Racecar Driver Salary And Career Path
The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesnt provide wage and salary information for Racecar Drivers.
However, the organization does provide salary information on several other careers in the auto racing industry.
Auto racing maintenance workers earn a median wage of approximately $23,780 per year while the median wages for First line supervisors and Managers was approximately $67,960 per year.
A Racecar Drivers earnings will be in the same range.
A Racecar Drivers yearly salary and earnings will also depend on a variety of factors including the type of motor racing they specialize in, the type of prize money they seek, whether they are professional or amateur competitors and the amount of competitions they participate in.
The career outlook for someone who wants to become a Racecar Driver requires a lot of patience and love for the sport because of its competitive nature.
Entry into any professionals sport is difficult because of the extremely tough competition.
A candidate must have the passion and skills in order to pursue a career in this field and remain competitive in it.
The below information is based on the 2021 BLS national averages.
Join A Professional Organization
Join a professional organization such as the Sports Car Club of America. You’ll gain access to a wealth of resources, as well as information as to where to find beginner and advanced racing opportunities. You’ll be able to find events in your area, connect with other drivers who are at your level and you’ll have the opportunity to compete in amateur events.
Even if you don’t end up making your living as a professional race car driver, you can still be a competitive racing enthusiast.
References
Start Competing With Race Cars
Step 1: Join the SCCA. Sign up for your local Sports Car Club of America chapter.
In order to start competing with cars, rather than karts, youll need to join your local chapter of the SCCA. The SCCA has frequent events at tracks all over the country, that range from basic autocrossing to serious amateur competitions.
To join the SCCA, visit their site and fill out a form. You will also need to pay a national membership due of $65 plus regional fees up to $25. Before competing, you will also have to get a physical from a doctor.
- Tip: The SCCA fees are less if you are under the age of 24 or an active member of the United States Military.
Step 2: Get a race car for yourself. If youre just getting started with racing, you can buy a cheap car and outfit it for the race track. Get a professional to perform a pre-purchase inspection of the car, before you finalize the deal.
Older, small sports cars, such as first generation Mazda Miatas, and Porsche 914s are very popular at SCCA events, because theyre affordable and perfect for learning to drive.
- Tip: If you are buying a cheaper vehicle to learn to race in, you will need to make it race-ready by acquiring the necessary safety equipment, such as a roll cage and a five-point seatbelt.
You can also rent a sports car, if youd rather go that route. Your local SCCA chapter will be able to direct you to a good place for renting a top quality sports car.
Step 4: Start racing. Start competing in SCCA sanctioned events.
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Costs Involved In Becoming A Race Car Driver
In general, full-day courses offer from 30 to 50 and cost from $1000 to $2000. A special exclusive Nextel Cup Racing Experience awaits drivers who already have racing experience or have completed at least 75 laps, a genuine one-way challenge with an expert car driver all day long. The cost is between $12.500 to $20.000 for this incredible experience.
What A Professional Racing Driver Is To Me
In my view, the term Pro Racing Driver has very much so changed over the past 20 years. In the past, a professional racing driver was one who was paid for simply driving the racecar. Nowadays a pro driver is either good enough to be picked up by a professional racing team solely because of pure raw talent or pays for their racing by way of sponsorships/partnerships, or he/she is able to secure and does not pay for their racing out of their own pocket.
Although I am 14, and I have lots to learn in my career, these are the philosophies that I am using to climb the long hard ladder of motorsport.
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Best Season Ever Nascar Closes Book On Extraordinary 2022
After a season that saw the successful debut of a new race car, a record-tying number of winners, fresh faces in Victory Lane, two first-timers reaching the Championship 4 and a wall-ride-for-the-ages, its easy to become hyperbolic when discussing the recently completed 2022 season. So, lets do just that with this question did we just witness the most competitive and noteworthy season in NASCAR Cup Series history?
The re-written record books suggest an answer
19 Different Winners: The 2022 season tied the NASCAR Cup Series record of the most different winners in a single season all-time joining 1956, 1958, 1961 and 2001.
