I first heard about the Chumpcar World Series at the start of the 2011 season. It’s an extraordinary concept which involves driving in real, honest-to-goodness races behind the wheel of a car that did not cost more than $500.
Impossible, you say? Not at all! The Chumpcar World Series is such a success that organizers regularly have to turn away entrants! The 2012 calendar, in fact, includes 43 events, five of which will take place here in Canada: Shannonville, Gimli, Calabogie, Edmonton and the Grand Bend Motorplex will all be hosting races.
The creators of this series had gotten fed up with mortgaging their homes to satisfy their passion for auto racing. So they came up with Chumpcar, an amusing series all participants take great pleasure racing in.
Team names are often correspondingly offbeat, including the likes of Clutch of Fire Racing, Will Race for Beer, Prancing Donkey, Shake and Bake, Team PontiAxed and others.
The crazy decorations adorning the cars are sometimes side-splitting. Needless to say, and happily, no one involved takes themselves too seriously. Every race is a big, slightly deranged party.
The purchase price of cars entered in the series cannot have surpassed $500. More specifically, this must represent the average market value of the car, not what an entrant has actually paid for it. As well, the car must be legal for road use.
Beyond that, a minimum of safety standards must be met, including the installation of a roll cage, a racing seat and a harness. Any type of tire is permitted on condition it is certified DOT rated 190 or more. Every team must include at least four drivers, since the races are of the endurance variety.
The race format can range from seven hours to twice seven hours, to the longest in the world at 25 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds! Another great selling point is that the series visits some of the most beautiful American road tracks, such as Road Atlanta, Portland, Road America, Daytona, Sebring and Infineon.
The challenge this series presents is obvious: run an endurance race with a car costing no more than $500 and on which virtually no preparation is allowed.
The goal then is not to run at hellbent speed, but to find a sufficient pace to stay in the pack without the car falling to pieces! Not having brakes give out during the race is another real challenge! The focus is on staying on the track – easier said than done!
Bravo to the creators of the Chumpcar World Series for understanding that driving pleasure is not always synonymous with speed!
Impossible, you say? Not at all! The Chumpcar World Series is such a success that organizers regularly have to turn away entrants! The 2012 calendar, in fact, includes 43 events, five of which will take place here in Canada: Shannonville, Gimli, Calabogie, Edmonton and the Grand Bend Motorplex will all be hosting races.
The creators of this series had gotten fed up with mortgaging their homes to satisfy their passion for auto racing. So they came up with Chumpcar, an amusing series all participants take great pleasure racing in.
Team names are often correspondingly offbeat, including the likes of Clutch of Fire Racing, Will Race for Beer, Prancing Donkey, Shake and Bake, Team PontiAxed and others.
The crazy decorations adorning the cars are sometimes side-splitting. Needless to say, and happily, no one involved takes themselves too seriously. Every race is a big, slightly deranged party.
The purchase price of cars entered in the series cannot have surpassed $500. More specifically, this must represent the average market value of the car, not what an entrant has actually paid for it. As well, the car must be legal for road use.
Beyond that, a minimum of safety standards must be met, including the installation of a roll cage, a racing seat and a harness. Any type of tire is permitted on condition it is certified DOT rated 190 or more. Every team must include at least four drivers, since the races are of the endurance variety.
The race format can range from seven hours to twice seven hours, to the longest in the world at 25 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds! Another great selling point is that the series visits some of the most beautiful American road tracks, such as Road Atlanta, Portland, Road America, Daytona, Sebring and Infineon.
The challenge this series presents is obvious: run an endurance race with a car costing no more than $500 and on which virtually no preparation is allowed.
The goal then is not to run at hellbent speed, but to find a sufficient pace to stay in the pack without the car falling to pieces! Not having brakes give out during the race is another real challenge! The focus is on staying on the track – easier said than done!
Bravo to the creators of the Chumpcar World Series for understanding that driving pleasure is not always synonymous with speed!
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| Photo: Chumpcar World Series |