Ultimate Track Car Challenge

[wahoo5]

Here a few pics from the UTCC at VIR today. Very small turnout.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/sets/72157627134039037/

[whiteryder]

Those are great!  Some really cool cars.  What's the story behind the pickup? 

b.

[blue06civic]

Seriously!  This is awesome:

[wahoo5]

Adrian Amos was driving it. It had an Escalade motor in it. Danielle should be afraid, very afraid!

[ccann26]

    Sanford and Son Pickup !

[ahamos]

The story behind the pickup is pretty awesome.  It's a 1964 Chevy C-10 that the guys found in a field in South Carolina.  The motor is a stroked Cadillac Escalade V8 (from 6L to ~6.9L), mated to a Ford top-loader 4-speed tranny.  It's running coil springs front & rear, NASCAR brakes (for real), and slicks.

It's prepared for Chump Car with a very serious cage, and can drink its whole fuel tank in about 30 minutes.

The thing does not steer well, and the pedals are miles apart, but there's almost nothing at the track that can drive away from it in a straight line...up to about 125mph.  It hits an aerodynamic wall at that point.

Here's my write-up of the event, and in-car footage from my last session will be featured as the GRM 'video of the month' next month.

[wahoo5]

Thanks for the background. Pretty interesting. I don't know as much about Chumpcar, but if the rules are like LeMons, I can't imagine how the non-safety stuff like the brakes totals less than $500.

Congrats on the GRM coverage. You looked like you were having a lot of fun. I was surprised how flat it was around Oak Tree.

[ahamos]

As with LeMons, brakes are considered a safety item.   I've advised them to strongly consider a fuel cell, also as a matter of basic safety.  The old Sprint Cup tires, on the other hand...that's just good sense.

They told me they run the truck, and I think all their cars, in some sort of "fun" class. They're not competitive.  I don't know all the rules for Chump Car, but it's not as big a spectacle as LeMons.  They'll let you get away with a lot if you declare upfront that you're not trying to win.

I did have a lot of fun. In spite of being rather melty.

[wahoo5]

I misspoke. I figured brakes were free as safety items for both, but there were a bunch of non-safety suspension parts and wheels to say nothing of the Escalade motor that would make $500 a little hard to believe. It must be the part about declaring you are not trying to win. LeMons didn't have that. It was a lot of fun, but I think your truck was a hell of a lot faster than our LeMons truck.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ogburn/5487682764/

No one accused us of violating the $500 rule!

David

[ahamos]

Actually...  That motor was a direct response to GRM's hesitation to allow the truck into the UTCC. They thought we would be too slow, so the Wreckless Abandon crew responded in true American fashion:  by sourcing the biggest damn motor they could find, stroking it, and throwing in race cams.  Their ChumpCar motor is nowhere near as powerful, but I don't know how often they'll swap back & forth before they just stick with one setup and let it go.  That's a lot of work just to go play.

But yeah:  ChumpCar is a lot more relaxed about letting people just go out and have fun.  The guys did LeMons once and didn't care for the carnival feel.  They also won't drive at night, so they're really just there for the glory of trading paint at speed.