I think you guys actually have it tougher now than we did way back. The cars that were affordable to us were simple, lightweight, and not particularly fast. That's a perfect recipe for a starting track car. 15 years later, those cars, with few exceptions, are all shit-buckets (I would really really really caution you from starting out with something 20+ years old). Your affordable set of cars are not particularly simple, heavy, and not necessarily slow. It's a completely different recipe that kind of blows for this kind of thing.
If I were to do it now, I'd look at something old and simple (think: 90s) that has been tracked and has meticulous records. Something you can drive on the street too.
The "walk away from it" bit is real. At the very least stash aside a grand or so just in case shit hits the... wall... so you can afford a shitbox that will get you home 50% of the time.
How I did it? Spent A LONG TIME looking for the perfect car. Until then, I worked my ass off at events, and by the time I "graduated" HPDE I still had leftover credits. Then I became an instructor; never paid for a track weekend in my life.
If I were to do it now, I'd look at something old and simple (think: 90s) that has been tracked and has meticulous records. Something you can drive on the street too.
The "walk away from it" bit is real. At the very least stash aside a grand or so just in case shit hits the... wall... so you can afford a shitbox that will get you home 50% of the time.
How I did it? Spent A LONG TIME looking for the perfect car. Until then, I worked my ass off at events, and by the time I "graduated" HPDE I still had leftover credits. Then I became an instructor; never paid for a track weekend in my life.
I Am Mike
4 wheels: '01 RAV4 (Formerly '93 Civic CX, '01 S2000, '10 GTI, '09 A4 Avant)
2 wheels: '12 Surly Cross-Check Custom | '14 Trek Madone 2.1 105 | '17 Norco Threshold SL Force 1 | '17 Norco Revolver 9.2 FS | '18 BMC Roadmachine 02 Two | '19 Norco Search XR Steel (Formerly '97 Honda VFR750F, '05 Giant TCR 2, '15 WeThePeople Atlas 24, '10 Scott Scale 29er XT, '11 Cervelo R3 Rival, '12 Ridley X-Fire Red)
No longer onyachin.
4 wheels: '01 RAV4 (Formerly '93 Civic CX, '01 S2000, '10 GTI, '09 A4 Avant)
2 wheels: '12 Surly Cross-Check Custom | '14 Trek Madone 2.1 105 | '17 Norco Threshold SL Force 1 | '17 Norco Revolver 9.2 FS | '18 BMC Roadmachine 02 Two | '19 Norco Search XR Steel (Formerly '97 Honda VFR750F, '05 Giant TCR 2, '15 WeThePeople Atlas 24, '10 Scott Scale 29er XT, '11 Cervelo R3 Rival, '12 Ridley X-Fire Red)
No longer onyachin.