5 replies to this topic

[AJ Fisher]

Anyone out there who participates in the Chump Car Series? I've gone twice now to see a friend race and it's loads of fun. Nothing beats a bunch of beater cars running in 12 hour enduros.

[DionJ]

Yes, chumpcar can be fun with the right attitude. There are seemingly random penalties applied to competitive cars that can be frustrating to those of us from a real racing background...

[forestdweller37]

Anyone out there who participates in the Chump Car Series? I've gone twice now to see a friend race and it's loads of fun. Nothing beats a bunch of beater cars running in 12 hour enduros.

I'm on a team that runs Chumpcar with a 1.6 liter Miata. It is a lot of fun as you said. Don't be misled by appearances though. For the teams that contend for podium positions, those cars are mechanically excellent "beaters". And the teams running them have their organization and crew work well sorted.

Yes, chumpcar can be fun with the right attitude. There are seemingly random penalties applied to competitive cars that can be frustrating to those of us from a real racing background...

I've not seen too much of that with Chumpcar, though I've heard of it with Lemons.

[steveracer]

I'm on a team that runs Chumpcar with a 1.6 liter Miata. It is a lot of fun as you said. Don't be misled by appearances though. For the teams that contend for podium positions, those cars are mechanically excellent "beaters". And the teams running them have their organization and crew work well sorted.




I've not seen too much of that with Chumpcar, though I've heard of it with Lemons.

+1

LeMons is almost ridiculous with black flags and penalties, Chumpcar is much more "Race" focused. I personally got admonished at a LeMons race for "divebombing 5 cars" when they were braking at the 5 marker and I could drive to the 1 before braking.

I've seen many fellow racers at LeMons/Chumpcar races.

Our team, Mid-Drive Crisis, won our last LeMons race and 3 of 3 ChumpCar races we've entered. Like any enduro, car prep, crew, and drivers all have to be damn near perfect.

[forestdweller37]

Steveracer,
It sounds like Mid-Drive Crisis is having considerable success. May I ask which model of car your team is using?

[steveracer]

It's a 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage-go figure.

We modified the car so the driver sits in the Center instead of on the left. The balance of the car doesn't change even though there's 100lb spread among our drivers.

We're rarely the fastest car on track, but the little Mitsu just keeps on humming...

Our team is well prepped, car has had no issues except for the some early bugs we had to work out.

The car will go 2 hrs on a tank of fuel, which matches the allowable driver stint, which keeps pit stops to a minimum.

Our drivers are all expereienced racers that are fast, consistent, and drive clean so no damage/penalties.


I wish my SM was as easy to drive as the Mid-Drive car, I wish the Mid-Drive was as fast as my SM. Though I do have to admit I enjoy the challenge of passing higher HP cars in the twisty bits, and when lap cars let me through easily I wave to them from the right window.