What should I race?

I am not quite at a crossroads but I know that a baby is certainly going to change my racing plans. I have been racing since 2001 on and off but in the recent 2 years I have been karting at a lesser extent, to accommodate renting a crap can seat. I currently have a low desire for karting because of the low kart count, growing expenses and generally more things to do at home. Other challenges have been constant changes with engines, classes, kart track, kart count, and friends leaving making it less desirable and having to hire an expert for setup due to lack of skills and time. I could change classes from 4cycle which less maintenance and reliable to Kt100 which has bigger fields, but more expensive and would require some setup help with an expert and more time. The negative with Kt100 is that it could hurt my budget for crap can racing, which I am able to balance with 4 cycle. I have raced with two different Crap Can teams, I have always been the fastest driver, but each time I am driving a new car out of the box with no testing and would like the potential idea of being a team owner and being able to have some control on the events and more track time. As a team owner, I would be looking team members that are wrenchers 1st, which may like to drive. Obviously, the expense of a car is different from a kart, when it comes to towing, gas, and tires, but engines and general maintenance items for karts are generally more expensive, because they are low production and you cannot just find them in a junkyard. On the other hand, as a crap can team owner, you have some assistance if you rent out a seat or have team members. You are also liable as a team owner, which could be stressful if you find the wrong person. I currently have a kart, which I can run 2 or 4cycle. Crapcan would require an investment; I would plan on buying a race ready Legal car FWD and lightweight to keep the costs down.
So what does the hive think?

Pro’s of karting
• Generally Cheap
• Cheap to transport
• Does not require a bunch of room
Challenges of Karting
• Low field count
• Constant rule changes
• Future unknown
Pro’s of Crap Can
• Variety of awesome tracks fairly close
• Best bang for your buck in car racing
• Awesome community
Challenges of Crap Can
• Car takes up more room
• Expensive (compared to a kart) and depending on a car choice
• Liability (crashing)
• Finding Reliable Team members/Renters

The intensity of Crap Can (LeMons/Chump car) places large demands on time and money.. Baby's afford you neither. At least if you intend to be part of your kids life rather than a spectator of it.
I know nothing about cart racing. However there are things other than those two choices.. Autocross is the absolute minimum time requirement.. You can run what ya brung whenever you have the time. Yes you will wear out parts but they tend to be simple to replace and maybe you can find someone with the mechanical skills willing to do the work in exchange for track time.. There are Solo one events that are also place low demands on your time and wallet again you can do those when the urge strikes. Speed is faster than autocrossing but low risk still. Wheel to wheel can be done at a lower cost than Crap Can. Regional events either SCCA or various other clubs put on low cost low intensity events.. As are some Vintage racing venues. (there though wrenching becomes more important to just keeping the car running)

Big P, You should race me!

Come on keep your kart, work on getting the weight down a bit and lets go have some fun. Rick is going to a 206 next year, along with two more friends that are going to join us. Seriously though, from my experience between cars, karts, and cycles. Prep time on my kart has literally been minutes, where its hours for cars. Then hauling, storage, spare parts, etc... Even cheap aint cheap! As for trying to be the "Team Owner" and renting seats for a chump can, that's a business, and will demand more of your time than you might think. As an owner whose renting, the car better be great. As a driver would you rent a car that wasn't well prepped and reliable, even if not the most competitive? More than once anyway.. Your karts paid for(if not your brake pads ) and ready to race. Easy to haul, super low maintenance, and as cheap as your gonna get to race. Come run down at Adkins with us and we can help wrench and setup your kart. Really once you get the chassis corner weighted and aligned, the only thing to do is change gears. That's all I've done now for three or four years. I should probably change the oil... Ehh maybe next year.

If you really are gonna have a little one on the way, IMHO hang tight with what you have until the dust settles and you wrap your mind around your new life! You may just find, theres no time to worry about trivial things like chasing others in convoluted circles.

Paul

I would try autocrossing your kart and jumping in random endurance or club racing seats when time allows for a year or two until things with the new baby get more settled.

You could also try time attack or something like that.

Having a new baby is just a hard time to develop as a driver.

It's very hard to get to a track day with young kids. Autocross is a lot easier since its a less than one day event. (Mine are 2 and 5 now)

When my son came along I was running all 4 of my local SCCA Dbl Regionals, I simply switched to racing on Saturday and then on Sunday I loaded up the stroller and took my son to the track to hang out. My wife got me time and I got to hang out at the track.

First you do not want to be a car owner; drivers are flakes (I am one I should know) second your racing will still be dependent on other people, stuff happens and people can't always make it. Keeping multiple people motivated is a full time job and takes away from your driving focus.

Find a Kart class that is better subscribed and go with that, it's cheap local and only takes you away from the family one day on the weekend. It's your best compromise.

Tom

I like your karting idea best, when comparing the two options.
When my kids were born I sort of backed out of most high involvement motorsports events.

I limited myself to the occasional Solo & HPDE with local clubs, eventually becoming an instructor mainly for the free track time. Now that my kids are older and all in school full time, I bought a Spec Miata. We will see how next year goes, but I only plan on 4 weekend events a year.
This wasn't really my original plan.
When my first daughter was born, my world and priorities changed (for the better).
Kid #1 is almost 12 now and I still remember holding her as a 1 day old in the hospital. Nothing else mattered to me and I was in no way a kid person until I had my own.
She is excited to get behind the wheel of this bad boy in a few years:

In reply to paulmpetrun: My new to me kart needs to be scaled and I need some seat setup help (my old kart should be sold soon). Bring your friends to Thompson so we can race, it's cheap and they just added a new addition to the track. Plus it's only $15 to practice all day long. If you get bored you can watch the Dragsters. I rather not lose anymore weight, just let me run my World Formula :)

Autocrossing is out for me, I have tried it a couple of times, I am gone the same amount time as karting and I only get two runs for $60.

What autocross do they only give you two runs at? Or is 2 runs the limit of how long your kart will run without breaking?

In reply to drdisque: Misery Bay one half you are driving the other half you are picking up cones. It's a long day, but that is at lake Erie Speedway as karts are not allowed at any of the other locations.

With an oval track bias, We race in the DNQ Kart Series with a Box Stock Predator Class. Compare this with "Enduros", an oval class closest related to the crapcan racing, the cost and maintenance is night and day. Add to the fact that there's multiple drivers on one team, you're better off in Karts. Also, the little one can race your karts in literally a few years, too.