2021 Autobahn Grand Prix Race Results and stuff

[ASenna]

Edit by Bill Strong

Saturday Results -  https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1872413

Sunday results - https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1873662

 

 

 

 

RBank does it again, twice.  Andrew and King Dave know how to put a car together.  The CRX was well suited for this rythmn track.  Had the Corvette (subliminal racing) not broken day two there would have been no way to catch them.  They had 3 seconds in RBank and Premium Dudes.  

Loved watching the little VW pull it's inside wheel in turn one!  Smoked the tire every time. Hated to see 616 catch fire on day one.  The Blue Shells guys were quick and tidy, finished well and ran good pit stops.  I thought the TireRack BMW was setting us up for a close finish on day two but unfortunately had to make one final fuel stop at the end.

IDK about any of you but damn I couldn't figure out Turn 6.  Inside,middle,outside I couldn't find a smooth spot or my rythmn.  

The only contact I saw was GWVELYS front end damage due to possible contact with another black BMW.  I didn't see any Asshat driving this weekend and the officials we halfway pleasant.   (That means you Thomas and Jimmie) 

I'll see you boys and girls in an upcoming race soon.  Until next time,

ASenna

[hotchkis23]

I will say this race was a lot of fun...we didn't have the cars respond now we wanted., but we had pace. Whoever was in the beer money car in the 2md stint, I Really tried to be in your mirror before my pass in 5..... in saw you get loose on the exit.  It was not an intentional push, i assumed we saw each other.   I love seeing your car on track it is so much fun to run against.

[hcsi99]

The Daring Greatly Racing Cadillac CTS had a weekend full of "We'll never do that again" moments.  I started Saturdays race and as soon as I took the green flag the car had a knocking noise coming from the front end that got faster with speed.  I came in at the end of lap one to find that I didn't secure the front part of our under body tray and it was flapping in the wind (I'll never do that again #1).  We lost 2 laps repairing the shield then came out to a full course yellow after the Premium Dudes had issues.  I made it two hours on a tank due to the cautions and turned the car over to Ron.  Ron is still new to wheel to wheel racing but is very fast!  He ran some quick laps but had contact with the blue Corvette.   We were able to watch a replay from the Corvette in their pits thanks to their live stream.  We agreed that their driver made a high risk move and our driver didn't see him and should have been more aware so we both got black flagged.  (I hope we don't do that again #2). The right front wheel of the Vette ended up contacting our right rear door and we ended up with a small dent.  Alex took over after Ron and also got a black flag, number board and all but when he came in they didn't know why and we lost another lap.  Chris finished off Saturday for us bring the car home in 14th overall.  

 

Sunday Chris started us off. Chris was black flagged for a couple of 4 off moments (rightfully so) and was told to cool it and sent back out.  A few minutes later the car died out and was stuck on the side of the track.  We were flat towed back in and found that the fuel pump that feeds the surge tank was no longer working.  We pulled it all apart only to find that the tank was empty.  It appears that when we fueled the car on Saturday night in the paddock that we got an air pocket and what we thought was full was about 2.5 gallons short (We'll never do that again #3) Since we had the tank apart and the pump had been run dry we replaced both pumps anyway.  We put it all back together and added a couple of gallons to make sure that it was fixed then filled it up.  In hindsight, we should have put two gallons in and checked to see if we could have started the car before taking it all apart (I'll never do that again #4)  We got back on track about 45 minutes after the red flag lunch break and finished the rest of the day in 18th overall without issue.  

 

On a positive note, this was the first race weekend that we finished both races.  Like every race so far, we've learned a lot this weekend and will use that experience to get better.  Every fuel stop we had was done by the 5 minute mark this weekend and that's a huge improved over our last few races.  We had an issue with our roll over flap in the cell closing during fueling causing us to have to poor very slow after the first jug.  We have since fixed that and  now we can go full tilt on all 3 jugs.  

 

Congrats to Rbanks on yet another 2 wins and for the amazing program they have built.  Thank you to the team with the 4th gen Camaro for being such good pit neighbors and sharing your shade when we lost our popup on Saturday due to the wind.  Thank you Champcar for running another great event!

 

Lee

 

[Money Shift Racing]

Team Money Shift Racing and our 94 Honda Civic had a great weekend at this race.  We stayed out on track for the whole day on each day and posted up impressive laps for us. The racing was clean (mostly) and the event was ran extremely well.   

