New entry-level series

[KmH]

Crawford chassis with a 2.4L Honda engine - a complete car will only cost $51,600.
It doesn't say what brand/model of gearbox. For formula car racing the gearbox is usually as or more expensive than the engine.
SCCA Formula 4.

Add a hauler, a couple/three/four $3000 sets of racing tires per race weekend, travel, meals, entry fees, lodging, spare parts, crash damage repairs - and you might be able do a SCCA Formula 4 season on a shoestring budget of $250,000. Front runners will be spending something like $750,000+ a season.

 

[Derrel]

Wow, the comments there are super-negative about this...being a venue for uber rich parents to indulge their 16,17,and 18 year-old kids as drivers...is that accurate?

 

[Designer]

Wow, the comments there are super-negative about this...being a venue for uber rich parents to indulge their 16,17,and 18 year-old kids as drivers...is that accurate?

Well, it's primarily a F1 fansite, so naturally, anything that isn't F1 will be scorned.

 

[KmH]

Not all participants will be 16, 17, or 18 year old kids, but that is about the age a lot of aspiring drivers move from karts to entry-level cars.
Some will want to race stock cars, sprint cars, or sports cars instead of formula cars.

No doubt some kids will have uber rich parents, but most kids and their parents will fall somewhere between the shoestring budget category and 'well off' rather than being uber rich.