Dollars and Cents - What Will it Cost You to Compete in Drag-and-Drive?
Written by Adam Dorey.
You’ve just got into your favorite drag and drive for 2024. You paid the entry fee with excitement, without so much thought as: “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!”
But once the wave of emotion has passed, you need to figure out how much to save between now and then so you can make it through the week without your better half leaving you, or needing to live in your hot rod surviving on ramen noodles for the other 51 weeks of the year.
Obviously these numbers can slide in either direction, but on average, how much can you expect to spend for the week living in your car and making memories with your co-pilot and friends?
From my past experiences, my costs were about the same for a 13-second car as an 11-second car, but this may (will) change at least slightly for your car.
I’m BrOKe! One of our best-selling shirts is the drag-and-drive motto. Buy it now!
Entry Fee
This is an obvious one. Most events are now around $500 to get started. It sounds like a lot up front, but remember you are generally getting six days of racing (including the test day) on safe race tracks.
Hotels
These can vary greatly, but I typically plan for $150/night. If you have a long ride to the host track, you’ll need to add a night on either side (or more) to get to/from the event as well, but for a five day event, I plan for $750. You can run this figure from cheap as you want (tent) to as expensive as you want (Ritz Carlton). Camping with your buddies at the track each night sure is fun, but a warm bed and shower can refresh you in ways you never thought possible by day four.
Your accommodation may vary. Photo by Matt Reekie.
Fuel
If you have something that gets 6 MPG and runs on C16 for every road mile, you’re going to go broke. I have a car that gets in the high teens for MPG and runs on premium pump has, which does get pricey in smaller towns. I budget for 1200 miles (about the distance from Florida to New York City) for any event. 1200 miles /15 MPG = 80 gallons of premium fuel x $4.50 for premium = $360. You’ll also need to factor in your fuel for getting to the event itself — which depends on your location.
Food
I try and book hotels that serve breakfast so we can avoid paying extra, but you’ll need to figure out lunch and dinner along the route. Personally, we try and eat at least one meal at a local spot per day, but that will cost you a little extra. $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner each night is typically safe, but like I mentioned, you can do it more expensive, or quite a bit cheaper than this. That tallies out to $225 to keep you alive.
Miscellaneous
Buc-ee’s stops cost me money, cool checkpoints cost me money, merchandise from other racers and additional event merchandise cost me money. I typically buy at least three new shirts/hats, and I’ll throw in some “when in Rome” costs, like when I’m in eating boiled peanuts in the south (thanks Luke Nieuwhof for hooking me on those little beauties). I budget about $200 for what I call “lickies and chewies” and merch.
Life-changing experiences with friends and family - is there a price you can put on that? Photo by Matt Reekie.
Total
$500 Entry Fee + $1050 Hotel + $360 Fuel + $225 Food + $200 Random Crap = $2335 for a week. Your results may vary and in this virtual drag-and-drive, we didn’t break anything on the car either.
A budget is a flexible thing. Packing and preparing your own food could save you a lot of money without sacrificing the experience (in fact, it might make the experience better). If you can avoid other incidentals like merch then $1500-$2000 could be a safe budget. There are also shorter three-day events too, which can ease the pain on your wallet.
The most important thing is to start saving now. It will be worth every penny of whatever it cost you for the week, because bombing down the highway in your hot rod with your co-pilot/best friend door-to-door with about 300 of your new friends is priceless!