 

We had fun dicing it up with the 212, the 550, and both Melian Miata cars as well as others.  Hopefully you all had as much fun as we did.

 

It was awesome seeing the 510 out there as well!

 

Special thanks to Eric with Subliminal Racing for bailing us out with that fire proof foam to help us get through tech.  We are used to being the ones helping out other teams so it was nice getting some help back. I love this community!

 

Our next race is Nelson Ledges....see you all soon!

 

Kevyn   

[Andrew D Johnson]

5 hours ago, Money Shift Racing said:

Team Money Shift Racing and our 94 Honda Civic had a great weekend at this race.  We stayed out on track for the whole day on each day and posted up impressive laps for us. The racing was clean (mostly) and the event was ran extremely well.   

 

We had fun dicing it up with the 212, the 550, and both Melian Miata cars as well as others.  Hopefully you all had as much fun as we did.

 

It was awesome seeing the 510 out there as well!

 

Special thanks to Eric with Subliminal Racing for bailing us out with that fire proof foam to help us get through tech.  We are used to being the ones helping out other teams so it was nice getting some help back. I love this community!

 

Our next race is Nelson Ledges....see you all soon!

 

Kevyn   

Great run this weekend guys, the car looked great on track all weekend.

 

As always it was great having Money Shift Racing not only supporting the series as a series sponsor, but helping us racers at the tracks. 
 

It was great being able to buy a cool shirt from you guys, and the fact you had a control arm you were able to help us out with was great as well. 
 

My car is starting to become littered with parts you guys have helped me with. Now that includes brakes and suspension.

 

With all the help from both 90racing.com and moneyshiftracing.com it makes racing much more fun. 

[Money Shift Racing]

12 hours ago, Andrew D Johnson said:

Great run this weekend guys, the car looked great on track all weekend.

 

As always it was great having Money Shift Racing not only supporting the series as a series sponsor, but helping us racers at the tracks. 
 

It was great being able to buy a cool shirt from you guys, and the fact you had a control arm you were able to help us out with was great as well. 
 

My car is starting to become littered with parts you guys have helped me with. Now that includes brakes and suspension.

 

With all the help from both 90racing.com and moneyshiftracing.com it makes racing much more fun. 

We are always happy to help out whoever we can.

 

Maybe one day we will have something for your team out on track. We enjoy racing with you guys but sooner or later we would like you to stare at our taillights for a while. Lol.

[enginerd]

This weekend wasn't our best.

 

On the plus side, our oil pressure was excellent and I think our engine bearing failures are behind us.

On the negative side, all the time spent on the engine(s) in the last year+ put preventative maintenance on the back burner and that bit us hard. Lost wheel studs on the left front. I ran over to Troy at Hastings Tires Plus and he hooked me up with a front bearing with studs already installed... we replaced the bearing and fueled the car, only losing about 12 minutes versus a normal fuel stop and were still in contention for a top 5 Sunday but later on lost a right front wheel bearing (not sudden.. it was one of those "keep driving it until it feels like failure is imminent" things), both times the wheels barely stayed on limping back to the pits.

 

Pace was great though, we were 3rd fastest on track. 

Also tried RS4 for the first time (leaving our mainstay RE71 as they are out of production) and they were great! With a solid starting point on pressure from Huggins, we had good grip and almost no wear (within a second of RBank who was running some faster wearing tires). Definitely found our new tire for races at or above 80*F, colder weather TBD.

 

 

Had lots of fun chatting with and racing against Subliminal, nice to see you get the reliability solved and show the pace of that corvette, it's great! Congrats to RBank (again), we'll get you if the car stays together next time. Great seeing Troy and the Hastings Tires Plus guys go back to back impound finishes after blowing an engine at Road America, great results!

 

To do list before next race? Replace every piece of rubber, joint, bearing, bushing, wheel stud, caliper, etc. in the chassis / drivetrain... two reliability failures is enough, every part has to go and we'll start FRESH now that the engine is good. Might be at Road America in October, but some big changes in real life will slow down the race car prep work.

[FocusedSteve]

Just registered, didn’t know where t post this so here it is

 

I’m looking for information about how the post race impound process work with Champcar, I’ve attended races, never watched the impound inspection system myself.  I’m currently building a car and I’m not sure if I like what I’m learning.

