Redemption at the OK Corall

[Brockstar]

Greetings, chumps!

Welcome to Hallett, Oklahoma! This looks to be an interesting race since we have several teams that generally run in Texas mixing it up with teams from the more northern parts of our region. It's an intimate little nineteen car race, so I'm sure lots of people will be making new friends.

Standings as of 11:30am are:

1st Team Operation @ 91 laps

2nd Escort Service Providers @ 88 laps

3rd Fine Sausage Racing @ 87 laps

We've had an interesting situation with the Carbon Miata team. One of their team members decided to make a few last minute modifications to the car, resulting in a failure to start. One of the modifications was drilling through the floor pan... and a fuel line. That team member disappeared at 4am, supposedly to go get another car. We'll see what actually happens, but we've picked up two of their team members as volunteer workers - Thanks guys!

Warthog Racing experienced an off-course excursion resulting in massive relocation of the front left wheel. Hopefully they can get back into the race.

[Brockstar]

2:30pm and the race is on! Due to the infield setup of this facility, we had a one hour safety break to allow teams to go get parts and supplies as necessary. The chumps will also be delighted to find out that we took that time to make a run into town for some coveted 6% beer, instead of that 3.2% stuff that the peasants drink. Once the checkered flag drops today, their faces will be like those of children at an early Christmas!

Standings as of 2:30pm are:

1st Team Operation @ 162 laps

2nd Escort Service Providers @ 158 laps

3rd Fine Sausage Racing @ 157 laps

(Car 54 Where Are You? has been consistently five laps from the podium. I wonder if they purchased charity laps...)

Warthog Racing is back in the mix, and their front left wheel is in its proper location - great work, guys!

Unfortunately, the Flying Geo might not be flying anymore this weekend. Their motor seems to have sang its final song.

In other news, there's a festival, dance, and bbq competition just a few miles north of us in Cleveland, OK. I wonder if we'll see any teams out there hanging out with the locals?

[kent merkle]

Thanks for the updates Brock...star. But whered ya go after 2:30 reports? Did you start in on the 6percent early? Shame shame

[Guest StanCulpepper]

Greetings, chumps!

Welcome to Hallett, Oklahoma! This looks to be an interesting race since we have several teams that generally run in Texas mixing it up with teams from the more northern parts of our region. It's an intimate little nineteen car race, so I'm sure lots of people will be making new friends.

Standings as of 11:30am are:

1st Team Operation @ 91 laps

2nd Escort Service Providers @ 88 laps

3rd Fine Sausage Racing @ 87 laps

We've had an interesting situation with the Carbon Miata team. One of their team members decided to make a few last minute modifications to the car, resulting in a failure to start. One of the modifications was drilling through the floor pan... and a fuel line. That team member disappeared at 4am, supposedly to go get another car. We'll see what actually happens, but we've picked up two of their team members as volunteer workers - Thanks guys!

Warthog Racing experienced an off-course excursion resulting in massive relocation of the front left wheel. Hopefully they can get back into the race.

Yes it was me !!! I was helping the Carbon Miata team wrap up some things on the car before the race and worked on the car until 3:30 am. When I drilled a hole through the floor board and punctured the brake line and the fuel line. What a dumb arse thing for me to do but. I fixed the fuel line and blocked off the rear brake when we noticed there was a large amount of water in the oil of the motor. Lots of white smoke out of the exhaust. The knocking noise and the water in the oil was the reason for me to leave and head back to DFW in the middle of the night to get a back up car I should have brought in the first place. I would have had the brakes repaired on Saturday and had them on the track if the motor issues were not the reason for me to leave. Carbon Miata guys were great and it was thier first race so I wanted to be able to get them on the track. I drove all night until I just could not keep my eyes open any longer and slept at a rest stop on the side of the road then when I finally arrived at my house at 11:00 AM I called Carbon Miata team to find the status and they told me not to bring the back up car that they were helping with the race and got a partial credit for a future race. I would have been back to Hallett with a back up car in time for the SUNDAY race but they had rather helped with the race. I look forward to seeing these guys at future races and wish them the best. These guys had great attitudes even when they saw me drill a hole through the brake and fuel lines. I would have done what ever it took to get them back on the track. I look forward to seeing you Chumpster at Harris Hill

[kent merkle]

Way to Man up Stan! Thats true chump grit there and thats what its all about,besides the kick a// trophies! Im glad ive never pulled a bonehead move like that.~waiting now for Stiggys reply~ lol

[kent merkle]

By the way...WHO WON?

[hp18racer]

Saturday:

Team Operation

Fine Sausage Racing

Malice in Blunderland

Sunday:

Team Operation

Warthog Racing

Malice in Blunderland

[kent merkle]

Saturday: Team Operation Fine Sausage Racing Malice in Blunderland Sunday: Team Operation Warthog Racing Malice in Blunderland

Thank you. Congrats team Op! Malice in Blunderland is my new fav.name now!

