2009 Projects for CT

Asphalt Project Car

Posted February 27 2009 06:26 AM by CtTech
Filed under: Editorials, Hooters Cup Racing, Bob Bolles

We have taken on a lot this year with out project cars. We hope to provide much more technical content than ever before. We start out with the "Hooters" project car.

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Our tech buddy, John Gibson, and his family has been gracious enough to allow us to follow and be involved with his team during the 2009 season. The old Hooters Pro Cup series is now named the USARacing series. Visit their website, www.usarprocup.com, for more information.

What we will be doing in the short term is setting up and testing the new Steve Levitt chassis that John will drive. Included in the test will be data acquisition and a visit to the 7-post rig. We will be reporting on our progress throughout this process and letting you know all of the details on how we go about preparing the car for competition.

We have enlisted the help of a very experienced crew chief in Justin Lages, a former SE tour crew chief, lead mechanic and crew chief for a Grand-Am DP team, and a valued member of the Petty Enterprises Cup team for several years. Justin will bring along his expertise in all aspects of race car preparation and competition to this already fine tuned team. Stay tuned.

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Reader Comments:

1. Your project car results are always suspect. I go back to the 4 cylinder Mustang and what a fiasco it turned out to be. Spending way too much money, in a class that didn't need that to have fun and be competetive. Then after a few years in the garage it gets put out and blows the engine. I did that when I first started racing mini stocks. But with all the "expert" help and way too expensive parts, a lot of my friends laughed at your efforts and lost interest quickly.

Your new projects never have a clear direction, but you seem to have a need for latest stuff, like the absolute NEED to replace your 7 year old chassis on your project DLM. You have problems getting to the races, never have steady driving while there and it ends up in the garage again!

Pick a class, buy a car that has an established racing record and get a driver that can race that car! Don't buy every latest piece for it, don't keep screwing with EVERYTHING, just race! Have fun, make it reliable. Write a column every week it races. So are many racers out there right now that make it with less and do it better than your magazine cars have done so far.

THEN, IF you get consistency, take the car around to tracks all over the country that runs that class. Meet the owners and drivers and get some real time appraisal and help to get your car set for that particular track. You will meet more drivers and the friends and relatives that keep them going.

This should be a vehicle that gets you to know your readers around the country, get to know tracks other than your backyard stuff. I think you will find most tracks enjoy reading about local tracks, their tracks! Bring your circus and have fun. Build a car like Richard built Dale, almost indestructable so you don't spend all your time under the car and not with the other drivers.

This could be a good time for small tracks, but it sure helps when a big time magazine like your visits. So what if you get beat all the time. Look and the senators or generals that always played the Harlem Globetrotters. It was the show and brought in the fans. Be like them.

Russ Lawson

rnoswal - Posted April 15 2009 08:50 PM

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