$500 car?

In the rules is section 4.8 residual value.  Basically send a note to Nick and they tell you what the car is worth.

Residual value is kinda hard to figure. For example, our Miata would carry a higher residual value than our MX6 would, for good reason. The Miata seems to stay reliable and ready to race, and given a $500 per race budget, it would get pretty damned fast, and defiantly cheaty. We stick to the budget honestly, and for the next race we are changing the oil and brake pads. We are also painting a new theme, all of that mess with still be under $100.

The MX6 was blown up royally after the last race. We spent $175 buying it to begin with, and luckily most of the parts are available dirty cheap from the hundreds of 626's in the boneyards. We put it up for grabs last year, and got no offers, we even tried to give it away, but had no takers. I bought an engine complete used for $150, and a t3 turbo for $50. (the car is a gt and was turbo'd factory and a junk pos at that) so we can run it again. We are keeping in mind how cheap the car was to begin with, and doing the new engine VERY cheaply to stay under budget.

I guess for us it boils down to the honor system, since we are spending very little and will still have a cheaply put together POS, it works out.

Huh?  Residual value isn't hard to figure at all.  After a race, you email Jay and tell him what you have, and what failed miserably during the race.  Based on what he remembers of your car, how you finished, and whatever else he wants to pull out of his ass, he gives you a residual value.  Like stated above, you have the difference between that value and the $500 limit to work with.  If he gives you a $480 value, you have a whopping $20 to work with.

There is no $500 per race budget.