How to Ship a Race Car Across the US

You have found the car. It is 1,500 miles away, the seller wants it gone by the end of the month, and you have never moved a race car farther than the local track. There are four realistic ways to get it home: tow it yourself, book a car carrier (open or enclosed), hire a dedicated motorsport hauler, or catch a shared load with a team heading your way after a race weekend. Each one trades money against time, risk and hassle differently.

Prices in this guide are indicative US market estimates as of October 2026, drawn from published 2026 auto-transport pricing for ordinary cars. Race cars usually cost more to move. Fuel prices and carrier capacity change weekly, so get written quotes for your route. This is general information, not legal advice.

If you are still choosing what to tow with, our race car transporter buying guide covers trailers, box vans and trucks, and the race trailers and transporters guide covers professional team rigs. This piece is about getting one car from A to B once.

Option 1: tow it yourself

Doing the trip yourself means you see the car before you pay, you load it yourself, and nobody else straps down a $150,000 car. It also means around 3,000 miles of round-trip towing for a 1,500-mile purchase.

Know your weight ratings

Four numbers decide whether your rig can legally and safely do the job:

• GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating): the maximum loaded weight of the truck, and separately of the trailer, as rated by the manufacturer.
• GCWR (gross combination weight rating): the maximum loaded weight of truck plus trailer together.
• Payload: what the truck can carry, including passengers, gear and the trailer's tongue weight.
• Tow rating and hitch rating: the lower of the two governs.

Add it up honestly. The car with fluids, a set of spare wheels, a toolbox, a jack, fuel jugs and the trailer's own empty weight get heavy fast, and an enclosed car trailer is much heavier empty than an open one. Many enclosed car trailers are rated at or just under 10,000 lb GVWR, which matters for the licensing thresholds below.

When does a CDL apply?

Under federal rules (49 CFR 383.91), a Class A CDL covers any combination with a GCWR of 26,001 lb or more where the towed vehicle's GVWR is over 10,000 lb. A Class B covers a single vehicle of 26,001 lb or more GVWR. Those thresholds apply to commercial motor vehicles operated in commerce.

For a private buyer, the key point is FMCSA's exception for "the occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation and not in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise" (49 CFR 390.3). FMCSA's published guidance says the CDL rules do not apply when the vehicle is used strictly for non-business purposes, including carrying your own car to races where prize money is offered. That exception is narrow. If you race as a business, carry sponsor livery in exchange for support, or move someone else's car for money, get advice before you assume it applies.

States can add their own rules on top. California, for example, requires a non-commercial Class A license to tow a trailer over 10,000 lb GVWR, even for recreational use. Check your home state and every state you will cross.

Brakes, lights and registration

• Trailer brakes: each state sets the weight at which a trailer needs its own brakes, and the figure varies. Assume a loaded enclosed car trailer needs working electric or electric-over-hydraulic brakes, a properly set brake controller and a breakaway system.
• Registration: the trailer needs current registration and plates from its home state. The race car itself usually does not need to be road-registered to ride on a trailer, but carry the bill of sale and any title or ownership papers in case you are asked.
• Securing the load: tie down through the wheels or dedicated tie-down points with wheel nets or soft straps, not through suspension arms, and check the straps after the first 50 miles and at every fuel stop.

What it really costs

Fuel dominates. As a worked example only: 3,000 round-trip miles at 10 mpg is 300 gallons, which at an assumed $4.00 a gallon is $1,200. Use your own truck's towing economy and the current pump price where you will fill up. Add motels, food, tolls, tire wear and trailer rental if you do not own one, and value your own time honestly. Two or three days each way is normal for 1,500 miles with a trailer.

Option 2: a car carrier, open or enclosed

Most car shipments are booked through a broker, who finds a licensed carrier to do the haul, or directly with a carrier. Pricing depends on distance, route popularity, season, fuel and how easy the car is to load.

Open carriers are the multi-level trucks you see on the interstate. They are the cheapest per mile, but the car rides exposed to weather, road grit and anything leaking from the car above. Their ramps are also steep, a real problem for a car with a splitter or low ride height.

Enclosed carriers keep the car out of the weather and away from debris, and are more likely to have a hydraulic liftgate, which raises the car level instead of driving it up a ramp, plus soft tie-downs. For a race car, that is usually the right answer. Enclosed capacity is smaller, so pickup windows can be longer.

When you request quotes, say clearly that it is a race car: give ground clearance, overall length and width, whether it runs, whether it has a starter and battery, and whether it can be steered and braked. A quote based on "2018 sedan, running" will be revised at pickup.

Option 3: dedicated motorsport haulers

Some carriers specialize in race cars and run enclosed trailers with liftgates, winches, wheel nets and drivers used to moving cars without bumpers or road tires. A dedicated run means the truck goes straight from pickup to delivery with only your car, so you get a fixed schedule and the fewest handling steps. You also pay for the whole truck, and for its trip back, so it is the most expensive way to ship one car.

Option 4: shared loads and backhauls after race weekends

Team transporters and series haulers often drive home with empty space after an event. If the car you are buying sits near a circuit on the calendar, or along a hauler's usual route, you may be able to share a load or take a backhaul for less than a dedicated run. The trade-off is timing: you move when the event calendar does, and the car may sit in a paddock or workshop for a few days. Ask in the paddock, through the series or through the seller's own contacts, and get the same paperwork you would ask of any carrier.