[ChumpHog]

Yes it was me !!! I was helping the Carbon Miata team wrap up some things on the car before the race and worked on the car until 3:30 am. When I drilled a hole through the floor board and punctured the brake line and the fuel line. What a dumb arse thing for me to do but. I fixed the fuel line and blocked off the rear brake when we noticed there was a large amount of water in the oil of the motor. Lots of white smoke out of the exhaust. The knocking noise and the water in the oil was the reason for me to leave and head back to DFW in the middle of the night to get a back up car I should have brought in the first place. I would have had the brakes repaired on Saturday and had them on the track if the motor issues were not the reason for me to leave. Carbon Miata guys were great and it was thier first race so I wanted to be able to get them on the track. I drove all night until I just could not keep my eyes open any longer and slept at a rest stop on the side of the road then when I finally arrived at my house at 11:00 AM I called Carbon Miata team to find the status and they told me not to bring the back up car that they were helping with the race and got a partial credit for a future race. I would have been back to Hallett with a back up car in time for the SUNDAY race but they had rather helped with the race. I look forward to seeing these guys at future races and wish them the best. These guys had great attitudes even when they saw me drill a hole through the brake and fuel lines. I would have done what ever it took to get them back on the track. I look forward to seeing you Chumpster at Harris Hill

Carbon Miata checking in. It was a shame we didn't get to take the green flag but it was not due to Stan's mistake. Without that we would have just puked our guts out on the track Saturday AM and caused some hazards there. We still had fun helping out Joey, Mark, and Brock with the pit marshal duties Saturday and Sunday. Learned a lot and met some great folks with really fast/sorted out cars. Just showed us what we need to do better next time. It is a good thing the motor has to come out anyway since that rear brake line Stan hit looks to be a real pain to replace with the engine in there.

Thanks to Chumpcar for all of your generosity. You all didn't have to do anything for us, but giving us a break on the next entry is over-and-beyond anything I expected. We will really push to get the car and a few new teams lined up to make next year a bigger success.

Thanks to Connie and the whole Hallett Racing Circuit crew. You all went out of your way to make this a great first time experience despite the circumstances. Other than the chickens waking us up we enjoyed the whole weekend. We look forward to getting out there more next year to sort out the car before the Chumpcar season begins!

Finally thanks to all the teams out there this weekend. Although it was more intimate with only 17 or so on the track, we had a blast watching some great racing. Congrats to Team Operation with the double win, car looked good and ran a near flawless race both days. Good job to Fine Sausage with the 2nd place win Saturday, if you didn't have the issue meeting the tire wall Sunday you probably could have had a repeat-btw, you didn't need to take a souvenir after the incident, Connie would have given you one after the race if you just would have asked. Great job to MinA with the double 3rd, that 5.0 RX7 is blazing fast and ran an exceptional race. To Warthog Racing, congrats for the 2nd Sunday, too bad you had a bolt shear Saturday and the left front go wiggly. Still not sure why you didn't just weld it and see what happens-not like that was critical or anything.

To all the other teams out there, great racing and good job. This is racing in its purest to see Probes fighting with 510's and 300ZX's, BMW's running along Escort wagon's and 60's Mustang's. Civic hatchback's jockeying for position against 240SX's, Celica's, 944's, Opel's, and motorcycle powered Geo's. You are all lucky the Miata didn't make it out there, or the outcome would have been different for sure

[firehawk]

What a fun, clean race. Many great drivers. We had a blast, but still have issues to fix on the car. We did quit a few repairs on Saturday. During the safety break we replaced the timing belt when one of the pulley keys came out and then went through the timing belt. Looks like the crank was damaged at the key; you never know what a 25yo junkyard motor is going to be like. Saturday night we replaced a stuck caliper that completely wore down a set of pads. Car was also leaking and burning oil. Sunday, a ball joint was going out again (had replaced it with a junkyard part last year) and then the motor spun a bearing.

Time to replace parts with new ones. The 25yo jy parts are just not holding up. We hope to have a rebuilt motor in it and have is ready for harris hill next month.

We also need to be a bit more prepared for bad weather. We normally camp in tents, but ended up in our trucks, while the storm soaked the inside of our tents. That made for a poor night of sleep. Time for better tents.

[HTRDCowboy]

The KH Motorsports had a great time this weekend. Couldn't ask for a better bunch of racers to race against. One of these days, hopefully we'll get all the bugs worked out.

We want to thank the ChumpCar staff and the volunteers for y'alls hard work. We'd also like to thank the Hallett folks for thier hospitality, and a BIG thank you to Connie for going ahead with the Friday test and tune.

