In the past I've driven my (street legal) racecars to many, many events. Some were in different parts of the country. For a few years I towed a small trailer behind the racecar. But as I progressed in wheel-to-wheel racing, the day came when the cars were no longer street legal and I currently tow with a crewcab dually and 24' enclosed trailer.

Most of the advantages have already been discussed at length here. I'd add that being able to unload a fresh racecar, precisely setup and with plenty of tools/spares is a definite advantage. It's such an advantage in terms of speed that most experienced racers recognize it and eventually take the plunge.

What I've noticed in manny paddocks is having a truck and tow vehicle is no longer the standard. Many racers are now towing with huge motorhomes, so they have the comforts of home right at the track! Not only that, but the double stack trailers and such are easy to haul behind these rolling mansions! So it's an ever-escalating battle and the old adage of "How fast do you want to go and how much do you have to spent?", continues to apply...

David Muramoto
Editor-in-chief
Nissan Sport Magazine

 

I drive mine to the track, i have my wife come down in our truck with
tools and supplies as a back up in case something happens, i have
been debating on having her bring my street wheels in the event
i get a flat or other bad luck

i can sympathize with the term mentioned earlier about being able
to go to the track and deal with the fact the car can get wadded up
and not be your fault, i used to do motorcycle track days prior to having
the Z and had a guy wreck into me from behind(totally his fault-he did not
brake early enough and could not make the next turn and plowed into me
as i was leaned over beginning my turn)we both wrecked-he died and i
lived and my bike had $6k in damage

 

lol I'm the same with my pickup truck. Heck, in Texas, you couldn't live without one. Mine is a daily driver that doubles as a tow vehicle on weekends -- towing a car hauler with the Z to autocross events, HPDEs, or towing the pontoon boat and/or two jet skis to the lake. It is a GMC Sierra extra cab that is a workhorse. I bought it new in '96 and it now has over 220,000 miles and still running strong. It has outlasted every car that I've ever owned.

 

I drive to the autocross/PDX/HPDE and back, however my girlfriend tows a small trailer with my wheels/tires/tools. I however have only been doing this a couple years and can quickly see that a truck/trailer will be in my future in the next 2 years.

 

I don't tow the boat. I have the boat in a hi-and dry marina. If I need maintenance I put the boat on the trailer and pay a marine hauling company to take it where it needs to go. The boat is 10' wide and it needs an overwide permit plus it's 11,000 pounds so you need quite an expensive truck to tow it around.

Like I said I never intended to spend that money on this car but this is my third motor now, and my 4th ATS carbon clutch. I have $8K in clutches alone. The list goes on.

 

mother of god...

 

Yeah... lets not discuss it. It hurts my head.

 

Sorry, but I just snickered.

 

Yep, I drive my daily driver to the track and back. Did 10 events in the last 12 months. Longest drive to the track has been about 2.5 hours. Would I like to trailer it? Yes, but I don't see that in the near future.

 

Man, what are you doing to your engine? Just imagine the GTR you could be driving right now with what you've spent of the Z . . . J/K

 

This is why they tell you to never add up your expenditures...

1. You don't want to know what you spent. You really don't!
2. When your wife asks how much you spent you can honestly tell her you have no idea!

I just bought 2 S-P-A gauges this past week. They cost me $660!

 

might as well go ahead and cage/prep it for SCCA T2

 

That would be even more expensive because he would have to remove 90% of the mods he's done to the car...

 

I'd add that it's easy to put the performance parts on, but HARD to take them off! Particularly when the Solstice GXPs go blowing on by...

 

i tow the car if it's more than a couple of hours away. i just get a good ol' $50 u-haul trailer and rent it for a day or two. plus, if i bring the wife and kids, we could make a road trip out of it rather than having them drive another vehicle with me.

 

I used to drive to every event. I really like having the truck/trailer now though, sure I have more "crap" that I bring but it's nice having a grill, cooler, chairs, extra fuel, extra wheels/tires, extra brake pads and rotors, tons of spare fluids plus room for "company" - having a co-driver or friend ride with you to the track cuts the stress down a lot. Also knowing that I can get the car home no matter what and "deal with it later" is great for the stress level too - losing a motor at Calabogie sucked, but a few friends to push it on later I was all good to get it home and fix it - the tow bill for 400+ miles (plus from Canada to the USA they usually make you drop it at the border and re-hire a tow) would have been nearly 1/5 the cost of my trailer (or more). I hate driving an F150 as a daily but it's great having it for track events (nevermind saving wear on the track-only car).

Still, there's something sort of fun and grass-roots and SIMPLE about drive-it-there - I do miss it a LITTLE in the back of my mind, but I don't miss all that went WITH it

 

In nearly six years of owning the Z, I've driven to 88 track days at 10 facilities (15 different tracks/configurations). So far, I've only been unable to drive home twice, and fortunately, both times it was from my home track, only 75 miles away. ($200 tows!)

In the early years I drove out and back on the track tires, sometimes as much as 400 miles each way. (You haven't lived until you've driven in the snow on nearly bald RA-1s! Right, John?)

For a while, I used to drive to more distant tracks on two street tires, and put two of the track tires on the passenger seat. This kept at least some wear off the track tires. More recently I've figured out a way to squeeze all four track wheels and tires into the car, along with the rest of my tools and baggage. (One in the rear wheel well, two on the passenger seat, and one between the seats. It's a little cramped and hard to shift, also hard to see out the right side. But I manage.)

A tow vehicle and trailer aren't in the cards for me. I live in a condo and couldn't store the trailer in the parking lot. I already have an old Accord as my beater, and no other use for a pickup, especially with current gas prices.
I'd like to have a tire trailer at least, but so far haven't gotten around to making it work.

Recognizing that my car is nearly six years old, and that my luck may not last forever, I just joined AAA, which I hope may save me money on a long tow home, if I ever need it.

 

I always drive to and from the track but yeah, the day when something catastrophic happens I'll be wishing I had a trailer, .

 

+1

 

I just brought home the new tow vehicle.