First year of Radical Ownership

For all of those folks that read this forum and are thinking of getting into a sports racer, or perhaps, a real race car of any kind, DO IT!
It's been almost exactly a year since I went and picked up my Radical from Virginia, and it has been the best year I have had in racing since I started in June of 2001. The car is great fun to drive, maintain and develop. I've gotten countless positive comments about it, and still love the sound of the motor at 11,000 RPM behind my head. The last event of the year, I was literally giggling to myself down the straightaways, since pushing my limits through the corners was so insanely fun.  
I remember having a lot of initial questions if I was ready for a car like this. My initial goal was to have something that would let me race more often because it didn't cost me as much to race, and to have something that helped me feel safer at higher speeds, since I wanted to take the next step and go Time Trialing.
So, I thought I'd take a few minutes and type out the answers that I personally arrived at, for anybody looking that may have been in a similar position, since the answers are still somewhat fresh in my head:
1.) Is a DSR cheaper or more expensive to be able to race than a production-based car?
A.) I'm sure the answer depends on who you are and the level of competitiveness you require, but for me it has been WORLDS cheaper. I did 16 National and Regional solos last year with the Corvette, and 16 this year with the Radical, PLUS 5 test days at the track, and 6 time trials events. I spent about 1/3 of the money in consumables (tires, splitters, rotors, pads) than I did with the Corvette. This left more money to go to entry fees and test-day-track fees so I could actually play with my toy. The motor - my one big worry - continues to run fantastically, and all I've done is change its oil during the year.
Plus, there is far less required in the form of of ongoing "development" costs to prepare the car for racing. The car is already built to go fast on a race track, so if you choose, you can simply go race and get seat time! If you want to develop and like to tinker like me, a lot more of your money can be spent on fun go-fast stuff - if you like - rather than trying to make sure the car will stay in one piece (oil cooler, transmission cooler, larger radiator, brake ducting, diff cooler etc etc etc)
To get an idea of replacement costs:
New Tires: $650 - 75-100 autocross runs. You run out of useful heat cycles before you run out of rubber. (i.e. no more cording tires after 30 runs!)
Takeoff tires: $250 - 50-75 autocross runs. 1-3 heat cycle takeoff tires are available from folks that don't use them after they loose that 0.5 second. Talk about a deal!
Pads: $100/car. Replace hardly ever. I just use standard Hawk Blues, and with the car as light as it is, heat rejection, rotor cracking, and other issues are far less prevalent than in 3,000#+ road cars.
Rotors: Depends. Replacements for the Radical will be about $300. I just replaced the car's apparently original set of rotors after over 20 club races in its logbook and 5 years of racing.
The only cost I've had that went up significantly this year was fuel costs for the tow vehicle to-and-from races. My 8.1L (gas) Chevy gets ~10MPG when towing the enclosed trailer, but a smaller vehicle with a smaller trailer can expect as much as double that figure.
2.) Does it take a LOT more maintenance than a street-based race car?
A.) It has seemed to me like it does take a bit more checking up on. Part of that is the move from solo'ing to road course racing - the stakes for something coming loose are a lot higher, so I am much more careful about making sure everything is tight before I go out on track. 
That said, it is orders of magnitude easier to work on the car, so you will probably find yourself far more inclined to *do* the work necessary. Being able to know every wire and bolt on the car, and to be able to do it sitting on a comfy stool, rather than underneath the car getting dripped on is a fun motivator to tinker with your car between races.
That said, there was a good portion of the season where I put the car in the trailer after an autocross, and didn't take it out again until we arrived at the next race. *shrug*
3.) Are the cars hard to drive?
A.) Quite the opposite! Even my very first day out in the car, on ancient tires, awful suspension settings, and a generally evil-handling machine, several times the car got so sideways I thought to myself "the Corvette would have been GONE by now", but I was able to get it gathered back up. The car is telepathically responsive to brake, throttle, and steering changes, and the light weight just makes them very, very fun. If you've ever driven a Miata, you know how much fun light cars can be to drive. Multiply that by 100!
While the car is easy to drive, it is hard to drive fast - not because the car gets twitchy, but for the driver, it definitely takes a readjustment of what you believe a car can do through the corners! Things happen VERY fast. However, I've never felt safer and less nervous at high speeds than safely strapped into the cockpit of my car. High speed slides are far less terrifying than in a street car, and far easier to correct.
4.) Is it true that Road Racers are unfriendly/competitive/etc folks like the Solo guys say?
A.) Not at all! While the competitive spirit runs high, the overall helpful friendly attitude that seems pretty pervasive in the SCCA is present here in spades!
Special thanks to help over this past year from Hasty Horn, Matt Graham, Pete Fowler, Richard Pare, Ren Clayton, Bill Maisey, Lee Stohr, the Arkens, and everybody from the forum who's answered my silly new-guy questions.
5.) But doesn't it take a real expert and lots of dollars to know how to make the car go faster?
A.) While the amount of knowledge out there is staggering, it doesn't necessarily have to cost a zillion dollars, and be only the realm of experts. After you get somewhat familiar with your car, you'll be able to draw conclusions about what might help it go faster. I bought many pairs of used springs this year for about $35 a set, so I could play with springrates and learn how those affect the car. Lots of failed experiments! Even being a complete newb in suspension tuning, I was eventually able to get rid of a bad understeer problem, and cure a funky tire wear issue all resulting from improper springrates on the car. Better yet, I was able to ultimately understand *why*. 
Similarly from my own impressions, and talking to knowledgable and helpful shock people, I was also able to find time with new valving on my shocks. 
