So you’re interested in getting behind the wheel of a car at a local short track and with no experience you can’t seem to find a team owner willing to foot the bill?
One of the Rent A Racecar DARE Stock division rides at Stafford Motor Speedway (Photo: Paul Strickland Jr./Rent A Racecar)
You’ve got a couple options.
Option one: Get a pen handy for the checkbook or warm up that credit car for a lot of swiping when you buy a racecar, all the parts needed to run that car that don’t come with it. You’ll also need to buy all the requisite safety gear for in the car and also to wear. And you’ll need a truck and trailer to bring that car to the track.
Option two is a much easier one. Call the guys at Rent A Racecar.
Owners Gary Spinnato Jr. of Wallingford and Paul Varricchio Jr. of Berlin offer a chance for anybody to experience what it’s like to be part of the competition at Stafford Motor Speedway with their Rent A Racecar program.
Rent A Racecar allows somebody to get behind the wheel of a fully prepared DARE Stock division car during a regular feature at Stafford. The DARE Stock division is the entry level division at the track.
“It’s $550 for the night and there’s also a $500 deposit on the chassis,” Spinnato said. “If you don’t bend the car you get your deposit back. I’m not worried about the body. You can rip the body off of it. I’m not worried about the tires or the rims. Just don’t bend the axel or the racecar itself.”
The Rent A Racecar program has been in operation at Stafford Speedway since 1996. Spinnato and Varricchio have owned the business since 2010.
“We provide everything you need, helmets, suit all the safety equipment,” Spinnato said. “We want people to try racing and see if it’s something they really want to do before they go out and buy a truck and buy a trailer and buy a racecar. Make sure you like what you’re doing. Or for some people it’s just something on their bucket list, they always wanted to try it.”
Stafford Speedway offers participants a $25 temporary NASCAR license to compete for one race. After arranging a date to drive, clients meet with the Rent A Racecar team two weeks before their drive.
“Two weeks before your rental you come to the shop and we fit you in the car,” Spinnato said. “I’ve got to move stuff around for each person in there. We get you fitted your [firesuit] and helmet and make sure it’s all ready to go that day. We make sure that everything is ready so that when we show up at the track on Friday we can just get up and go.”
Spinnato is a former regular competitor at Stafford Motor Speedway. Varricchio still competes in the track’s Late Model division.
“I do this because I love racing,” Spinnato said. “I love the look that I get to see when people come in for the first time after getting to experience this. And trust me, I don’t make money doing this. I work a 40-hour a week job like everybody else. I really do this because I love to be around racing.”
RAR are good people, and excellent ambassadors for the sport. Hard to go wrong if you want to see what it’s really like.
I will diff. take you up on this. I just need to save the money. I been wanting to drive stocker on a track since I was 5 years old. That was 50 years ago. I’ve been a bodyman/painter since 1978. Now a days, I tech and sell paint and body supplies. You guys are a dream come true. Hope to see you guys soon.
What if by chance Someone wins in the car do they get to keep the winning purse
I started out with a go-kart at age 6. My dad Lou was on the number 20 Don Dorman raceteam, and the nine of diamonds with Jerry Pearl. I’ve done a couple of figure 8 at Riverside, and I’ve been around racing all my life. This is my dream. Thank you for offering this. You’ll be hearing from me in the future, I need to start saving!
What kind of car is that you get to drive i am not very good at telling what kind of cars they are when the are all spiced up and have no emblems on them. I am defiantly instead in racing I have to brush up on my car facts tho ….. Lol !