Miller is a proponent of the...
Miller is a proponent of the series-and he has the bank account to prove it. (c)CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
The Cars
What will it cost to go racing on a competitive basis in Arena Racing USA, and how much will the car, as well as all the proper licenses, cost? Most racers should be able to get started for $12,000 to $15,000, depending on whether they want a truck or trailer to transport the car to the track. However, most Arena Racing USA cars can be transported on the bed of a fullsize pickup truck.
The cars are half the height of a normal stock car in Nextel Cup or the Busch Series. Each car must meet the same league specification to ensure that the action on the track is a result of good driving skills as opposed to a mechanical advantage. The weight of the car with the driver inside is approximately 725 pounds. Lead weight is used to offset the weight of a small driver so no advantage is gained. In fact, Dennis says one of the drivers in the Virginia area is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. The cars are fit with custom steering wheels, seats, and pedals to accommodate all sizes of drivers.
Drivers are able to make adjustments that can be used and applied to a full-scale stock car should they want to advance their careers into NASCAR. Teams are allowed to customize setup-related items such as caster/camber, toe-in, tire stagger, track bar adjustments, coilover springs and shocks, and lead location.
"They are able to make enough adjustments to make the car bad to good or just the other way around," Dennis says. "If the driver can't drive, it doesn't matter either way. If these drivers see an adjustment being made to a car during a Sunday afternoon race, they can make the same adjustments with these cars and it will react the same way."
The cars are powered by 13hp, rear-mounted Honda engines that are capable of producing speeds of around 100 mph. Other specifics on the cars include: 1.5-gallon fuel cells, adjustable upper and lower A-frames, a five-point safety harness, steel rollcages, disc brakes, and rack-and-pinion steering. There are several simple safety rules that all competitors must abide by, such as wearing a certified firesuit, helmet, and gloves. The drivers are also required to wear arm restraints to prevent their arms from moving outside the cockpit in case of a wreck. The HANS and Hutchens devices are not mandatory, but are highly recommended because of the reduction of head movement.
Dennis says the goal of Arena Racing USA is to give competitors a chance to get experience behind the wheel as well as getting the chance to feel like a big-league driver.
"We want them to look and feel like celebrities because in my eyes they are," Dennis says. "This is an experience they get to feel at a very affordable level. They get to become a race car driver if they've never raced a day in their life. When they walk in the tracks we race at, those drivers better have a Sharpie and a strong hand because they are going to sign a lot of autographs."
Money Man
Any level of racing takes money and a lot of it. Loans are taken out, houses put up for sale, and credit cards maxed out as drivers try to spend their way into becoming NASCAR's next superstar. Yet Travis Miller-an 18-year-old driver from Chesapeake, Virginia-is actually making money through his efforts in Arena Racing USA.
"The only series we've ever made money in is Arena Racing USA because it's so affordable to race in," Miller says. "We've also had some very good sponsors that were willing to give close to $20,000, and that helped a lot. I won $10,000 last year for winning the championship and probably spent about $3,000 because I'd been racing with the series before, so my car was paid for. Last year, I won almost $25,000 in just one season. We've probably been able to pocket as much as $45,000 thanks to Arena Racing."
Though he still plans on racing in the series, Miller is learning the hard way that financial sponsors get harder to come by. His Hooters Pro Cup team was still unsponsored as the young driver led the rookie standings midway through the season.
"We're just a family owned team that has to worry about paying the bills before we're able to go racing," says Miller. "We aren't able to buy all the good stuff like a lot of teams in this series, but we make it work."