Backup plan when stuck at the track
 

For those of you who don't have a trailer to tow a car with a mechanical failure, what's your backup plan for getting you and your car back home?

I was at Road America recently and had a clutch failure. Luckily I made some friends at the track event who lived nearby and towed it to their house and hitched a ride back who was also heading back home. I still need to pick up the car from his house, which is about 4 hours away, but at least I was able to get home.

AAA?


we have CAA... I can get 1 free tow per year for up to like 300km or something and 3 or 5 tows of another smaller distance.


for me this covers a lot of venues.

AAA, or if needed uhaul truck and trailer. If it's possible to store it somewhere close, then a actual shipper works also.


For a clutch, I would have just dropped the trans and replaced it there :)

Yeah, ended up using AAA to tow the car to his house. We get a couple tows each year and only the first 100 miles are covered. Any track event that I go to is more than 100 miles, so it would get pricey the farther you go. :(

check your contract options, 100 miles sounds like the lower spectrum option

All the Uhaul trailers were fully booked that day. Go figure, lol.

My mechanic skills are pretty limited. I would have needed someone to help me replace the clutch. :(

Many auto insurance policies have towing coverage. Look into what your carrier offers. I've used mine a few times with no money out of pocket.

At least for northern California, there is a AAA Premiere option which has a 200 mile tow.

Yeah, I see that too. Might be a nation wide policy. Looks like 200 would be their max though.

Depending on who your auto insurance is through this can be a dangerous game..."I'm sorry, you said you're at a race track?"

What happened to the clutch?

It stopped disengaging and couldn't get it into gear while the car was on. This was on the ITR with 138k miles. Mechanic friend dropped the tranny and found some broken pressure plate pieces inside the casing. He's thinking it must have overheated and shattered.

Everyone that tracks should get AAA. You can piggyback tows to get a single "big" tow.

E.g. use your 200 mile tow, and call in a second 200 mile tow where the car would be dropped off to get a 400 mile total tow.

Regular AAA membership is 3 miles or nearest repair facility for free and pay after that per mile. AAA Plus is 100 miles towing. Never heard of AAA Premium (at least on East Coast).

Saw some new club on TV a couple of weeks ago and they offer 100 miles towing on basic package, but can't remember their name.....