Cost and transit estimates

Option	About 1,500 miles	Coast to coast (2,500–3,000 mi)	Typical transit once loaded
Shared open carrier (ordinary running car baseline)	$1,100 – $1,800	$1,400 – $2,400	5–7 days / 7–10 days
Shared enclosed carrier	$1,500 – $2,600	$1,900 – $3,500	Similar, plus a longer wait for pickup
Non-running car (winch or liftgate loading)	Typically +$150 – $350	Typically +$150 – $350	Fewer trucks equipped
Dedicated enclosed motorsport hauler	Quoted per job, well above shared enclosed	Quoted per job	Fastest door to door
Shared load / backhaul after an event	Negotiated	Negotiated	Depends on the event calendar
Tow it yourself (fuel only, example above)	About $1,200 for 3,000 round-trip miles	About $2,200 for 5,500 round-trip miles	About 2–3 days each way for 1,500 miles

Ranges are rounded estimates built from published 2026 pricing for ordinary passenger cars; long-haul open rates in that data work out to roughly $0.55–$0.95 per mile. A race car's size, clearance and value push quotes up. Carriers also typically need from one to several business days to assign a pickup before transit starts.

Non-running cars

Many race cars do not start on demand, and some have no starter at all. Tell the carrier up front, because a non-running car needs a winch or a liftgate, and not every truck has one. For winch loading the car usually has to roll, steer and brake. If it cannot, you need skates or dollies, or a forklift at each end, and you must arrange that in advance. Supply tow points or straps rated for the job, and show the driver where they attach.

Preparing the car

• Fuel: run it low or follow the carrier's instruction. Many ask for a quarter tank or less, and a fuel cell should not be brimmed.
• Fluids: fix leaks before pickup. A carrier can refuse a car that drips on the cars below, and leaks on a liftgate are a slip hazard.
• Battery: charged if the car is to be driven on, otherwise disconnected or isolated at the master switch. Leave written start-up and kill-switch instructions.
• Loose parts: remove anything that can fall off or blow away. Spare wheels, bodywork and spares go in separate, labeled crates, listed item by item on the paperwork. Personal and loose items are often excluded from cargo cover.
• Clearance: note the lowest point, splitter and diffuser, and ask how the car will be loaded.
• Photos: shoot every panel, the wheels, the splitter, the underside and the cockpit at pickup, in daylight and with timestamps.

Insurance: check the numbers

Federal rules require for-hire carriers running trucks of 10,001 lb GVWR or more to carry at least $750,000 of public liability insurance. That covers damage they do to others, not your car. There is no federal cargo-insurance minimum for car haulers; cargo cover is whatever the carrier's own policy says.

Before you book, ask for the certificate of insurance and check:

• the per-vehicle limit and the per-load limit: on a multi-car enclosed trailer, the per-load limit is shared between every car on board;
• the deductible, and who pays it;
• any exclusions that might bite: competition vehicles, cars without titles, non-running cars or loose parts;
• that the named insured matches the company actually hauling your car.

If the car is worth more than the cover, ask the carrier to raise its limit for your load, or ask your own insurer whether your racing or collector policy can cover it in transit.

Red flags with brokers and carriers

Brokers are legal and useful, but they must be registered too. Under federal rules a property broker needs FMCSA registration and a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund. Look up any broker or carrier by name or USDOT number on FMCSA's public company register and confirm the authority is active and of the right type (broker or carrier).

Walk away if you see:

• a quote far below the others, which tends to be re-priced once the car is "assigned";
• a large non-refundable deposit before a carrier is named;
• no USDOT number, or a number registered to a different company name;
• a "carrier" that turns out to be a broker, or will not say who will actually haul the car;
• no certificate of insurance, or one that is out of date;
• requests to pay by wire to a personal account, gift card or crypto.

The Bill of Lading and the pickup checklist

The Bill of Lading (BOL) is the shipping contract and the condition report in one document. The driver inspects the car at pickup and marks existing damage on it. At delivery you inspect again before you sign. Note any new damage on the BOL before signing, even if the driver is in a hurry. A clean signature makes a later claim much harder.

Pickup checklist:

• Carrier's USDOT number and insurance certificate checked, and names match
• Written quote states loading method (liftgate, winch, ramps) and whether the car runs
• Fuel low, leaks fixed, battery charged or isolated
• Start-up and kill-switch instructions written down and in the car
• Spares and wheels crated, labeled and listed on the BOL
• Timestamped photos of every panel, the underside, wheels and cockpit
• Every existing mark recorded on the BOL; copy kept
• Tie-downs through wheels or tie-down points, not suspension
• Delivery contact, address and access (gate codes, forklift, hours) confirmed

Buying the car in the first place

Shipping is the last step. The first is finding the right car and checking it properly before money changes hands. Browse race cars for sale in the United States, and if you need your own rig for the trip, look at race trailers for sale and race transporters for sale. Buying from abroad instead? Read our guide to buying a race car from another country.

Sources

• 49 CFR 383.91, commercial motor vehicle groups (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 390.3, general applicability and exceptions (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 387.303, security for the protection of the public (eCFR)
• 49 CFR 387.307, property broker surety bond or trust fund (eCFR)
• FMCSA, Commercial Driver's License
• California Highway Patrol, driver license requirements for towing trailers (PDF)
• FreightWaves, car shipping cost estimates (2026)
• Indicative 2026 per-mile and enclosed-premium figures cross-checked against published US auto-transport pricing data; not binding quotes.