A great new idea for covering track expenses

[JRitt]

Hello Gents,

I wanted to share something really interesting that one of my brake customers recently brought to me. He is a tech guy/entrepreneur who loves tracking his GT3 and Supra in his spare time. We were test-fitting our latest AP Racing by Essex rear brake package on his Supra, and I took him and his wife out to lunch while my engineering team was doing their thing with his car. He and I were discussing track cars, and I told him about how I sold my last track car, a C6 Vette, a few years back. He asked why I got rid of it, and I told him because I didn’t have time to work on it, nowhere good to store it, I wasn’t using it enough to justify keeping it, etc. I think those of us who have been in this game long enough probably all know that story…kids, wives, other hobbies, etc. all get in the way of playing with our favorite toy. It becomes harder and harder to justify pouring money into something that is generally viewed by everyone around you as a distraction or nuisance.

His first question was, “If you want to get back on the track, why don’t you just rent a track car and do some arrive-and-drive HPDE or endurance racing (Champ Car, Lemons, etc.)?” I explained that I always felt like it was a hassle to find a car, that it was probably too expensive, too complicated or time-consuming to go through the rental process, etc. Then he told me that he had just created an app to do exactly that, which I thought was a killer idea. As we started discussing the concept further, it became clear to me that this could be a really awesome way for current track car owners to subsidize or even completely cover the cost of their own track exploits.

I told him that I loved the idea and that I would share it in the communities in which I participate…so that’s what I’m doing here. The app is called Kerbz, and it works similarly to Turo if you’re familiar with that app. You rent track cars directly from the vehicle owner, and the entire transaction is completed through the app. It is set up so you can find cars in your area to use for autoX, HPDE, time trials, W2W, etc. They even have an option by which you can co-drive your car at an event with the renter, so you can cover your own track expenses while also keeping an eye on your car.

If I still had my vette, I would have definitely taken a long, hard look at renting it out. When I initially bought the car I had planned to go to the track at least a dozen weekends per year. During the three years I owned it, I ended up going to the track four times total…doh. The car just sat in my driveway under a cover and collected dust most of the time. I took it out every two weeks for a quick jaunt to run oil through it, but otherwise it was more or less just in the way. I also had some niggling issues with my Accusump, fuel tank, power steering pump, etc. that I was trying to sort out, so it felt like I was constantly running back and forth to the shop and spending money on repairs despite hardly getting any wheel time in the car. Twenty years ago I may have been a little hesitant on renting out my pride and joy, but after owning several track cars, I’ve accepted that track cars are most definitely a depreciating, commodity-type asset. Anything I could have done to pay for fuel, brakes, entry fees, and those damn 345 rear tires would have been extremely welcome!

From a community standpoint, I also really love the idea of sharing cars or co-driving with someone. When I first got into this sport in ‘99, I met my future best man at an autoX, and have made a bunch of other lifelong friends through motorsports. I think this app could be a great community builder that could get a lot more people out on track who don’t have cars, while also helping those who already own cars pay for their addiction.

The founder is in the Northern Virginia/DC area (Summit Point/Dominion Raceway), and most of the current cars for rent are in that area. He said his main goal currently is to add hosts (people willing to rent their car out) near all the road courses throughout the country.

Anyway, I think this app and idea have a ton of merit and I wanted to float them here for all the track junkies. Hopefully some of you can leverage this app to buy yourself some additional track time and/or reduce the burden of owning your car. If you have any questions, ideas, suggestions, etc., please post them here and I will share this thread with the founder so he can follow along and/or chime in.

Here’s where to download the app, or just search for Kerbz Adventures in the app store: https://kerbz.app/hosts#individual

Thanks gents and stay safe out there!

[NoHaveMSG]

He should talk to some of the more budget endurance leagues out there. I know a local Lucky Dog team near me that rents out seats for the weekend. With practice and 18 hours of racing it’s a lot of driving.

[JRitt]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

He should talk to some of the more budget endurance leagues out there. I know a local Lucky Dog team near me that rents out seats for the weekend. With practice and 18 hours of racing it’s a lot of driving.

Yes, good idea. I would guess there are a lot of Champ Car owners who would be interested in renting out their cars. I've been dying to run one of those races myself!

[M0nk3y]

Looks like an interesting premise - looking at it from the car owner side (maybe it's just me) but I would be concerned a potential renter may cause damage to a car that's unforeseen in the immediate future (aka when they're done with the weekend) but could cause havoc downstream (aka like premature bearing wear).

Could certainly look at a worst case scenario where say someone doesn't properly warm up fluids and absolutely sends it the first lap coming right out of cold paddock and causing issues. Not sure how the costs would offset something that could potentially occur but maybe I'm looking at it completely wrong.