 

The 2005 Black 916 Ford Focus SVT car of the Blue shells that took first place in class at Autobahn recently  is my concern.

 

Phil Miller ran this car as a 2002 or 2004 Focus SVT car and did OK in the past, I think he did a first place at Autobahn a few years ago and a first place at Indianapolis.   He had some issues with the SVT motors and kept blowing them up. Fast Forward to now, Phil has spent a small fortune (I pray I had his disposable income) on upgrades including a full drivetrain swap to the newer 2.3L engine (actually a 2.5L)

 

Now the car is listed as a 2005 Focus at 200 points.

How did this car go from being a 325 Point 2004 Ford Focus SVT, to being a black 2005 Ford focus at 200 points?

 

Isn’t an engine swap, an engine swap?  How do you get to just change the year of the car?  What year is the car from the VIN number?

Or am I totally off base and the black car is new build for him?

 

Lets considered the possibility that I’m totally confused on the providence of the chassis and put that out of frame.

 

Phil’s Black 2005 Focus number 916 just landed first in class at autobahn, doesn’t it get inspected?  Did anyone even notice that it’s a 2.5L engine, not a 2.3L?  Wouldn’t that be class C not B? 

What else is on this car that isn’t declared?  Does the 2.5 even come from a car on the VPI list?

 

Additionally, rear hubs.  The Focus of this era is known to have rear hub issues, which Phil has experienced first hand.  Suddenly he runs two races with no rear hub issues, again, the inspection process, what parts of the rear hub or carrier is he using, because I doubt they are stock Focus parts.

With Phil’s deep pockets did he pay off a Champcar tech inspector?

 

1)      How do you change a cars year of manufacture and get reduced poi9nts instead of an engine swap calculator and added points?

2)      Does Champcar check displacement at post race tech inspection?

3)      What are the rules on swapped suspension parts?

 

I’m beginning to think that Champcar tech isn’t really a tech inspection, please convince me that I’m wrong.

[Chris Huggins]

1 hour ago, FocusedSteve said:

Just registered, didn’t know where t post this so here it is

 

I’m looking for information about how the post race impound process work with Champcar, I’ve attended races, never watched the impound inspection system myself.  I’m currently building a car and I’m not sure if I like what I’m learning.

 

The 2005 Black 916 Ford Focus SVT car of the Blue shells that took first place in class at Autobahn recently  is my concern.

 

Phil Miller ran this car as a 2002 or 2004 Focus SVT car and did OK in the past, I think he did a first place at Autobahn a few years ago and a first place at Indianapolis.   He had some issues with the SVT motors and kept blowing them up. Fast Forward to now, Phil has spent a small fortune (I pray I had his disposable income) on upgrades including a full drivetrain swap to the newer 2.3L engine (actually a 2.5L)

 

Now the car is listed as a 2005 Focus at 200 points.

How did this car go from being a 325 Point 2004 Ford Focus SVT, to being a black 2005 Ford focus at 200 points?

 

Isn’t an engine swap, an engine swap?  How do you get to just change the year of the car?  What year is the car from the VIN number?

Or am I totally off base and the black car is new build for him?

 

Lets considered the possibility that I’m totally confused on the providence of the chassis and put that out of frame.

 

Phil’s Black 2005 Focus number 916 just landed first in class at autobahn, doesn’t it get inspected?  Did anyone even notice that it’s a 2.5L engine, not a 2.3L?  Wouldn’t that be class C not B? 

What else is on this car that isn’t declared?  Does the 2.5 even come from a car on the VPI list?

 

Additionally, rear hubs.  The Focus of this era is known to have rear hub issues, which Phil has experienced first hand.  Suddenly he runs two races with no rear hub issues, again, the inspection process, what parts of the rear hub or carrier is he using, because I doubt they are stock Focus parts.

With Phil’s deep pockets did he pay off a Champcar tech inspector?

 

1)      How do you change a cars year of manufacture and get reduced poi9nts instead of an engine swap calculator and added points?

2)      Does Champcar check displacement at post race tech inspection?

3)      What are the rules on swapped suspension parts?

 

I’m beginning to think that Champcar tech isn’t really a tech inspection, please convince me that I’m wrong.

