jkent - they were messing with you a bit. The price for each event was the number they quoted you - basically, you could have come out and run your car for competition, fun, or sound measurements - no matter why you want to run, the entry fee is the same.
There are no "trial runs" or "free sound checks" at any club, since it requires workers for the event. They were attempting to tell you that humorously, and failing miserably. You are welcome at ANY club's event as a spectator, and some clubs will give you ride-alongs for free too. If you want to take a car onto the course for whatever reason, you'll have to pay the entry fee; same for your buddies. BMW has very low entry fees for all events except at TMS (its expensive to rent), but requires you to be a member in order to run with them. All other clubs will let non-members run, but members get a lower price. NTAXS has one flat-rate price for everyone, and is the perfect club for someone who wants to try-out autocrossing without worrying at all about classing and class rules, since they group all similar cars together regardless of mods.
Eqiupe Rapide and SCCA have well-developed Novice programs and can help you learn quickly and get helpful instructors. NTAXS, BMW and PCA offer tons of runs for cheap entry fees and are great for seat time and fun.
ER and SCCA have sound meters running at their events.
