Drag racing vs. autocross

I recently moved from bfe in Arkansas to Tucson, AZ where I’m driving distance from both a drag strip and an auto cross track. I’m thinking about making one of these a hobby. Can y’all give me the pros and cons of each? I’ve drag raced in the past when I lived in Alabama but the autocross has peaked my interest. Which one is more expensive. Can the family watch the autocross like they can drag racing?

Well, do you want to be known for a fast car, or a fast driver? I do road course myself and kind of look down on autox if i'm being honest. I however acknowledge I am a snob about it, and any sort of what we'll call "high performance driving" is an immense amount of fun. Personally drag racing just doesn't tickle my fancy when I'm hitting 120+ for 20 minutes per session for 5 sessions a day.

and while I'd not exactly call it a spectator sport, you can certainly spectate autox.

whether or not the family can watch changes with the club hosting and the venue. most of the time they can. I enjoyed autocrossing a LOT more than drag racing but not as much as road course. Autocross has a class for every kind of vehicle you can imagine. i have seen trucks, vans and cars of all types. Mustangs used to get shorted due to the rules but I heard they had fixed that.

That totally comes down to personal preference. The drag strip has a certain "feel" you just don't get elsewhere. Just something about pushing a machine to its limits... *Tim Allen noises*

Autocross is more of an "approachable" hobby because the cost of entry can be virtually nothing. The course that I used to live near was dominated by junker 3000GTs. Can you break stuff? Sure. Is it going to be as catastrophic as on the drag strip? Probably not.

Auto-X and drag racing IMO is about equal on the fun factor, which is zero compared to a proper road course, if RC is not an option, auto-x is far cheaper to enjoy as the car you need is dirt cheap compared to the level of car that makes drag racing fun.

Have you thought about karting? There's an amazing sprint track in Tucson and we do monthly road racing 1.5 hours north in Chandler. Cost of entry is pretty low and they will be faster and more violent than anything you're going to drag race or autocross. Plus you will be racing wheel to wheel with people rather than alone against the clock. I can get you in touch with people that could give you a taste.

On the plus side it is very family orientated sport..

Both.


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Drag racing, but keep it streetable and you can easily participate at autox too.

Probably AutoX. A lady who works for me has been doing Auto X for the last ten years or so, she has Honda CRX they paid almost nothing for, they use a set of tires once a year (Her and her husband both drive) so tires should last longer. She was upset that she had to replace brakes already, they were $100 for pads and rotors. They previously lasted her 6 years. I think of the course of 10 years they have replaced one motor and one transmission. The sport seems to be very cheap. From what I understand Miata's are great cars for this and can be had extremely cheap.

Been autocrossing/rallycrossing for the past 5 years as a hobby. Being competitive with friends versus the very serious SCCA stuff. I did HPDE's with my 05 Mustang which was a blast but tracking the car took its toll on the chassis and driveline. Fun but stupid expensive for a weekend and if you leave early or have a failure you are out. Drag racing was my first experience and i will always enjoy going to the drag strip but as said above, 10, 11, 12 seconds at a time(or slower or faster) and that is it. Its more about the horsepower and getting it to the ground than the driver(especially with an automatic).

Out of all 3 the road course driving was the most intense thing but it comes at a very high cost. A full weekend of an HPDE would run north of $300 but you do get the most seat time.

Drag racing was $20 and whatever wear and tear on the truck. Usually tires, nitrous and fuel. You can get alot of runs but the required skill is more about the car than the driver. If a driver can get the launch down its usually the car doing the rest of the work.

Auto-x is the best of both worlds, i think. Less wear and tear on the car, cheap(sub$35 per day), a good amount of seat time and less chance of an accident due to failure or overdriving the car. It can still be competitve, you dont need extra insurance and you dont have much fear about hitting another vehicle, barrier or person(although i did see a guy get brushed at an auto-x course).

I do plan on tracking my Fiesta occasionally. The cost is worth it for one to two weekends a year but i can justify spending $300+ each and every weekend. If i could find a cheaper alternative(track cross events come to mind) I might sign up for a few of those. They arent as long or full sessions but you still get the "wide" open track for a lap.

The main thing is to get out there and have fun. Try each one and find which one you like.

I used to drag race a decent amount (once a week during summer) for a few years. I don't know how many passes I have in various different vehicles but I ended up getting a Focus ST and at the free school from Ford, I had decided that I wasn't going to ever drag race again.

I've autocrossed 3 times so far and I would prefer to spend a day doing that vs waiting in the lanes at the drag strip. The time - fun ratio is way higher, although I loathe shagging cones.

Straight line stuff is alright. If that was my only option I would probably keep doing it. You should try both and come to a conclusion from there. SCCA has a pretty good event called "The Starting Line" where they introduce you to autocross and give you a track night at whatever local track is around.