 

 

Damn fella, you know how to come out of the gate spittin fire.

 

1. Champcar doesn't check vin's.  You can buy a 2002 focus and race it as a 2003 focus.  If there are differences in the years, you need to account for them.  You can't take the Best 2002 parts and put them on your 2003 and call it a 2003.  It needs to be raced in a factory configuration.  You cant take a 2003 focus and race it as a 2008 focus, since that is a 2nd gen chassis.  This is for cost control. 

The focus came with a 2.3 so its not an engine swap to race it with a 2.3, as long as it has the correct 2.3 for the year being claimed, and all the associated parts.

All 1st gen foci are 200 points (except the svt) so this is really a minimal issue on this platform.

 

2. Champcar can and has checked displacement at impound, upon request.  

 

3. You can swap suspension points.  Specifically hubs are 2.5 points each.  

 

 

[wvumtnbkr]

3 hours ago, FocusedSteve said:

Just registered, didn’t know where t post this so here it is

 

I’m looking for information about how the post race impound process work with Champcar, I’ve attended races, never watched the impound inspection system myself.  I’m currently building a car and I’m not sure if I like what I’m learning.

 

The 2005 Black 916 Ford Focus SVT car of the Blue shells that took first place in class at Autobahn recently  is my concern.

 

Phil Miller ran this car as a 2002 or 2004 Focus SVT car and did OK in the past, I think he did a first place at Autobahn a few years ago and a first place at Indianapolis.   He had some issues with the SVT motors and kept blowing them up. Fast Forward to now, Phil has spent a small fortune (I pray I had his disposable income) on upgrades including a full drivetrain swap to the newer 2.3L engine (actually a 2.5L)

 

Now the car is listed as a 2005 Focus at 200 points.

How did this car go from being a 325 Point 2004 Ford Focus SVT, to being a black 2005 Ford focus at 200 points?

 

Isn’t an engine swap, an engine swap?  How do you get to just change the year of the car?  What year is the car from the VIN number?

Or am I totally off base and the black car is new build for him?

 

Lets considered the possibility that I’m totally confused on the providence of the chassis and put that out of frame.

 

Phil’s Black 2005 Focus number 916 just landed first in class at autobahn, doesn’t it get inspected?  Did anyone even notice that it’s a 2.5L engine, not a 2.3L?  Wouldn’t that be class C not B? 

What else is on this car that isn’t declared?  Does the 2.5 even come from a car on the VPI list?

 

Additionally, rear hubs.  The Focus of this era is known to have rear hub issues, which Phil has experienced first hand.  Suddenly he runs two races with no rear hub issues, again, the inspection process, what parts of the rear hub or carrier is he using, because I doubt they are stock Focus parts.

With Phil’s deep pockets did he pay off a Champcar tech inspector?

 

1)      How do you change a cars year of manufacture and get reduced poi9nts instead of an engine swap calculator and added points?

2)      Does Champcar check displacement at post race tech inspection?

3)      What are the rules on swapped suspension parts?

 

I’m beginning to think that Champcar tech isn’t really a tech inspection, please convince me that I’m wrong.

Just a bit to add....

 

The rules cover most anything you have questions about.

 

The platform swap covers the difference in years.  Any year chassis can be converted with any engine of that same platform.  You MUST use all the same parts from that same year though.  You can't build a unicorn that never existed from the factory (with the exception of the final gearing for some reason).  As Chris said above, vin doesn't matter.

 

Did you actually see what was claimed on the car?  Do you know if they claimed an engine swap?  Did they claim hub parts?  What was on their sheet?

[Team Infiniti]

3 hours ago, FocusedSteve said:

never watched the impound inspection system myself.

Cars are both tech team and peer reviewed, you NEED to attend post race tech to see if the windshield posted declared items list matches the car, if not ask a tech guy for clarification (recommended) or file a $50 protest.

[hotrod]

How about the fact that they had an SCCA wiz kid in the car that went some 3 seconds faster than the car has been. Then with some coaching from him the other guys improved. As soon as a car starts to win the team is cheating when in fact it's preparation and having quality drivers.

I've never lost a rear bearing in my Focus. Broke front hubs but took the points to get the billet ones.

Accusing someone of Buying off an Official is pretty bold. 

