Re: Want to race for real??
 

Fred can order pizzas like nobody's business.

Hey, guys gotta eat, right?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Personally, I want to do this later, but I'd never join a team only to have to climb some ladder or sit around having pipe dreams. That's retarded. Drive or don't go.

But that's me.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I wouldn't say its so much about climbing a ladder; more about people feeling it out or wanting to see what its about without having to invest a lot of money up front.

You can hop on any noobish team without having prior experience. But if you're trying to get on a team that's actually decently fast, good luck jumping on with zero road racing/crew experience at all.

Teams need crew, and crew can come and don't have to pay for anything, the drivers cover their expenses. Great, cheap way to have fun. Is it as fun as driving? Not gonna make that argument. But for example, I can't afford any more races this year but I might go to the race at Laguna Seca just to crew, gonna be a ton of fun and cool to experience such a famous world class track.

Starting a team/building a car is yet more expensive. Crewing beats not doing it at all, for darn sure.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Expecting to just jump on a team and drive a car that has had hundreds of hours of work put into it? That's asking an awful lot. And if you don't have any experience, well that's just retarded.

But that's just me.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Well some teams do rent seats for arrive & drive people, that isn't uncommon.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

It's his kind of arrogant attitude that this series is not geared towards. This series is about having fun and getting seat time.

If you're Mario Andretti, you might be able to walk on with that kind of an attitude. But you sir, are no Mario.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

This would be great if I had any time in my schedule. I'd like to get out to see one of these next summer.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Space, check. Tow Rig, check. Funds, check. Ideally I'd like to just get something going for 2012, get one race in at BIR or IA at very minimum to get the feet wet, and do a couple more in 2013.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I got a car that we can prep this winter and at least one or 2 other drivers. How about it Allan?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Something awsome! Just rember if you ever crash it paul I would be interested in taking your tranny off your hands.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Why not just make a few adds? Who's going to know and as long as you really paid less then $500 or even got it for free then what does it matter?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

That would be cheating.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

If you showed up with a GVR4 with a turbo smaller than a 16g on it, nobody would care that it wasn't $500. You're not getting laps in it and it will probably explode spectacularly on the track.

Bring lots of extra brakes and tires though, that thing is going to chew through them.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

This would be relevant to my intrests. :) You talking about the MR2? How would that hold up?

My thing with Chump car and 2012, I want to pace myself, I don't want to do 3 Chump evetns and not be able to do a single Auto X event. I don't want to deal with not enjoying the seat time if people are worried about the cost. If I did one event in 2012 while getting a car all set up and "reliable", then I'd be happy, and stoked about 2013!

I'm asking for Safety gear for xmas this year :D getting that out of the way now either way just in case!

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Well, it has held up to 2 seasons of rallycross with Denny and I both driving with it, with very minimal issues. I have a few things that need tending to (just an oil leak and general maintenance issues like brakes and such) which I will be doing this winter as well. Other than that, it's solid.

I'm only looking at maybe the BIR events next year for it also. I'm thinking it will probably only be 1 or 2 events up there, right? Honestly, if something totally catastrophic happened to the MR2 while it was being raced, I could easily walk away from it without regret. It has been an amazing car for me for as little as I've had to put into it. Kind of like they always say about rally cars, don't drive one that you can't walk away from if it's totalled.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Chumpcar Happy Hour Set up!!

Come share your competition stories from this year, discuss your build, the upcoming 2012 races, etc. This is a great opportunity for folks interested to ask questions from the more experienced (victimized?) Chumpsters. We'll have print outs of the rules, flyers for the series, hopefully some supporting vendors and give away some ChumpGear. If the last happy hour was any indication, we’ll have a great time. The local teams have now run so many events together that most folks from local teams are no longer strangers. I’m looking forward to catching up and bench racing.

Wear your ChumpGear or team colors! Bring your DVD or laptop of on-track madness. Pictures to share? I'll buy a beer for anyone that arrives driving their Chumpcar.

The 2012 Schedule should be available by the happy hour. We've met a ton of fun people during races again this year.

