The wacky world of ChumpCar racing comes to BIR

For most folks, early summer in north central Minnesota means going to the lake where there's fishing, water-skiing, swimming, canoing, or just cruising around on the pontoon boat. For motorsports die hards, it means spending time at Brainerd International Raceway for the ChumpCar World Series. A pair of seven-hour enduros lured 24 teams to hit the 2.5-mile Competition Road Course at BIR June 5-6.

ChumpCar is different from most other racing series in that the rules are few and there is only one class. It starts with a $500 car plucked from the roadside or a junkyard. Safety gear such as a complete roll cage and racing seat belts must be added. There must be a minimum of four drivers to a team, and bonus laps are awarded for having a theme, the crazier the better.

Since the cars are pretty much disposable, fancy paint jobs are rare. Paint is often by rattle can or roller, but that only leads to more creativity. A Porsche 944 painted bright blue to resemble Paul Bunyan's animal companion, Babe the Blue Ox, was roller painted by several kids while their parents looked on. It looked just fine from a distance.

Most of the teams and drivers were from Minnesota and were new to ChumpCar racing. Some had experience in road racing, ice racing and stage rallying as well as autocross and rallycross, but about a third were new to wheel-to-wheel combat. Among the drivers entered were BIR owner Jed Copham and Gary Curtis, lead instructor at the BIR Performance Driving School, who shared a very tired Honda Prelude.

Halfway through the Saturday race, a trio of BMWs led the field: No. 33 Tubby Butterman Racing, decked out in a golf motif including “Cheetah Woods” across the windshield; No. 17 Flying Circus, looking much like a WWI Fokker complete with bullet hole decals; and No. 51 B.A.R., as in British American Racing, with an American flag design on one half of the car and a British flag on the other half.

In the final hour, The Flying Circus BMW 325e had moved ahead into a dominant lead, with a close fought battle between the Tubby Butterman's BMW 325 and B.A.R.'s BMW. With 20 minutes to go, the Butterman car pulled into the paddock with a failed clutch. After a bit of evaluation, the car went back onto the track and the team was able to salvage fourth place by running a few laps at a slower pace. At the finish, the B.A.R. BMW was one lap in arrears to take second place. Third went to another BMW, the No. 5 SpeedLab entry, decorated in plaid and axe handles as “Friends of Paul  Bunyan.”

The green flag fell at 8:29 Sunday morning for the remaining 19 ChumpCars. A no-show was the Tubby Butterman. The Butterballs replaced the offending clutch Saturday evening but when they tested it, it was a no-go so the car remained on jack stands while the crew slept in. Another non-starter was the No.80 Twisted Ford Mustang, also with clutch issues. They replaced the clutch on Saturday evening as well but it, too, did not work. They dropped the gearbox again on Sunday morning, found that the release bearing had been installed backwards, put it all back together and went out onto the track about two hours late.

A couple of teams that DNFed on Saturday were able to re-start Sunday's race. The No. 26 "That Just Happened" Talladega Nights-themed Toyota MR2 received a transmission transplant after securing use of a hoist in one of the drag racing garages on the other side of the track. (There was bracket drag racing taking place on drag strip while the ChumpCars were racing on the newer Competition Road Course.)

Also making the show Sunday was Team Cougar Bait. After the Saab's V6 engine failed on Saturday, the team chose instead to build a car in the paddock. They had already been offered a 4-cylinder 1999 Saab 9-3, and since the engine management systems were quite different, the original car was stripped to transfer their roll cage and other safety gear to the other chassis. The work was virtually completed by 3 a.m. and the crew went off to catch a few hours of sleep. ChumpCar Technical Director Lloyd Boggs gave the new car his approval and it took the green flag with the rest of the field.

Saturday's finishing position did nothing for the start position on Sunday, so a few of Saturday's mid-pack cars held front positions early on. The No. 26 Toyota had the lead after the first hour. Eventually, however, the strength of the BMW 6-cylinder engines drew them to the front.

The safety requirement of a five-minute pit stop for fuel meant the cars on the track would run nearly three laps while a car was taking on fuel. That meant a lot of position changes could take place from hour to hour.  However, the Flying Circus BMW moved to the lead by mid race and held the position to the finish.  Steady driving kept the B.A.R. BMW near the top of the standings to finish in second place, four laps behind. The Shake and Bake Toyota held on to finish third, eight laps behind the winner.

Enthusiasm for the event was high, with teams that were uncertain about entering the 24-hour race in Newton, Iowa, three weeks away quickly changing their plans to be a part of that event as well. Many spectators and team members who came for the drag races on the BIR main straightaway came over to ask questions and went away vowing to build a "crap can" car for next year. Just to sweeten the pot, ChumpCar has reserved two dates for BIR in 2011.

Other awards for the Brainerd weekend:

Best Theme: #33 Tubby Butterman BMW - Golfing design with grass carpeting and golf balls attached to the hood and roof, golf bag in the rear and "Cheetah Woods" across the windshield.

Chump Award (Spirit for driving the worst piece of crap): #83 Mayhem Racing Honda Civic

One More Lap (Most pit stops): #20 North Star Chumps BMW
- Honorable Mention: nearly a tie with #18 LoL Laughing Out Loud BMW

I Coulda Had a V8: #80 Team Twisted Mustang with a 4-cylinder engine

Off the Charts Mechanical Excellence Award: #46 Team Cougar Bait Saab 9-3 - For building a new ChumpCar racer in the paddock area after the engine on their first entry failed due to overheating. The team made the start on Sunday and went on to a Top 10 finish!

In Our O-pinion (A great drive over the whole weekend): #24 Team Bear Patrol Lexus LS400

Bounced Off and Bounced Back (for being in the wrong place at the right time): #11 Brain-Nerds Racing Porsche 944 - Got hit three times Saturday and once Sunday, none of which were their fault

Least But Not Last (Just Plain Worn Out Award): #56 Dutch Rudder Racing Datsun 280Z