You sound like you know Phil why don't you approach him instead of airing it out on the forums?

[mcoppola]

4 hours ago, FocusedSteve said:

Just registered, didn’t know where t post this so here it is

 

I’m looking for information about how the post race impound process work with Champcar, I’ve attended races, never watched the impound inspection system myself.  I’m currently building a car and I’m not sure if I like what I’m learning.

 

The 2005 Black 916 Ford Focus SVT car of the Blue shells that took first place in class at Autobahn recently  is my concern.

 

Phil Miller ran this car as a 2002 or 2004 Focus SVT car and did OK in the past, I think he did a first place at Autobahn a few years ago and a first place at Indianapolis.   He had some issues with the SVT motors and kept blowing them up. Fast Forward to now, Phil has spent a small fortune (I pray I had his disposable income) on upgrades including a full drivetrain swap to the newer 2.3L engine (actually a 2.5L)

 

Now the car is listed as a 2005 Focus at 200 points.

How did this car go from being a 325 Point 2004 Ford Focus SVT, to being a black 2005 Ford focus at 200 points?

 

Isn’t an engine swap, an engine swap?  How do you get to just change the year of the car?  What year is the car from the VIN number?

Or am I totally off base and the black car is new build for him?

 

Lets considered the possibility that I’m totally confused on the providence of the chassis and put that out of frame.

 

Phil’s Black 2005 Focus number 916 just landed first in class at autobahn, doesn’t it get inspected?  Did anyone even notice that it’s a 2.5L engine, not a 2.3L?  Wouldn’t that be class C not B? 

What else is on this car that isn’t declared?  Does the 2.5 even come from a car on the VPI list?

 

Additionally, rear hubs.  The Focus of this era is known to have rear hub issues, which Phil has experienced first hand.  Suddenly he runs two races with no rear hub issues, again, the inspection process, what parts of the rear hub or carrier is he using, because I doubt they are stock Focus parts.

With Phil’s deep pockets did he pay off a Champcar tech inspector?

 

1)      How do you change a cars year of manufacture and get reduced poi9nts instead of an engine swap calculator and added points?

2)      Does Champcar check displacement at post race tech inspection?

3)      What are the rules on swapped suspension parts?

 

I’m beginning to think that Champcar tech isn’t really a tech inspection, please convince me that I’m wrong.

Hello, @FocusedSteve and welcome to the CC forums. 

You've raised some good questions, and are obviously very familiar with these cars.

I hope they are in  teh spirit of understanding the BCCR, but I'm troubled by the accusatory nature of your claims.

 

What are you building yourself? A focus? Many of us network together to share what we've learned and perhaps could answer some of the questions you raised.

I'm on CC's Technical Advisor Committee and have spoken with Phil about his car, and also know his sister team car and it's owner/builder well.

I run a Focus myself.  

 

Without seeing the Tech sheet on the 916 car, I can't answer all of the questions raised. Thank you BoD member @Chris Hugginsfor providing some answers. 

[hotchkis23]

2 hours ago, hotrod said:

How about the fact that they had an SCCA wiz kid in the car that went some 3 seconds faster than the car has been. Then with some coaching from him the other guys improved. As soon as a car starts to win the team is cheating when in fact it's preparation and having quality drivers.

I've never lost a rear bearing in my Focus. Broke front hubs but took the points to get the billet ones.

Accusing someone of Buying off an Official is pretty bold. 

You sound like you know Phil why don't you approach him instead of airing it out on the forums?

Very noticeable the ability of the hot driver, I am assuming he was in the car clicking fast laps at the end of the day on Saturday?  We had fun watching him go through the 1-2-3 complex.  Since the tech forms are digital now, does CC allow a team captain to view a past submitted form if they request it?  If not, I almost feel like they should, at least for transparency sake when something like this is bought up.

[hotrod]

25 minutes ago, hotchkis23 said:

Very noticeable the ability of the hot driver, I am assuming he was in the car clicking fast laps at the end of the day on Saturday?  We had fun watching him go through the 1-2-3 complex.  Since the tech forms are digital now, does CC allow a team captain to view a past submitted form if they request it?  If not, I almost feel like they should, at least for transparency sake when something like this is bought up.

