In these tight economic times, the project car budget typically gets left on the cutting room floor. Fortunately for addicted enthusiasts there are resources, such as Grassroots Motorsports Magazine, to prove that it is still possible to put together a prize winning ride for only a few bills. Just in time to save the wavering automotive habit of frugal individuals comes the Kumho Tires Grassroots Motorsports $2008 Challenge. For the past nine years, the magazine crew dedicated to amateur motorsports has organized an annual competition of cars built around a budget equal to the current year in dollars. It may sound impossibly restrictive, but some competitors even come in under the cap. The 2007 champion, a Chevrolet Corvette sucker-car, managed to top the field for less than two grand. The monetary limitation forces creative and innovative back-yard engineering amongst the entrants.
The $2008 Challenge will take place October 3 – 4 at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, FL. The cars will spend a grueling two days dueling it out on the autocross course, drag strip and even the parking lot for a car show. Competitors should also be brushed up on their accounting skills since they are required to keep an itemized list of all their expenses. This detail keeps the event fair and also offers the magazine’s readership inspiration to create their own budget racers.
