It takes a rare breed to strap on a safety harness and white-knuckle the steering wheel of a professional racecar. Even fewer racers can call those amped-up cars their own. Tommy Constantine, a partner in Playboy Racing and CEO of Tommy Constantine Racing, knows what it takes to join the elite fraternity of rider/owners. Starting as a mechanic in the early '80s, he worked his way up the racing world and now runs a stable of cars in the Grand Am and Rolex series that sport the world-famous rabbit ears. Are you an adrenaline junkie who dreams of driving for yourself? Then heed Tommy's advice on paving your own road to the winner's circle.

Owning a racing team requires a lot more than hair-trigger reflexes in the driver's seat. If you want a piece of the action, you have to be able to deal like the business school show-offs on The Apprentice. "Unless your last name is Andretti -- and I don't say that in a negative way because they're my friends -- you have to make your own deals," said Constantine. "You need to scratch your way to the top and make contacts. Try to talk with VPs and CEOs at post-race events. It's tough because the barrier of entry exists for everyone. And once you get someone's attention, get to the point. I equate it to picking up a girl in a bar. You better have something good to say."

Until the money is in the bank, you don't have it and shouldn't be racing. "A lot of people will fund racing programs hoping to get a sponsor by the middle of the season," he said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time, they end up spending several hundred thousands dollars and the sponsor never comes." Teams are usually paid in installments, so make sure the schedule matches your expenses. For instance, Constantine made sure he had enough capital for the first race of the Rolex Series, the 24 Hours of Daytona Race, because it's the year's biggest expense. Owners should also factor in crash damage and get insurance, because a few wrecks can bankrupt any owner.

Budgets quickly become outlandish in racing. NASCAR is at the top of the hill in terms of money and budgets in the U.S., and supporting a car is a $20 million dollar-plus proposition. According to Constantine, a better place to start is Grand American Racing, where cars only cost a (relatively) cheap $2-3 million to support. "It's reasonably attainable and a high profile deal because NASCAR is behind it," he said. "It's got great growth potential."

That's not new information for drivers, since races are usually decided by fractions of a second. But to make the multi-million dollar deals necessary to get a racing team off the ground, you also need a good sense of timing. "You have a thousand guys out there who want to drive or own their own team," said Constantine. Start pitching a company mid-way through the racing season, because it takes at least six months before the deal is finalized. Constantine recommends approaching companies that just started advertising at racetracks or start-ups that need to stretch a limited ad budget. Even something as minor as switching a logo may signal a company's willingness to look for new ways to get the word out. But don't make the rookie mistake of calling a company after they announce a huge racing sponsorship. "Why would they spend millions more after they just made a huge deal?" he said. Instead, approach an industry rival and see if they want to compete with their adversary on the track.

"Racing is a shark-infested territory," said Constantine. "There are great people and very shady people." When hiring your team, act like any business and make sure you get quality people and sign them up to long-term contracts, if possible. A pit crew of strong, athletic guys who can work quickly and accurately can shave race-winning seconds off your car's time. When you do land a sponsorship, don't be surprised if other teams try to lure it away. Make sure you're protected contractually and insist on exclusivity provisions. "If I'm going to represent you in the ad and racing world I don't want to compete against the guy next to me," he said. "I'm it. Otherwise, it dilutes the program." Another thing Constantine does is operate as an agency and sub-contract drivers. This means that he has the ability to switch out drivers if they aren't performing up to his standards, which helps keep sponsors happy and loyal.

Racing at the highest levels is a multi-million-dollar proposition. Unless you're sitting on a mint, you need to hone your pitch. "It's about as difficult as becoming a professional basketball player," Constantine said about attracting a sponsor. He suggests making an offer they can't refuse. Sponsors can get advertising and exposure many ways other than racing, so you have to make a deal that goes beyond simply slapping a sticker on your car. Try and attract two complimentary sponsors and make offers that give them extra mileage. For instance, Constantine once made a deal with King Cobra Drivers. Rather than asking for the standard one million dollar sponsorship deal, he asked the golf company for the equivalent, 350 sets of clubs (which cost the company a lot less than one million dollars to produce). "As soon as I said I didn't want money, they listened," he said. Then he pitched another deal to fast food chains: put up one million in sponsorship cash, and not only will Constantine's cars race with their name on the hood, but the company will get 350 sets of golf clubs with their company name and logo embroidered on the bag. This way, the fast food company gets free sets of branded clubs they can use for sweepstakes or giveaways and discounted sponsorship, and King Cobra gets a discounted sponsorship deal and 350 happy people using their clubs. Both companies get double benefits.

One of the biggest purchases you'll make as an owner is the chassis, the body of your car. When you're shopping around, it's advantageous to buy the same brand used by well-established and well-funded teams. Big money teams develop them with the chassis makers, so kinks have sometimes been tested out. It also helps when you're comparing your car to another team's ride and trying to figure out what adjustments they made to finish with a faster time. When you share a chassis, you eliminate one variable to test against.

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