• Registered: 2022-01-05
  • Posts: 3

Topic: Car Damage

How much bumping, banging, and damage comes out if each race? How much would I pay in repairs if I ran my first race relatively conservative?

2 Reply by bobnowoc (edited by bobnowoc 2022-01-05 08:24 PM)

  • From: Raleigh, NC
  • Registered: 2020-01-25
  • Posts: 325

Re: Car Damage

Any contact is prohibited.    Rubbing is not racing.  That being said, i have seen cars totalled on rare occasion.  Usually, you need new brakes pads, rotors and tires.  On our first race, we broke the suspension and transmission, and finished the race on a janky front end and stuck in third gear.

Former Captain
1996 Crown Vic. #55
Team Racing Cosmo
  • From: Tustin, CA
  • Registered: 2010-12-30
  • Posts: 3,242

Re: Car Damage

In 12?, 13? years of this I haven't had any serious damage.  A few dings that were easily pulled back out or left as is.
The most damage occurred either at Chumpcar races or from crap banging into the car in the trailer.

1990 RX7 "Mazdarita"  1964 Sunbeam Imp (IOE 2013 Sears Pointless) 2002 Jaguar x-type (Winner C-Class 2021 Sears Pointless)
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  • Spank
  • Utter Madman
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  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,842

Re: Car Damage

Most of the damage I've ever had on my cars has been a result of at least 1 driver who has outside "experience" on the track (not Lemons) or in other racecars in other series (again, outslde Lemons). Now that could be the driver of the car that tangled with mine, or it could be the driver behind the wheel of one of my cars, but I'd say 9/10 incidents involving body dents or dings involved also involved "That Guy"

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  • Registered: 2011-10-14
  • Posts: 4,149

Re: Car Damage

All our damage with three small exceptions has been from loosing a wheel or loading and unloading off a trailer/dolly.  This is over 9 years of racing, 5 different cars and not sure how many total races.  Even the "racing incidents" have been very minimal damage partially because two of those happened to our plastic cars/vans.  The third bit of contact was from a Class A driver driving a Class C like he was trying to win overall...he was not asked back to drive with us ever again.

  • From: Camarillo, CA
  • Registered: 2021-03-26
  • Posts: 291

Re: Car Damage

That depends on you or your team. I was on another team before I started my own; on the first team all contact/damage was always caused by one driver. On my team, all the contact/damage was also caused by one driver. Rarely is contact unavoidable, usually it's because both parties did nothing to avoid it.

Full Ass Racing
#455 Piñata Miata - 1990 Miata
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  • Max
  • Max
  • Ripened Lemon
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  • From: Parker, CO
  • Registered: 2018-08-05
  • Posts: 141

Re: Car Damage

In my six races neither myself nor anyone on the teams I've driven with have so much as touched a fender to another car. 

Car-to-car contact is largely a driver issue with a dusting of luck. 

If you run a conservative race (ie - your drivers are mindful/careful/etc) then your car will likely emerge unscathed.

  • Registered: 2018-02-04
  • Posts: 247

Re: Car Damage

Generally speaking, very low odds of serious damage.  In about 15 races we've had about 3 "tire rubs" on our car's paint and one minor accident when our brakes failed and we hit another car lightly (our left front fender slightly crumpled, minor dent in other car - for which we profusely apologized). 

However, keep in mind that it is racing and anything can happen.  I "raced" with a team at CMP when the Volvo got t-boned by an out of control Mustang and our team's race was over about 1 1/2 hours into the 24 hour race.  It is possible, just not likely.

  • From: Lyndeborough, NH
  • Registered: 2011-05-22
  • Posts: 841

Re: Car Damage

Been five years since I've run, but some bumper to bumper contact may occur, especially in heavy traffic, ESPECIALLY coming off or on the NASCAR backstretch at NHMS. Nothing that does anything more than maybe scratch the paint. I've never sweated tiny taps with the chrome horn either at or by me, and when I've checked with the other party at the end of the day, they've ALWAYS said "OMG SO MUCH FUN battling with you!!!!11!!!!one!!!" but YMMV.

When it results in a spin, that's another story, go see The Judge and get it over with (although you do run the risk of The Judge saying "you're all set" and getting black flagged on your out lap just to repeat the process).

1) Don't be a dick
2) There's always another lap (until the last one)
3) Don't sweat the small stuff (if nobody went sideways, it's small stuff, IMHO)
4) Everything is still your fault, homeslice
5) Don't be a dick

Where's my beer?

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  • Registered: 2017-02-22
  • Posts: 198

Re: Car Damage

The off of the nascar at NHMS can be interesting if you can carry speed and suddenly some one infront of you can't , and stalls, or checks up hard and early.

I know our team captain has readjusted the front of our BMW there once.

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