All-Time Record for Green Flag Passes For The Lead: There were 1,544 green flag passes for the lead , the most ever. A green flag pass for the lead, by the way, is defined as a lead change all around the racetrack, and not just at the start/finish line.
Nine Races Have Set Records In GFPL: A total of nine different NASCAR Cup Series races have set records in green flag passes for the lead this season, including Circuit of The Americas , Atlanta-1 , Las Vegas-1 , Bristol Dirt Darlington-1 , Kansas-1 , Charlotte , Nashville and Las Vegas-2 .
Overall Green Flag Passing Increased Year-Over-Year: In a year-over-year comparison , the 2022 season has seen an increase in total green flag passes throughout the field of +6.36%.
The firsts were many
First year with the Next Gen car, a machine that ushered in a new era of competition in NASCAR.
NASCAR
How Do I Become A Racecar Driver With No Money
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If you havent guessed it already, going racing isnt cheap. As with many things in life, having money as you set out to become a racing driver is only going to make things easier. If you dont have money, youll need to focus on ways to get that money thatll help you become a racing driver. I spoke to our very own Shields Bergstrom for some advice. Shields has been a factory test driver for brands like Aston Martin, as well as racing GT3 cars, andracing at Le Mans.
Shields told me that if you dont have money, the best thing you can do is market yourself. That means maintaining a presence on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Learn everything you can about marketing, social media, business, and networking. Figure out what makes you unique and different from the 100,000 other racers seeking money and use that as your marketing hook. Bergstrom also says that who you know and meet is imperative. You never know whos going to give you a test, or who youll meet at the track.
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How To Become A Racecar Driver
| Racecar Driver Key Stats | |
|---|---|
| Outlook | 7% |
Racecar Drivers are professionals who use their skills, talents and love of excitement in order to enter racing competitions.
Racecar tracks and competitions may vary in time duration and distance.
A racecar driver will need to practice their routines and skills in order to win races.
Winning a competition will lead to earning the competitions purse money which is the primary source of income for racecar drivers racing full time.
One aspect that helps a Racecar Driver win competitions is the assistance of an experienced Pit Stop Crew.
An efficient Pit Stop Crew will perform quick maintenance and routine care on a racecar during a competition.
The typical pit stop may last a matter of seconds because this type of maintenance affects the total completion time of a race.
A Truly Authentic Formula Racing Experience
When you take advantage of one of our courses, you can be sure that youre getting a formula racing experience thats genuinely authentic using real, cutting edge technology. With carbon fiber chassis, real racing slicks and wings that offer up to 2Gs of cornering force, rest assured our vehicles are the real deal.
Come join us and BE A RACER!
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First Step: The All Important Fmsci Licence
If you are eight years old, you are entitled to get an FMSCI licence for karting. Minors will require signed permission from their parents, as well as the parent’s photo ID proof in order to apply for an FMSCI licence. For a Grade C licence to race cars, however, you need to be 15 years old. Fill out the FMSCI form, attach a copy of your driver’s license and get the medical form attested by a doctor and you’re good to go. If you are below 18 though, you will need an FMSCI member club to attest the fact that you have the required skill set required to operate a car at the racetrack.
A Wide Range Of Learning Options
We have many different ways in which you can learn how to drive a racing car. The programs on offer cover a variety of competency and experience levels, as well as different levels of depth, so you can get a learning experience thats suited to your needs.
Whether youre looking to build a foundation or hone your skills to a professional standard, we have the tuition on every level of formula car racing.
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A Career In Racing Is Just Like Any Other Career
At the end of the day, becoming a racing driver is much like any other career. Shields says its all about time and dedication. I was prepping the cars at home, working several jobs, and scrapping every cent I had to travel across the country to race. Its no easy path, and this guide will hopefully serve as a small starting point to get you racing. Go fast, dont die, and good luck.
