Do any of you ever think about giving up this hobby?

No. I don't think I can give it up any more than I can give up breathing, but maybe give it another ten years and see how I feel.

There are times when I feel pretty beat up from driving. It's not my favorite feeling but it's probably better than just sitting around and letting myself go. It's sort of good to know I'm not the only one suffering in order to go fast, although I'm sorry to hear about serious injuries in this thread. I might not have it so bad.

RyanGreener (Forum Supporter) said:

Tom1200 said:

RyanGreener (Forum Supporter) said:

Makes sense with this hobby. I swore to myself if I ever decided to own a race car, I'd just be forced to have a truck/SUV as a daily and tow pig.

I have said that if I were smart I'd sell the Van plus the Outback and get a smallish SUV for a daily/tow vehicle. 

You know, people hate on it, but if you run an open trailer and relatively light race car, the Honda Ridgeline is a nice "truck" to have. Great useable interior, unibody and can still tow race cars!

That's pretty much the kind of thing I would do.

I could spend a few grand and make the Datsun 150lbs lighter and well as take close to 100lbs of my trailer. That would make towing with the Outback more realistic.

That said the camper van is handy to have at the track.

Yes. I could sell everything off and likely pay off my house. It gets more brain space every year and one day I may do it. Until then, burnouts.

I saw this today while reconsidering my car hobby and wanted to share.

Spent 6-8 years autocrossing in a competitive local region, but that all changed when I discovered HPDE events. Spending 6 hours for 5 minutes of driving was not a good time, especially after having kids and being more needed at home. I switched to HPDE because of the high speeds and seat time. I've always had a "toy" car and a daily driver, but I found that to be impractical when I had financial goals of no car loans, and needing a bigger SUV for my growing family. Time was precious, and I did not want to have a project car. Just something that I could pack up, drive hard for the weekend, and take to work the next day. I ended up with an M2 as my only car. It can do everything! Drive hard at the track, is a decent highway cruiser for work travel, does OK in the snow with the winter tires, and I can involve my kids with the four seats it has. I gave up on having an excellent prepped Cayman with a half cage, Recaros, harnesses, etc (yep, sold it to pay cash for a family SUV lol). Now I have fun in my M2 and it is "track-ready" for a great HPDE weekend with just the swap of some brake pads and wheels. There is no competition, just myself, friends, students (I instruct with PCA), and some good memories camping at various tracks. Money is just a tool; use it to get what you want, and remember to be financially responsible. I promised myself that I would never sacrifice our family's current or future security for a hobby, which gives me peace to spend money on this stuff as long as we meet our financial goals (retirement, 529, future expenses, vacation savings, etc.).