When: Saturday, November 19th

Location: Poor Richards Commonhouse (Hwys 494 & 100) - In the Backroom

Time: 6PM to Whenever (We have our own room with three TVs so bring some videos to share). They will send me an email with the hookups that the TVs take but the manager said HDMI and S-Video were givens. Look for the Chumpcar sign/banners.

Looking forward to catching up on everyone's plans for competition in 2012. Please share this with your friends, fellow racers, forum groupies, neighbors, law enforcement, etc.
Tubby

Re: Want to race for real??
 

New race schedule is out for next year. We will probably run 3 or 4 events. I highlighted the close-ish events.

2012 ChumpCar World Series Schedule

NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK (North Course): 21 Jan / 14-Hour
ROAD ATLANTA: 11 - 12 Feb / Double-7
EAGLES CANYON RACEWAY: 3 - 4 Mar / Double-7
PALM BEACH INT'L RACEWAY: 3 - 4 Mar / 24-Hour
STREETS OF ENSENADA: 10 - 11 Mar (T) / 2-2-3 Enduros
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY (Full Roval): 31-Mar / 14-Hour
LA JUNTA RACEWAY: 31 Mar - 1 Apr / Double-7
PORTLAND INT'L RACEWAY: 31 Mar - 1 Apr / 10 + 6 Enduros
BEAVERUN: 14 - 15 Apr / Double-7
ROAD AMERICA: 21 - 22 Apr / Double-7
SPOKANE COUNTY RACEWAY: 5 - 6 May / 10 + 6 Enduros
TEXAS WORLD SPEEDWAY: 19 - 20 May / 24-Hour
SHANNONVILLE MOTORSPORTS PARK: 26 - 27 May (T) / Double-7
DAYTONA INT'L SPEEDWAY (Full Roval): 27-May / 14-Hour
GIMLI AERO-RACEWAY: 2 - 3 Jun (T) / Double-7
NEW JERSEY MTRSPTS PARK (Lightning): 2 - 3 Jun / Double-7
EDMONTON (CFB): 9 – 10 Jun (T) / Double-7
GATEWAY MOTORPLEX (Full Roval): 9 - 10 Jun / 14-Hour
BUTTONWILLOW RACEWAY: 16-Jun / 14-Hour
HIGH PLAINS RACEWAY: 23 - 24 Jun / Double-7
BRAINERD INT'L RACEWAY: 30-Jun / 14-Hour
SPOKANE COUNTY RACEWAY (Long Course): 21 - 22 Jul / 24-Hour
VIRGINIA INT'L RACEWAY (Full Course): 11 - 12 Aug / 24-Hour
STREETS OF WILLOW (All-Night Race): 18 - 19 Aug / 14-Hour
MICHIGAN INT'L SPEEDWAY (Full Roval): 25 - 26 Aug / Double-7
IOWA SPEEDWAY (Full Roval): 25 - 26 Aug /24-Hour
PIKES PEAK INT'L RACEWAY (Full Roval): 8 - 9 Sep / 24-Hour
GRAND BEND RACEWAY: 15 – 16 Sep / Reg. Chumpionship Format TBD
SEBRING INT'L RACEWAY (Long Track): 22-Sep / 14-Hour
HEARTLAND PARK RACEWAY: 22 - 23 Sep / Reg. Chumpionship Format TBD
STREETS OF MEXICALI: 23 - 23 Sep (T) / 2-2-3 Enduros
NELSON LEDGES ROAD COURSE: 6 - 7 Oct / 25.25.25
TEXAS WORLD SPEEDWAY: 20 Oct (T) / 14-Hour
ROAD AMERICA: 20 - 21 Oct / Double-7
MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK: 27-Oct / 14-Hour
PORTLAND INT'L RACEWAY: 27 - 28 Oct / 12 + 6 Enduro
AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: 3 - 4 Nov / Reg. Chumpionship Format TBD
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY (Full Roval): 10-Nov / Reg. Chumpionship Format TBD
NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK: 17 - 18 Nov / Double-7
ROAD ATLANTA: 8-Dec / 14-Hour
HARRIS HILL RACEWAY: 8 - 9 Dec / Double-7

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Nice!

