Anyone else into ChumpCar or LeMons?

[LarryGP]

Anyone else here part of a ChumpCar or LeMons team?

My team is getting ready for 14-Hours at Road Atlanta with ChumpCar this weekend, hopefully our finicky little 944 holds together this time... We blew up at Road America a few weeks back and had to dig up another motor....

[dem00n]

A 944 for a lemon car?
Why choose that for a lemon car? Just curious.

[Jedi1]

I would say because 944's are amazing on a race track. Story over.

I have an invite for this weekends race in a car not my own and an E21 BMW sitting here with a slight fuel system issue, but other than that it's ready to run. UNfortunately the wife has the flu and walking pneumonia. I think I'll be taking care of a sick girl this weekend.

Good luck with the Porsche! Hope to see you on track next season.

[Kido1986]

I want to hook up with a team for one of these, badly. I keep hunting people through my contacts but no luck yet.

[LarryGP]

It started because I knew a guy who was selling one for cheap. I also know several guys through work who are big into 944's, and have their little network of "parts guys" and Spec 944 racers. So we had a ready-made network of parts and support in the area.

Secondly, like Jedi said, they're a blast on track. The transaxle layout gives great weight distribution.

The downsides? Not as powerful as other "$500 racecars" and the motor can be a little quirky sometimes...

We've had a blast with it though. Here's some onboard of us at Road America:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151206005658666

[LarryGP]

Originally Posted by Kido1986

I want to hook up with a team for one of these, badly. I keep hunting people through my contacts but no luck yet.

If you're looking to buy a ride, there are always teams with open slots, and there's a whole board in the forum devoted to helping make those connections:
http://forum.chumpcar.com/

The Sebring or Daytona races wouldn't be too far for you

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by LarryGP

If you're looking to buy a ride, there are always teams with open slots, and there's a whole board in the forum devoted to helping make those connections:
http://forum.chumpcar.com/

I also would love to do one of these races. How does the arrive and drive work? I see on the forum that people usually charge $700 for a seat. Is that all you need to pay? What about other fees like entry fee and stuff? What happens if you crash the car, break the car or someone crash into you while racing? Do you need to have a racing license? What happens if the car is broken and you don't get to drive? Sorry for so many newbie questions. I really want to give this a try next year.

[FT-86 SpeedFactory]

We run Lemons and Chump. Been running since 2009. Got one first place in Lemons, and a couple Chump trophies as well.

One of the cheapest ( cheap expensive ) ways to go racing wheel to wheel.

[bestwheelbase]

We're fans. Those series look like tons of fun.

[Mitch]

I'm trying to get a Chump team together to support an old Celica.

[LarryGP]

Originally Posted by ft86Fan

I also would love to do one of these races. How does the arrive and drive work? I see on the forum that people usually charge $700 for a seat. Is that all you need to pay? What about other fees like entry fee and stuff? What happens if you crash the car, break the car or someone crash into you while racing? Do you need to have a racing license? What happens if the car is broken and you don't get to drive? Sorry for so many newbie questions. I really want to give this a try next year.

You do NOT need a racing license, just a valid driver's license. If it is your first time, you will have to take a short intro course from ChumpCar, explaining track etiquette, the flags, race procedures, etc.

If you want to show up and drive with a team, you would just have to email them and get added to their entry list. And then pay them whatever you and the team agree to. ChumpCar charges the teams a $500 entry fee per car + $100 per driver per race, so that should give you an idea of what you're reimbursing the team for, by "renting" a seat (plus fuel, parts, and time the team has put into the car).

If you crash the car, well, that's between you and the team to work out. From my experience, ChumpCar has some great, clean, courteous, racing, and as long as you pay attention, know your limits, and race your own race, you shouldn't find yourself in any "vehicle totaling" situations. Doing well is much more about simply putting down as many laps as possible than it is about overall pace. There is no need to drive dirty or block a car that is 10 seconds a lap faster and 20 laps ahead of you, and ChumpCar won't tolerate it anyway. Just concentrate on your lines, watch your mirrors, give the obviously-faster cars some point-by passes, and focus on improving your own driving.

If your car breaks before you get to drive, then it breaks and you don't get to drive. It happened to me at Road America. If you're renting a ride, they may refund you, thats between you and the team (and people in ChumpCar are pretty nice, so don't worry). You can always take a stroll down the pitlane and see if anyone else wants to rent you a few hours in another car. Generally though, talk to the team and see how long they've been at it. If they've got a lot of experience, they know how to keep their car on track for the duration of an event. They wouldn't spend all the time and money prepping and hauling the car to the track unless they knew they could finish a race... but still, bad things happen sometimes.

Chumpcar is a BLAST, and such a cool concept. And where else are you going to get a shot at doing big endurance races at places like VIR, Watkins Glen, or Road America?

[Trac Toy]

We run the flat black Mopar4Life neon. We were at road America a few weeks back.

[bakerr6]

Originally Posted by LarryGP

If you're looking to buy a ride, there are always teams with open slots, and there's a whole board in the forum devoted to helping make those connections:
http://forum.chumpcar.com/

The Sebring or Daytona races wouldn't be too far for you

I live in cincinnati and would be willing to get started, just need to find a team haha

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by LarryGP

You do NOT need a racing license, just a valid driver's license. If it is your first time, you will have to take a short intro course from ChumpCar, explaining track etiquette, the flags, race procedures, etc.

If you want to show up and drive with a team, you would just have to email them and get added to their entry list. And then pay them whatever you and the team agree to. ChumpCar charges the teams a $500 entry fee per car + $100 per driver per race, so that should give you an idea of what you're reimbursing the team for, by "renting" a seat (plus fuel, parts, and time the team has put into the car).

If you crash the car, well, that's between you and the team to work out. From my experience, ChumpCar has some great, clean, courteous, racing, and as long as you pay attention, know your limits, and race your own race, you shouldn't find yourself in any "vehicle totaling" situations. Doing well is much more about simply putting down as many laps as possible than it is about overall pace. There is no need to drive dirty or block a car that is 10 seconds a lap faster and 20 laps ahead of you, and ChumpCar won't tolerate it anyway. Just concentrate on your lines, watch your mirrors, give the obviously-faster cars some point-by passes, and focus on improving your own driving.

If your car breaks before you get to drive, then it breaks and you don't get to drive. It happened to me at Road America. If you're renting a ride, they may refund you, thats between you and the team (and people in ChumpCar are pretty nice, so don't worry). You can always take a stroll down the pitlane and see if anyone else wants to rent you a few hours in another car. Generally though, talk to the team and see how long they've been at it. If they've got a lot of experience, they know how to keep their car on track for the duration of an event. They wouldn't spend all the time and money prepping and hauling the car to the track unless they knew they could finish a race... but still, bad things happen sometimes.

Chumpcar is a BLAST, and such a cool concept. And where else are you going to get a shot at doing big endurance races at places like VIR, Watkins Glen, or Road America?

Thank you so much for the detail response. I will definitely give this a try next year.