Bad Ideas are the Best

I have a plan to pay for schooling, get rid of my debt, and generally position myself to be financially secure in 2016. I did the budgeting, conducted some research, and found ways I could save money.

Am I going to follow the plan?

Hell no.

I'm going racing!

Specifically, I'm going to race 24 Hours of Lemons. Spending thousands of dollars and as many hours to participate in an endurance race where the car you drive can't cost more than $500. Yep, that's right. The car can't cost more than $500 US, not counting safety gear, exhaust, tires, and brakes. A beater. That doesn't sound terribly bank-breaking, does it?

On the surface, no. Then you have to factor in things like building the roll cage, a proper racing fuel cell, 5 point harness, big brakes, etc. Right down to approved fire-proof racing socks. Socks!  It gets steep quick. I'm told that a properly equipped Lemons car will run a team at least $4000. Most of them don't even finish the race. Plus time off work, and the 10 hour drive to get there. And the hassle getting a new passport and on and on.

Why am I going to put myself in this position?

You might think there's a big prize for the winner. Nope. First prize in class A, known as Cars With a Prayer of Winning, is $400.

Is there glory? Hardly. Ask a stranger on the street if they know what 24 Hours of Lemons is. You'll likely be met with a blank stare.

So why do it?

Because it exists. Because I can. Because I happened to mention wanting to race Lemons some day to a coworker who's a fellow gearhead, and he said "yeah, let's do it."

It's a bad idea. I can't afford to do it. I'm not even sure I'm capable of doing it.

But...

I can't not do it. Even if I put all the time and effort into going and the car blows up after one lap, the adventure will be worth every penny.