BUT - if you're looking at someone to test out some AP Racing Kits for a Supra - I'm taking delivery of a '24 MT next month and we should talk

[JRitt]

Originally Posted by M0nk3y

Looks like an interesting premise - looking at it from the car owner side (maybe it's just me) but I would be concerned a potential renter may cause damage to a car that's unforeseen in the immediate future (aka when they're done with the weekend) but could cause havoc downstream (aka like premature bearing wear).

Could certainly look at a worst case scenario where say someone doesn't properly warm up fluids and absolutely sends it the first lap coming right out of cold paddock and causing issues. Not sure how the costs would offset something that could potentially occur but maybe I'm looking at it completely wrong.

BUT - if you're looking at someone to test out some AP Racing Kits for a Supra - I'm taking delivery of a '24 MT next month and we should talk

I think there would always be some risk for sure, but you'd just have to factor that into the fee you charge the renter. Think of renting a house on AirBnB. People may have their dog drop a deuce or vomit in your closet and you don't find it for three months...causing bugs and the whole house to need fumigation. It's the same sort of thing. I know there are freaks and weirdos out there, but in my experience at the track for the past 20 years, most of the people in the community are pretty darn cool and trustworthy. Personally, I would never think of abusing or mistreating someone else's property.

My customer did tell me that you could co-drive a car with a renter as well. You run in one group, they run in another. In that way their rental fee would pay for your day at the track (and then some), and you could be at the track with them keeping an eye on the car. You would basically have as much free track time as you wanted on every weekend you rented the car out. It would have a little more wear and tear, but seems to me that would really go a long way towards making track time more affordable for the owner, while also allowing more people to participate who aren't in a position or don't want to own a car.

Congrats on the new Supra! They are sweet cars. We just completed our new rear kit that keeps a parking brake.
https://www.essexparts.com/ap-racing...-supra68106882






Shoot me a PM.

[14stu]

My home track will rent cars, they charge $1200 per day for their Supra.

[HKz]

For an actual rental track car business with their own shop, maybe next to a track like those nurburgring rentals, it makes sense...for regular folks who have some project car sitting around, hard to see this being feasible making enough money to be worth it..with the way most people drive normal rentals I sure wouldn't trust them with any good car, track car or not!

[JRitt]

Originally Posted by HKz

For an actual rental track car business with their own shop, maybe next to a track like those nurburgring rentals, it makes sense...for regular folks who have some project car sitting around, hard to see this being feasible making enough money to be worth it..with the way most people drive normal rentals I sure wouldn't trust them with any good car, track car or not!

Hmmmm... If you're talking about the average schmuck on the street who has never been on track in his life, then yes he's probably going to be more apt to drive the car like a jack@ss. There are lots of experienced track guys (like myself) who don't have a track car currently for a variety of reasons. I would never intentionally abuse someone's car. I would treat it like it was my own, if not more carefully. Most people who are regulars at track days are the good guys. That's who I would want to rent my car to.

[HKz]

Originally Posted by JRitt

Hmmmm... If you're talking about the average schmuck on the street who has never been on track in his life, then yes he's probably going to be more apt to drive the car like a jack@ss. There are lots of experienced track guys (like myself) who don't have a track car currently for a variety of reasons. I would never intentionally abuse someone's car. I would treat it like it was my own, if not more carefully. Most people who are regulars at track days are the good guys. That's who I would want to rent my car to.

Oh yea but think we are a rare breed. I've used Turo a few times and everyone I have spoken has many stories of the way people sorta abuse their cars.. now imagine every person who would probably drive a v6 mustang into a crowd getting into your project car with no traction control..good luck

[autoracer86]

Originally Posted by HKz

For an actual rental track car business with their own shop, maybe next to a track like those nurburgring rentals, it makes sense...for regular folks who have some project car sitting around, hard to see this being feasible making enough money to be worth it..with the way most people drive normal rentals I sure wouldn't trust them with any good car, track car or not!

You bringing up ring rentals reminds me of Apex saying they replace multiple transmissions a year in the 86.

[HKz]

Originally Posted by autoracer86

You bringing up ring rentals reminds me of Apex saying they replace multiple transmissions a year in the 86.

yep I can only imagine what kind of maintenance those twins go through...and that's for a stock car...I just imagine for a project car with no tc, heavy clutch, sensitive throttle & brake pedals, aftermarket everything with zero tolerances, etc and no track nearby driven by randos...oof....too bad regular non commercial driver's licenses couldn't be constantly updated with your driving rating or ability in someway ^^ could weed out all the clowns