There is that car down the street that has been sitting stagnant in that guy’s front yard for way too long. The left rear tire is flat, but other than that, the car appears to be in pretty good shape. Your buddy from high school, the one who got a C in metal shop, says if you buy the car he’ll weld a cage in it. You go down to talk to the guy to see what he wants for the car. His wife answers the door and says if you get “that piece of crap” out of their yard it’s yours to keep. You just scored a car for free, but because she couldn’t find the paperwork, you can’t register it for the street. Now what? Well, the ChumpCar World Series, the endurance racing series for $500 cars, is coming to a track near your town. Grab your Costco sockets and get to work. You’re about to become a racecar driver!
Continue reading Racer Boy: ChumpCar Claimer Road Racing

Christmas was just a few days ago and for some reason Santa missed the Krider Racing headquarters (rumor has it, they’re on the naughty list). However, most Speed Sport Life readers consider the real Santa Claus to come in the form of the FedEx man. And that was just who showed up in the nick of time with a box full of racing goodies for our preparations for the upcoming ChumpCar World Series race at Infineon January 9-10, 2010.

We scored a cool fabricated safety cage for our nitrogen tank to run our air tools from Capital City Motorsports, a pair of FIA rated Piloti driving shoes (great for heel toe downshifts), some Carbotech brake pads (for going super deep into the corners), some “FUEL” stickers for our pit crew to go on expired helmets (per ChumpCar rules) from Figstone Graphics and last, but not least, new nomex socks from I/O Port Racing Supplies.

So, what did you get under the “racing” tree this year?

Most Speed Sport Life readers consider themselves car aficionados. Sure, you can tell the difference between a 1970 and 1971 Chevelle from a mile away (count the headlights, folks). But can you tell what type of car the Krider Racing / Speed Sport Life ChumpCar World Series entry is just from this shot of the driver’s door?

The door stickers were the hard work of Dan at Figstone Graphics who will do both doors and roof of a racecar for an easy $60. Not too shabby. This beats the ole cut your own number with scissors on shelf paper from Home Depot trick (which is one of those tricks that always looks like hell).

The first ChumpCar World Series race of 2010 is coming up, January 9-10, 2010, at Infineon Raceway. Speed Sport Life will be doing live coverage and updates from the California event.

So, take your best shot at guessing the make and model of the car. Here’s a hint, it’s not a Chevelle.

Breaking News: 24 Hours of LeMons chief perpetrator, Jay Lamm, announced that Reno-Fernley Raceway will sadly be closing its doors which means the 24 Hours of LeMons event scheduled for May 8-9, 2010, with the “real” 24 hour race format will be cancelled.  The good news for crap car race teams is that the event will be moved to Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California, on the same weekend, however, there will be no nighttime racing so the event will not have the true 24 hour format like Le Mans in France. 

This is a huge disappointment for most California LeMons teams who have been waiting to run a “real” 24 race but haven’t had the chance on the left coast.  But don’t fret, ChumpCar World Series is running a true 24 hour race format at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park in Southern California, January 30-31, 2010.  The race begins at noon on Saturday and ends at noon on Sunday.  What happens in between with a field of $500 cars, is anyone’s guess.

Entry deadline for the event is January 2, 2010.  Go to www.chumpcar.com for more details.