He was last in the car Saturday and did the fastest lap of the day on the last lap. I feel that the digital tech forms should be able to be viewed by others. Being in tech at the Autobahn there were many times when a item was not moved from the paper tech form to the digital format seemed like an honest mistake and there are probably more of that out there.   If tech forms were viewed before hand I think that would better prepare teams before heading to impound in regard to a protest. 

[hotchkis23]

Any chance you want to speak to the claim of a 2.5 engine instead of a 2.3.....honestly I know we have placed above other teams that have massaged rules, but curious if you could put this claim to rest.  We have protested and are 100% in our outcome, and I do not want to have to have to do it again....not at all implying there is anything nefarious going on...just transparency as seems someone close to the situation has an issue.

 

Edited July 29, 2021 by hotchkis23

[hotrod]

20 hours ago, hotchkis23 said:

Any chance you want to speak to the claim of a 2.5 engine instead of a 2.3.....honestly I know we have placed above other teams that have massaged rules, but curious if you could put this claim to rest.  We have protested and are 100% in our outcome, and I do not want to have to have to do it again....not at all implying there is anything nefarious going on...just transparency as seems someone close to the situation has an issue.

 

Yes someone from the 916 car will address this. I don't want to speak for them as I would want to fight my own battles. And honestly I don't know. 

There were two other questions that came up in impound at ABBC but they were easily debunked.

[hotchkis23]

14 minutes ago, hotrod said:

Yes someone from the 916 car will address this. I don't want to speak for them as I would want to fight my own battles. And honestly I don't know. 

There were two other questions that came up in impound at ABBC but they were easily debunked.

Cool deal.  Impounds have certainly gotten a lot more entertaining!

[Racer28173]

I am also concerned about the accusation about buying off a tech inspector from someone who had never been to impound

 

When you got invited to your girlfriend’s parents for dinner,

did you walk in and ask “so is this slut your mom?”

 

We welcome new people and I don’t object to many of your questions, but maybe wait until you have some actual experience before you throw out accusations. 

Edited July 30, 2021 by Racer28173

[Blacksheepbob]

Hi FocusedSteve,

Congratulations on picking a Ford Focus to build. And we are excited to see more Foci joining Champcar. I hope you’ll find the Champcar community as friendly and as accepting as we have.

We, team Blue Shells, are deeply concerned about all the accusations you have listed on this forum.

First and foremost, it is unfair to personally call-out one of our teammates. Phill Miller is a valued member of our larger team, but only an equal member of our larger team. All decisions, work done, and finances paid for are completed by the team and not a single individual.

Next, we are very concerned that anyone would ever accuse any official at Champcar of being dishonest in anyway. We have found the complete opposite to be true. Everyone in the Champcar organization has been both extremely fair (and tough at times – when safety or rules bare the need), and always very kind to everyone who participates. Many of these people who work for Champcar are volunteers (or paid very little) so that the rest of us can go have fun. We cannot say thank you enough times for all that they do for the entire community.

Finally, you have accused us of not following the rules when it comes to our car. This is true, but not in all the ways you have accused us. We kindly ask that you give us a moment to break it all down for you;

1)      How do you change a cars year of manufacture and get reduced points instead of an engine swap calculator and added points?

This was done via a Chassis swap per rule 4.6.1.

Champcar sees a Focus ZX3 with a 2.3L Durtec engine as a 200 point car. We converted our entire chassis to a Ford Focus ZX3, therefore it has become a 200 point car.

2)       Did anyone even notice that it’s a 2.5L engine, not a 2.3L? (Does Champcar check displacement at post-race tech inspection?)

We could see how someone might confuse our 2.3L engine with a 2.5L. We are using the intake from a Duratec 2.5L engine on our 2.3L. We have also claimed this in our points. We absolutely are using a 2.3L engine, block and head.We would be happy to have the stroke or bore measured to prove it.

3)      What are the rules on swapped suspension parts?

Here you have us! At the last race, we were called out by the tech inspection team for having adjustable shocks. And in the end, per rules listed in the technical subs, we were not in compliance. We purchased single way adjustable shocks, we then adjusted them to our liking, and sent them back to the manufacturer to be made into non-adjustable shocks. Unbeknown to us, the manufacturer sent us back our previous shocks with adjustment shaft in the center of the main rod removed and a nice shiny cap on top of the main rods and told us that they were now non-adjustable. 

