I would second this opinion. Micro cars would be a great way to get started. There are many, many people racing micros that are larger than you are. It is really funny to see people climb out of a micro. As others have stated that a ton of people have moved up from micros to sprint cars. It is definitely the "hot" proving ground for young people to move up the ranks of dirt track racing.

As others have stated, I would not buy a car until you have volunteered to help a team for a year. This will let you learn the sport and will let you learn the cost/time commitments while someone else is paying the bills. The other thing that volunteering will do is give you friends in the pits. It will give you someone that you can pit next to and someone that will help you when you first start out. This is what I did many years ago and it was invaluable.

Finally, you need to spend some time around a micro track to understand which class you want to start out with? Do you want to run a wing or not? Do you want to start in the most popular class "A" class, or do you want to look into an entry class like "restricted".

Regardless of what you do, good luck.

How about Karting, lots of the drivers still use Karting to keep fresh, lots of places to race and if you're looking, probably get a good deal on a package and probably get it in your pickup