I think you dismiss the Fox a little too quick. It can be brought down to 2800 lb for a track car, 300 rwhp is pretty easy, and the handling can be fixed (rip it out a start over with Griggs

). You might want to look at an E30 BMW as good possibility too. Either one of those has a series that you could move into if you want to take the next step and go wheel to wheel.