 

We thought they were different shocks all together (they cost like it), and we really thought we were in compliance with regulation 4.3.2 “Shock absorbers / struts over the 2x limit and/or with damping adjustment, 25 pts per corner” as these shocks were no longer “with damping adjustment.” We were told, after the race, of ChampCar Tech Desk knowledgebase 2020-01-10 - Turning an adjustable damper to non-adjustable. Where it states: “Once a shock is built to be adjustable (rebound and/or compression) it will always incur points as an adjustable shock at 25 points per corner.” The tech inspectors were very hard on us.They reviewed all the evidence we had at the time, along with trying to adjust the shocks anyway they could think of. Since the shock was not adjustable in impound, and they were un-adjustable shocks to us, the tech inspectors let us go. We were given a very strict warning to get all the needed evidence to prove that these shocks were never originally adjustable before our next race.

 

Directly after the race weekend, we went back to the manufacturer to get proof that we were compliant, but found out that, we were not! We have already removed the offending shocks from our car. We are still searching for an adjustable spring perch Monroe style shock tube without an adjustable damping system and fear that we will have to convert our entire shock and spring package back to stock or miss our next race.

 

We don’t have the fastest car in our class; We are only able to win through perseverance. We have worked very hard to just get a car which can finish a day of racing. Just like everyone else on the grid, we really want to show up with a car which is completely legal.

 

We do hope you are successful in your build, and despite all of this we would welcome any questions you might have about how best to build a road racing Focus, what parts work or don’t work, and our lessons learned after building 2 different chassis. We also communicate with several other Focus teams, both in the Champcar series and in Lemons. We typically share our lessons learned, our sob stories, and share our solutions to problems we have encountered on track or in the garage. We would love to have another Ford Focus in the fold with us at Champcar.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Blacksheepbob

[mcoppola]

@Blacksheepbob

Thanks for providing the community with a very thoughtful and respectful explanation, and for extending the olive branch to a potential new team. 

Thank you for some nice comments regarding Champcar, as well as the make up of your teams, the Blue Shells. 
In this case, it would have been very easy and tempting for you come back with a defensive or negative response. Thank you for the professionalism and kindness that is shown. Hopefully others will see this and grow to enjoy the community of friendly racers that our ChampCar community has become. 

[55mini]

It was asked above if tech sheets can be viewed before impound...... any team captain can go to registration and openly view the tech sheets and

can also if available see changes that have happened from race to race. I have done this a few times now and it is interesting as it has stopped me

from a protest. Fifty dollars would have been lost and me being left with my head hanging low.

 

I think the system is working pretty well as I see it and the tech boys are doing a good job, but everyone needs to remember they don't know every

platform out on track and sometimes may need to ask for some help from another team running the same platform.

 

As to bore and stroke I have seen a car or two tested for stroke but not bore, both can be done if requested and may find results to be good or bad.

 

OK now let's talk fuel as in octane??????????? 

[hotrod]

51 minutes ago, 55mini said:

It was asked above if tech sheets can be viewed before impound...... any team captain can go to registration and openly view the tech sheets and

can also if available see changes that have happened from race to race. I have done this a few times now and it is interesting as it has stopped me

from a protest. Fifty dollars would have been lost and me being left with my head hanging low.

 

I think the system is working pretty well as I see it and the tech boys are doing a good job, but everyone needs to remember they don't know every

platform out on track and sometimes may need to ask for some help from another team running the same platform.

 

As to bore and stroke I have seen a car or two tested for stroke but not bore, both can be done if requested and may find results to be good or bad.

 

OK now let's talk fuel as in octane??????????? 

Bore doesn't have much of an affect on most ChampCar engines while stroke does.

Pump gas should be all that's allowed.

  Regular (the lowest octane fuel–generally 87)

 Mid grade (the middle range octane fuel–generally 89–90)

 Premium (the highest octane fuel–generally 91–94)

[hotrod]

If they haven't already ChampCar needs on of these to check bore.

 

[Bill Strong]

On 8/5/2021 at 5:53 PM, hotrod said:

If they haven't already ChampCar needs on of these to check bore.

 

 

It's on my Christmas list to get. I need to verify the bore on the Opel, after that, it will be added to the Tech tool box that I bring to every race. And in my house, everyday is Christmas. So hopefully soon.