Estimate on cost for the adventure?
Not too much.
- $450 entry fee;
- $100 paddock fee (required if you reserve a spot; I shared a third of three spots);
- ~$450 in travel fuel costs (I used an open trailer behind the Excursion, got 15 mpg);
- ~$350 accommodations (I shared a travel trailer at the track, delivered and picked up from a local RV place);
- $1M in beer and brats. Mostly beer*;
- A week of vacation time;
- Oh, and an engine. Which may cost me a lot more than I think...**
Honda paid $500 to start the race (and fed us lunch each day), and $100 for the paddock fee. So other than the entry fee and accommodations, I came out okay...
Good times.
GA
* Food costs wasn't bad, we did some grocery shopping and made sandwiches and had snacks around. As noted, Honda had lunch for its entrants each day and there were usually parties available each night (the welcome party was a nice combo of sausages/brats/dogs and a choice of Spaten Octoberfest or Busch Light...believe it or not, the Busch kegs kicked first...) So the only food we had to spend serious money on was breakfast (did you see my photo on Facebook of the "Brat Egger"?) and any extracurricular dinners we chose to do.
** Giving thought to installing a K20A2 in the front of the 'Teg for STL/STU. Seems like a better long-term strategy than building up another B18C1...