So, the point is, if I can do it, coming in with almost no knowledge whatsoever - you can do it and learn it to, and since it's so easy to swap parts in and out, it is great fun! I did several test days at a local kart track ($25/day!) just playing with parts and settings, to see how they change the car.

6.) But what about hidden costs like the tow vehicle and trailer, and setup gear?
A.) Regarding tow stuff, this is one of those things you can do as big or little as you want. I went "middle of the road" and traded a small SUV for a 3/4 ton truck, and sold my soul to buy a small enclosed trailer to keep my car safe and dry. The first club race I showed up to renting the car, the first person I talked to called it a "cute little rig"  
But, due to the light weight of the car(700-1000#), even a modestly sized sedan can tow a small single-axle trailer with your DSR aboard. A member of our local region used to tow his Formula Ford with a 5 series BMW. Another local DSR owner tows his Cheetah with a Toyota 4runner and a single-axle trailer, and says he hardly knows it is there. 
Small single-axle trailers like this can be had for $500-750 with a little looking, and if you have anything but a small car, it is likely you will be able to tow the ~1,500lb package.
Regarding setup tools, I use my jackstands, some fishing line, and some metal tubing from H.D. to set toe. A $75 camber gauge allows me to set camber. Once you get the hang of it, a full alignment takes less than 30 minutes, start to finish. a $25 longacre ride-height gauge allows me to set the car's ride heights.
7.) But won't I just get killed by the folks with the fastest car and cubic dollars to spend?
A.) While that seems to be mostly the case at the tip-top national level, everything I've seemed to see at the lower levels indicates that driver skill is still the number one determinant, especially in these cars. Early DSR's (LeGrande's, most notably) converted to MC power seem to really excel at the Solo and regional level, and for often around $10,000-$15,000 or so! Talk about performance for the dollar!
8.) So why DSR, and not some other class of car, like FF, FC, FA, FM, F500, SRF, FSCCA, SRSCCA, S2, etc etc?
A.) I looked at all the various "purpose built" classes before buying a DSR, and for me, DSR made the most sense because of:
a.) enclosed fenders: Not only does this apparently empart greater safety than open wheels (which I did *not* know), this also allows you to run with nearly any club day, such as Porsche club, BMW club, SCCA time trials, and many others. Open wheel cars are usually specifically excluded from these, despite that the Sports Racers are simply OWC's with bodywork! This ruled out FA, FM, F500, FSCCA, FF, and FC. Since I am taking a half-step between solo and club racing, being able to get road-course track time by Time Trialing made this a necessity
b.) The Engines: The motorcycle engines have a lot of positives. The service life folks report from mostly stock engines is greater than in many of the other classes. The integral (and production-based!) gearbox means less to deal with and worry about (no gear changes, no gear oil changing, engine/gearbox are changed at once). Their stratospheric redline, along with the super-fun sequential shifting is as close as any of us will ever get to an F1 car, and they sound absolutely GREAT, not like an unmuffled pickup truck.
c.) Looks: The new DSR's available right now are simply some of the most gorgeous cars on the track. Radicals, Speads, Maloy, the LSR cars, and my favorite: the West/Stohr. Coming from my favorite-ever street car, the C5, having something I was proud to look at and own was important to me. I thought the SRF and S2 cars were just a bit too stodgy.
d.) tiny rulebook: I have almost as much fun tinkering, thinking and designing things for the car as I do driving it, so even since I've started racing, I've always moved towards classes that have let me play with the car. This ruled out any spec class like SRF, FSCCA, or SRSCCA. How frustrating is it to have to live with somebody elses's poor decisions?  
e.) Costs: Having a monthly racing budget of less than $250, being able to race my car on the cheap was incredibly important to me. The wide availability of affordable cars made DSR a good choice too. Learning what I could, DSR offered me the best chance of a sturdy car (Radical), and a motor that could live a long life, with a little luck and care.
f.) Speed: With around 165hp, and weighing in around 1000#, a "normal" DSR has a power-to-weight ratio equivalent to that of a 550hp Corvette. A top-flight CSR, with 240 hp and 1200# weight would be like driving a 640hp Corvette! In short, the acceleration is incredible! Plus, with significant aerodynamic downforce, high-speed cornering with the aero influence is really fun, if tricky to get used to. This seems like a half-step between where learning to drive a FF might be a bit easier.
9.) But what about the room required for the trailer and tow vehicle? I don't want to drive a poor gas-mileage truck everywhere!
A.) While everybody's situation is different, this is one where you may or may not be able to find solutions. I drive a beat-up $1,500 Civic that gets 40MPG so I can afford the gas bills for the tow vehicle when I go racing. The race car can easily occupy a spot in your garage, and if your tow vehicle isn't also your daily driver, if you can't store it at your house, then often you can find a friend with extra space to keep your truck or trailer. Until I moved out of the city, I kept my truck, trailer, and daily driver parked on the streetcurb, and secured them as best I could.
10.) What about crash damage and repair?
A.) This is a big reason I wanted to move to a "real" race car for starting to do road racing. As anybody who has really wrecked a street car knows, they are never quite the same afterwards. With lighter/stronger race car frames, it is rare to need to perform significant repairs to a car's frame. The largest expense on a sports racer is usually damage to the nosepiece. If you are lucky, it can be repaired with some fiberglass, and if you're not, it must be replaced, for around $2,000 or so. From what I read, this is roughly in-line with the cost of replacing wings-and-things on FC, FA, FSCCA etc type cars.
This is one area where I think the FF's have the rest of us beat: no wings or body parts to damage!
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Hope this helps somebody in the future - Go for it! I got faster by the end of the year, and so did the car, and it was tremendous fun to do it all. You'll never look back!
Most of all, thanks to Jeff Brauch (tripledigits1) for getting me into this!
-Jake