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

Greetings:

If you are flying solo at the track, 600 Micros could be the way to go. They are push button start and you can trailer them on something as simple as a single axle utility trailer. No need for a 4 wheeler to push it to the grid and at about 600 pounds, you can load them in an out by yourself. It is very close to a full-on midget in terms of lap times at bullrings and they have various classes you can run on any given night. I suggest you contact Rodney Stealy at Concept Chassis in Wyatt, Indiana (15 miles south of South Bend). He will have everything you need to get started and now that it's the end of the season he probably has buy-backs that are just about race-ready. Their team trailer will be at the track each week with whatever you need. Racing is not an investment. With that understanding, go for it.

wheres your closest track??...race what they got there...youll save time,fuel ,and have a better chance of getting someone to help ya..

I am in Noblesville. I have been going to Kokomo or Circle City Raceway every weekend. I have met some good people and started to make some connections. Now I just need to sell my 2nd "fun" car so I can buy a race car! Hoping that I will be rolling come this next spring!

Restrictor class is an age limited class (A Class with restricted orifices on the intake to reduce horsepower.

As far as “picking” a class, the reason all these kids are coming out of micros are so good is they enter all classes in a night, A-class, wingless, and multi (outlaw). They get in three times the laps in a weekend with the same equipment.

Start out slow and work your way up based on your budget (and stamina!)

I think that it may be track dependent. I know that there are adults running in the restricted class at my local track. There is a minimum age requirement, but not a maximum.

So once I get a car...(which I'm getting closer to getting!), how can I get practice time in? Are there any local-ish tracks to the Indy area that have open time slots just for practice? I would love to get some wheel time in before I just go hit the racetrack for an actual race! It would be nice to get some input and veteran advice from other people with more experience.

Practice time on dirt is tough to come by. Sometimes early in the year a track may have a "test and tune" day. You can do a private track rental but it's usually very expensive. Before you buy a car, I'd head out to California and do the Corey Kruseman school at Ventura. You can get laps in a well prepared racecar on a prepped track and get great instruction. You can even rent a racecar and run a weekly show at Ventura. he's got 600's, Focus Midgets, Midgets and Sprint Cars to choose from. You can develop a driver, and you can sort out a racecar, but it's pretty much impossible to do both at the same time! The school can give you a feel for what the car is supposed to feel like.

There is one closer to Indiana too:

https://www.sippelracin.com/index.html