Creating A Value Proposition
Many professional racing drivers are not commercial people. There are some exceptions, but this is a skill learnt over years of hawking for sponsorship, of networking with industry bigwigs to get what they want money to race. For this you need to create your brand, your USP, your value proposition.
No one really gives anything away for free. Most business owners have worked very hard to get to where they are and they arent going to support your/your childs ambitions if there isnt anything in it for them. Having their name emblazoned on the side of a car or bike isnt usually enough to get people to part with their cash, especially in todays difficult business climate.
The most common train of thought when looking for sponsorship is to look close to home. But does your local animal feed shop or electrical components manufacturer really care about your dream to race? Probably not. The world has changed. Getting sponsorship as a racing driver used to be about mobbing local companies or anyone who would benefit from advertising to the motorsport audience on track and on TV. Nowadays, you need to find a way to tap into companies who can benefit from an association with you.
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Making It As A Top Racing Driver With A Big Wallet
Fortunately for those of us without racing driver genes in our families, there are plenty of examples of other people who have made it to the top levels in the motor racing world. However, one of the main factors is money.
Everyone knows that motor racing is an expensive sport. Not only are the cars themselves packed with technology, but theres also the need for mechanics and specialist technicians to support and manage aspiring racing drivers. That all requires commitment and deep pockets.
Take Lance Stroll, for example, whose father just happens to be a multi-millionaire. Lance took up karting at the age of ten and two years later in 2010 was spotted by the Ferrari Driver Academy. He then progressed through the ranks of the junior formulas, all of which represents a fairly typical path to becoming a racing driver.
His big break in Formula One came in 2017 when he joined the Williams team supposedly after his father paid them $80 million! Currently he is a driver for the Aston Martin racing team, which just happens to be owned by a consortium of business people including his father, Lawrence Stroll.
How To Become A Race Car Driver
wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 22 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.There are 21 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 160,039 times.Learn more…
If fast cars set your heart racing, you may have dreamed about racing cars yourself. Though many people start young, you can still get into racing even if you’re a bit older. Nonetheless, you need to be in good physical condition and learn how to drive before you enter a race yourself.
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So You Wanna Be A Racecar Driver
Most of the questions we get from parents are to ask for help and advice in furthering their childs aspirations of becoming a racing driver. Only a small smattering of people ever reach the top echelons of motorsport, especially drivers. Its possibly an even more competitive career path than that of a professional footballer.
Lets face it. Wed all love to be paid millions, travelling first class around the world, hoards of adoring fans all for doing what most of us love driving! Whether you have your sights set on F1 or youre more of an off-road addict, the one thing you can be sure of is that youre in for some stiff competition. But thats what its all about, right?
Making It As A Top Racing Driver From The Bottom Up
If you are not the offspring of a multi-millionaire either, do not despair, as some drivers still make the big time on the back of natural driving talent.
Probably the most famous case of this was the Formula One legend James Hunt, whose party lifestyle was the antithesis of what you would expect from a racing driver serious about making it to the top level of their sport.
However, credit for his 1976 world championship win must also be due in some part to the sponsorship and support that he had enjoyed as he worked his way through the motor racing formulas, with the support of his wealthy patron Lord Alexander Hesketh.
Oh money again we seem to be back to this as the major factor for success in Formula One.
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Starting With The Basics
Experience Driving On A Race Track
Many aspiring race car drivers join racing without even experiencing a race track. Some of them only have experience with street racing. But a race track will always be different. Yes, street racing might involve straight roads and a few curves. But a race track is a different story. The goal is to finish the number of laps needed and cross the finish line first. The length of each race will make anybody test their endurance.
You can try go-kart racing first. It might seem like a miniature version of the real thing, but it should feel the same as an actual race track. The same turns and corners you see on a go-kart track can mimic those of real race tracks.
There are also available amateur racing circuits. Enthusiasts and hobbyists join these circuits to know what driving on an actual race track feels like. Some race team managers often scout potential race car drivers in these events, and some professional drivers often offer their talents to people who want to become like them.
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