Thanks for posting the schedule.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Shooting for the RA and Brainerd dates. But am not interested in oval stuff, so will check out those other dates and what their layouts are.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Who is following through on building a car for chumpcar? I believe that MATCHBX sold the car he was thinking about racing :( We're in the thick of improvements for the season, the interior is stripped/engine pulled and we're doing multiple winter projects on it.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Upgrading the brakes is looking to be harder than we thought. The lug dish on our 15" Bassett rims is hitting our calipers. I think we're going to switch from 10" Honda rotors to 11" Corrado ones. I didn't want to do that, as part availability goes to shit, but I don't have a choice.

Other than that, the car just needs a good once over to ensure maintenance is where it needs to be then it should be ready to go for next year.

Good luck to everyone and I hope a couple more cars get built, racing wheel to wheel is a blast.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

We are, but are way behind schedule. I'm hoping a fire gets lit soon so we can jam away and finish it for the first RA race.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

^Need crew?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Definite possibility.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

ha, we'd definitely take anyone who wants to crew for us and is knowledgeable with cars.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Yep, car got sold about a month or two ago. Funds are going to be used to finish the basement. Building an entertainment room down there. Picked up the old Atari Race Drivin' sit-in arcade game simulator. So I'll be racing on that one instead of at the track. It's cheaper that way.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

and a whoooole lot less fun :) Seriously, nothing beats the real thing. But it sounds like a good financial decision, so kudos to you for making it.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I hear ya there. Nothing totally replaces the real thing. But until I have the time (having a one year old consumes alot of it) and funds (see earlier comment) to do it, I'll have to settle for a state-of-the-art (weel, in 1991 anyways) racing simulator. Gotta love it when the wife tells you, "do what you want with the room. It's your room to set up how you want it." Go figures it would end up as a racing room.

I've been racing, and organizing races, nonstop for almost the past 10 years. I think I'm ready for a little break. At least for a couple of years. The wallet is thanking me already. It now has some company besides my driver's license, insurance cards and SCCA membership cards. It has presidents to talk to.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I made a pedal spacer! effective heel-toe here we come!

Re: Want to race for real??
 

You heel toe for shifting? I tell our drivers to not downshift through the gears to save on clutch wear. Our pedal travel is about half an inch too with our goofy hydraulic conversion but I'm not sure we'd be much faster if we shifted like that anyway.

Our brake upgrade is basically finished, just need to bleed everything.
http://pics.roomsapp.mobi/nDFWkKYvYJ.jpg

Re: Want to race for real??
 

wait... whaaaa? how much did that cost? Does that seriously conform to the 2x rule??

we're downgrading our brakes :( Our setup last year was janky and caused more problems than it did benefits.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Benefits of running a Chevette, parts are amazingly expensive because nobody makes them. They're Corrado rotors ($40 so actually less than standard rotors) and the Dynalite calipers are only $120. Pads are cheaper than stock too with better compound choices. We're still running rubber brake hoses, so we didn't add any cost there aside from a brass thread adapter for the caliper. I was worried that the upgrade would fit the rule too but after crunching the numbers it all worked out, it's kind of crazy.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

A few buddies and myself are going to give chumpcar a shot hopefully this season! What kind of life do you guys usually see out of a set of tires? Is most everyone using a hans device?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

We get maybe 7 hours out of a set of the tires we run. If you run a harder compound tire they will last longer and it depends on your car, alignment, etc.

Maybe half the people have some type of Hans style device.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

first race in the area (Road America) is in just over 60 days, get building!

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Any idea what the cutoff date is for registraion? I'm doubtful we'll make that race at this point. May settle for a track day or two before the next regional race in june/july.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I actually can't find any info on that... they need to do a better job of publishing those deadlines. I thought it was like 2 months, but it seems as though it'll let me register for a race a month away...

We've already registered for Road America and paid our deposit.

Whats the status of the MKIII?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Motor is back in the car, we were hoping to have it running saturday but the stars didn't quite align. And then my welder broke :( Anyone wanna lend me one for a few weeks?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Its coming along. Had a good weekend last week. But RA is near impossible. May be a good thing as we need a little seat time before we jump into a race IMO. Will do some track days before the next close race.

Regarding loaning a welder, wish I could but not possible currently.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Junaid was making it sound like you guys were going to make RA today.