and do a search for "auto dirt tracks" and then put in your city and state. That will bring up a list of the tracks.
You would then go to their website and see what they require to register. Most of them provide phone numbers but those numbers may only answer on racing nights. It's worth checking though just in case you want to race at some point down the line. You will already be prepared for what you need to do.
Dirt track auto racing can be expensive so take that into consideration when you are thinking about racing. There are racing fees, entry fees, pit fees, car repair fees, gas, tires, oil, trailers to haul your car, as well as the worst kind of expense when your modified car is totaled and you need to rebuild or your engine decides to blow up on you. As long as you know what you need up front, you can work toward achieving your goal of driving on the dirt track.
There are dirt track racers whose trailers cost more then many of the driver's cars combined on the track. You will see that when you start to race and if you want to play with the "big boys" so to speak, you are going to need to have enough money to make your car run just as well as they can, even when you don't have all the funds you need. You can get family and friends to help, and if you think you can be really good enough, you can even try to get someone to sponsor you right up front.
Most dirt track racers start out in the 4 cylinder class to get a feel for dirt track racing. If they do well, it is unlikely, but they may go all the way and jump up to the super late models. It would seem that would be a stretch and it would be recommended to drive in the other classes before going all out, but it can be done. Unlimited money will make it happen if you are a good driver in any class. That way, if you wreck your modified, you just build another one.
If you don't have all the money in the world to spend, you will want to work your way up, getting a feel for the different classes. Maybe super late models don't even appeal to you but driving in the Charger division does. Maybe you would prefer E-Mods or late models. You will know what you want once you have driven on the dirt track for a season or two.
There is so much more to know about dirt track auto racing, so please check out our site and watch Jeremy Zufall, #20 as we track his progress during the summer season at Roaring Knob and Dog Hollow and other tracks in the surrounding tri-state Pennsylvania area.
With that being said, if you want to give dirt track auto racing a try, you do need to know a few basics. If you have an old car, you just need to go online and see what the requirements are for modifying the engines for the type of car you have. You may be able to just drive any old 4 cylinder car onto the dirt track, but each track has specific rules. To find the dirt track nearest to you just simply go to Google or Bing and do a search for "auto dirt tracks" and then put in your city and state. That will bring up a list of the tracks.
You would then go to their website and see what they require to register. Most of them provide phone numbers but those numbers may only answer on racing nights. It's worth checking though just in case you want to race at some point down the line. You will already be prepared for what you need to do.
Dirt track auto racing can be expensive so take that into consideration when you are thinking about racing. There are racing fees, entry fees, pit fees, car repair fees, gas, tires, oil, trailers to haul your car, as well as the worst kind of expense when your modified car is totaled and you need to rebuild or your engine decides to blow up on you. As long as you know what you need up front, you can work toward achieving your goal of driving on the dirt track.
There are dirt track racers whose trailers cost more then many of the driver's cars combined on the track. You will see that when you start to race and if you want to play with the "big boys" so to speak, you are going to need to have enough money to make your car run just as well as they can, even when you don't have all the funds you need. You can get family and friends to help, and if you think you can be really good enough, you can even try to get someone to sponsor you right up front.
Most dirt track racers start out in the 4 cylinder class to get a feel for dirt track racing. If they do well, it is unlikely, but they may go all the way and jump up to the super late models. It would seem that would be a stretch and it would be recommended to drive in the other classes before going all out, but it can be done. Unlimited money will make it happen if you are a good driver in any class. That way, if you wreck your modified, you just build another one.
If you don't have all the money in the world to spend, you will want to work your way up, getting a feel for the different classes. Maybe super late models don't even appeal to you but driving in the Charger division does. Maybe you would prefer E-Mods or late models. You will know what you want once you have driven on the dirt track for a season or two.
There is so much more to know about dirt track auto racing, so please check out our site and watch Jeremy Zufall, #20 as we track his progress during the summer season at Roaring Knob and Dog Hollow and other tracks in the surrounding tri-state Pennsylvania area.