[Guest AWiley1953]

Ah Hallett! I gotta tell you, the weather was perfect (at least during the races), the track personnel were friendly, the Chumpcar staff was relaxed (we are a lot better behaved than those at NL). It was a great weekend. If you weren't here you missed out......a lot.

I know that the results are on Mylaps, but here they are with some more info.

Saturdays Results

1. Team Operation BMW 318is. Proof positive that you don't need a 6 cyl BMW to be fast and win. This was not the first rodeo for these guys and it showed.

2. Fine Sausage Racing Porsche 944. One of the two Kansas City Porsche teams. In their other life they run PCA events. They had a wonderfully entertaining spin on the front straight right when the checker came out.

3. Malice in Blunderland Mazda RX7/5.0 V8. This team is a veteran of several LeMons races with the rotary motor. They swapped in a V8 for Chumpcar. Their plan was to build it to be fast and then drive it slow. Worked out well for them. When asked how they liked Chumpcar, they replied that they were pretty happy with us.

4. Car 54 Where are You? Porsche 944. The other of the Kansas City PCA teams. I see them at Heartland Park all the time in their good stuff.

5. KH Motorsports Classic Mustang. Up close you can see that it is a Chumpcar, but when it goes by on the track, all you can think of is Original TransAm and SCCA A Sedan. Ronnie and crew do a great job getting it around the track, especially when you consider how under tired it is.

6. Honda Chumpcar Honda Civic Si This is one of our rental rides. It had 5 drivers that had never met before. They were from Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. The car ran flawlessly on both days, finished 6th both days, and based on it dependable record, we sold it.

7. ZeeGuys 84 Nissan 300zx They have already told about their weekend. It is a great looking car. Reminded me of something Paul Newman drove back in the day.

8. Not Fast But Really Furious Ford Probe. One half of a 2 car team from Kansas City. The car ran a LeMons race last year at MAM, but that was the teams total experience.

9. Escort Service Providers Ford Escort Station Wagon. This is the same team that took second both days at Heartland Park. They were in second or third place when an off course busted the oil pan and ended their day.

10. Team bi-PROBE-ular Ford Probe. The other half of the KC team. This was a brand new car with a brand new team and they did amazingly well.

11. El Pinche Chaparral Toyota Celica. This is the one Chumpcar that I have seen that makes our Opel look good. This is a poster car for Chumpcar. But, it sure was fast.

12. Nissan Chumpcar Nissan 240sx. This is our other rental ride. WE had 4 more than capable drivers in it with the idea that we would actually try to win one of these things. Well.....with the transponder connection issues, plus the "Drift Tax" that 240sx's have, it didn't work out. The car was fast though.

13. Warthog Racing BMW 325 (it says E but I suspect I). Neat lokking car. It was all done up like an Air Force A-10 Warthog. I believe one of the team member's son is a pilot on one. They had suspension issues or they would have podiumed. They was fast.

14. Old Fart Racing Nissan 240sx. An old school Chumpcar. The team fought issues both days until they finally packed it in on Sunday.

15. Richard Nixon Racing Opel Ascona. We were doing great...for 2 hours and 45 minutes when the clutch let go. We will try again.

16. It's Just Numbers Honda Civic Si. Our friend Steve Brown with a new car. Steve was one of our renters who decided that he wanted to have his own team. That's the way this grows.

17. It's Just a Datsun Datsun 210. We brought this along as a spare car. We pressed it into service after the Opel went down. It did not hit the track until about 2 o'clock.

18. The flying Geo Geo Metro. Think of what you get when you let a bunch of Air Force Test Pilots (who were probably trained as engineers) have at it with a bunch of unrelated parts. Try a Geo Metro with a 900cc Kawasaki engine in it. Until it had a cyl go down it looked fast and sounded great. These guys, 3 Americans, 2 Norwegans an a German (Shepard AFB trains foreign officers) put together a very interesting package. I want to see it again.

19. Carbon Miata Mazda Miata. You have already read their story. The car looked great with it's carbon fiber looking wrap.

And last but definitely not least. We were honored to have visit out hot pit area one Anatoly Arutonoff. Toly was the designer, builder and original owner of Hallett. When it comes to sports car racing, he has done it all and knows all the greats. He can tell stories for hours and never lie to you more than once. Maybe not that often. Last Winter he had stopped to assist a motorist during a blizzard in West Texas. He was struck by a hit and run driver that severed one leg. To see him at the races, walking on his prosthetic leg was inspirational. It was the icing on a great weekend

[Craig]

18. The flying Geo Geo Metro. Think of what you get when you let a bunch of Air Force Test Pilots (who were probably trained as engineers) have at it with a bunch of unrelated parts. Try a Geo Metro with a 900cc Kawasaki engine in it. Until it had a cyl go down it looked fast and sounded great. These guys, 3 Americans, 2 Norwegans an a German (Shepard AFB trains foreign officers) put together a very interesting package. I want to see it again.