Drag racing is more one-dimensional IMO, but there's no reason you can't enjoy both. IMO drag racing is far more about the car, and autocross is far more about the driver. Autocrossing is really intense, like sweaty palms and heavy breathing after each run. And every event is different, because the course is different every time. Drag racing is more [yawn]. Yeah, you have to account for weather and track conditions, and a good launch is a fine art, but for me, autocross was way more fun. Until I realized standing around all day for 4 or 5 runs was a lot less fun than HPDE, so I took that leap and haven't looked back, 12,000 track miles later.

Watch out, the next evolutionary step is Road Courses.

OK Bozos, stop clowning around.

DaleM said:

Watch out, the next evolutionary step is Road Courses.

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Pretty much. Autocross lost its luster the moment I realized I wasted an entire day for 60 seconds of driving.

There is a road course in Willcox, Az. Don't know anything about it, but I'd check it out. Lemons racing or champ is a ball and split 4 ways, quite cheap. I'll take our 91 escort GT on road America or the autobahn over a 7.21/197 pass at Rt 66, and I've done both. My cobra R is a pretty much dedicated track car and would stomp the Escort, but the cheap and fun factor wins out with the escort. Cheapest race car and most fun at the same time.

598 said:

There is a road course in Willcox, Az. Don't know anything about it, but I'd check it out. .

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Inde Motorsports Ranch. It's a private country-club facility but they rent it out occasionally. ProAutosports out of Phoenix runs there every Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day Weekend. Porsche Club out of Phoenix runs 1-2x per year, and NASA-AZ does too. Lemons will be there in February. There are other clubs that run it too. It's a fantastic track and facility.

Do both, they are both fun and give you more ways to enjoy a car and get more of a driver mod.
Autox is like the gateway drug to HPDE and road courses.

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snakedoctor said:

I recently moved from bfe in Arkansas to Tucson, AZ where I’m driving distance from both a drag strip and an auto cross track. I’m thinking about making one of these a hobby. Can y’all give me the pros and cons of each? I’ve drag raced in the past when I lived in Alabama but the autocross has peaked my interest. Which one is more expensive. Can the family watch the autocross like they can drag racing?

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Ive been to the dragstrip in Tucson. Its a very nice facility. Not the newest, but I had an absolute blast going there not knowing anyone. Drove out there from San Diego (before I moved to AZ) to just run some 1/4 mile. Great people, really cool machines.

Its at 3,000ft elevation and the DA shows. Youll be off at least a few tenths from what you were running back east. BUT, its still a very fun track. Plus there's always a short haul up the 10 to Phoenix and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports complex. NHRA runs their second date there as well as Bonderant running the road course there. I know there are a bunch of 1/2 mile events up here too. @2011 gtcs has done a few 1/2 miler events and could give you more info.

Welcome to AZ man!

lexustech48 said:

Ive been to the dragstrip in Tucson. Its a very nice facility. Not the newest, but I had an absolute blast going there not knowing anyone. Drove out there from San Diego (before I moved to AZ) to just run some 1/4 mile. Great people, really cool machines.

Its at 3,000ft elevation and the DA shows. Youll be off at least a few tenths from what you were running back east. BUT, its still a very fun track. Plus there's always a short haul up the 10 to Phoenix and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports complex. NHRA runs their second date there as well as Bonderant running the road course there. I know there are a bunch of 1/2 mile events up here too. @2011 gtcs has done a few 1/2 miler events and could give you more info.

Welcome to AZ man!

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Bondurant filed for bankrupcy and closed their doors. Word at the track last weekend was they arent reopening

snakedoctor said:

I recently moved from bfe in Arkansas to Tucson, AZ where I’m driving distance from both a drag strip and an auto cross track. I’m thinking about making one of these a hobby. Can y’all give me the pros and cons of each? I’ve drag raced in the past when I lived in Alabama but the autocross has peaked my interest. Which one is more expensive. Can the family watch the autocross like they can drag racing?

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lexustech48 said:

Ive been to the dragstrip in Tucson. Its a very nice facility. Not the newest, but I had an absolute blast going there not knowing anyone. Drove out there from San Diego (before I moved to AZ) to just run some 1/4 mile. Great people, really cool machines.

Its at 3,000ft elevation and the DA shows. Youll be off at least a few tenths from what you were running back east. BUT, its still a very fun track. Plus there's always a short haul up the 10 to Phoenix and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports complex. NHRA runs their second date there as well as Bonderant running the road course there. I know there are a bunch of 1/2 mile events up here too. @2011 gtcs has done a few 1/2 miler events and could give you more info.

Welcome to AZ man!

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There is a 1/2 mile event coming up this weekend. It's a lot of fun if you're car is setup for highway races. Here is a link
http://www.omegamotorsport.com/events