What does it take to become a race car driver?

Skip Barber Racing School is an excellent place to get started. Instructors are always available and you don't have to work on or own your own car. Whatever talent level you're at, you'll have people to race against, and you get to race at the best road courses in America. They even have several race series to compete in. You still need a decent pile of cash. A 3 day competition school goes for close to $4,000 and I think it's just a bit under $20,000 to race for a full season. Of course once you don't have to run the full season, you can just race once or twice a year.