They ran both TWS weekends and were quick when it wasn't broken. Both times we saw them, they had intermittent mechanical issues. April, I think the problem was the clutch, I'm not sure about July.

[stewards68]

Did my first race as one of the renters in the #15 Civic at Hallett. WOW! Absolutely the best time I've ever had fully clothed. Consider me firmly addicted. This series is getting a TON of things right. The more formal racing series are just too crazy prohibitive in complexity and too expensive. Maybe someday if I win the lottery and my kids grow up and move away, I'll figure out how to afford and accomplish SCCA wheel-to-wheel racing, but until that miracle happens, this is pure genius.

I've read some of the other threads from people howling about the AIV system, people having "unfair" advantages, etc., and I say baloney. Quit yer whinin'. Would I have loved for us to have a podium finish?, heck yeah....BUT...in my book, this ChumpCar thing accomplished EXACTLY what it was intended to. A bunch of guys/gals getting together, having an insane amount of fun, and not taking themselves too seriously. You want really serious racing? Go down to the bank, take out your kids' college fund, buy a giant motorhome/trailer/gold-plated race car, pack up and leave your family, and go out Club racing. You want serious fun without all that, this is where it's at.

I just want to give a huge thanks to the ChumpCar gurus and to you crazy lug nuts that rented me that race car.

Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to cruise the neighborhood meth houses for my next race car...

[Guest AWiley1953]

I was kibbitzing with some of the members of the Fine Sausage Team and heard this story. One of their drivers had been given permission to drive in this race and this race only. Just a one time deal. Saturday evening he was heard to say "I'll bet she would ok just one race a year". This is where it starts, nobody can say where it will end. I then heard from the Fine Sausage guy, "THE FIRST HIT FROM THE TRACK PIPE IS FREE".

[strebor]

I just wanted to stop in and say thanks to ChumpCar, Hallett, and all of the teams for making this the best weekend by far for Malice in Blunderland. I can confidently say we'll be back several times next year. Although, I vow to get our AIV sorted out properly and budget in the charity laps so we're not spotting the field 12 laps each day...

The track was awesome and we really enjoyed the challenge of learning it twice. I hope it stays on the schedule despite the low turnout because Hallett is an absolute gem by all accounts. We had a lot of fun visiting with all of the teams, but I need to give a special mention to Clancy's crew for letting us pit amongst your compound.

See you soon,

Malice in Blunderland RX7+1

[hp18racer]

Thank you very much to Chumpcar and to everyone at Hallett that worked the event! What a great track and a great bunch of folks!

Everyone on Fine Sausage Racing had a blast. We brought a driver with us who had never been on track before. The tune and test day Friday was golden for him. Now he is trying to figure out how to get his wife to let him do it again

I had some really good close racing with several different cars in the course of the event without any contact, exactly what keeps me coming back.

I had a some experience at Hallett counterclockwise but none clockwise so Sunday was a humbling learning experience for me, I look forward to doing it again.

Looking forward to the next race!

[kent merkle]

I didn't pay him anything to post that. Really! I didn't!

yea right

[slooldracer]

Thanks to Alex, Clancy both of their sons, and to Harry, Don, and both Docs for a great time. Best co- drivers I ever had. yep after 40 years, I finally finished an enduro . the buyer of #15 got one really great car. Hey guys, if you decide to sell anymore cars, let me know, but don't tell my wife

[firehawk]

I would like to see more races at Hallet. Hopefully, earlier in the year. I would even make the drive for a single day race. I really want to do more clockwise events at this track.

[ChumpHog]

I would like to see more races at Hallet. Hopefully, earlier in the year. I would even make the drive for a single day race. I really want to do more clockwise events at this track.

they aren't Chump races but Hallett runs a COMMA series with 8 races throughout the year. room for one or two days depending on what you want to get involved with along with lots of other car types racing.

[Guest AWiley1953]

Thanks to Alex, Clancy both of their sons, and to Harry, Don, and both Docs for a great time. Best co- drivers I ever had. yep after 40 years, I finally finished an enduro . the buyer of #15 got one really great car. Hey guys, if you decide to sell anymore cars, let me know, but don't tell my wife

Tom, It was great to have you. All of you were perfect renters. I am so thankful that the one car that didn't break was the Honda. AS soon as the 2012 schedule is released, we will be planning next years activities. You are definitely on our list to notify. Have a great off season.

[Guest AWiley1953]

I just read the 2012 schedule. Hallett wasn't on it. The best little track in this part of the country couldn't attract enough Chumps. What is wrong with this picture.

[firehawk]

I just read the 2012 schedule. Hallett wasn't on it. The best little track in this part of the country couldn't attract enough Chumps. What is wrong with this picture.

I would like to think that it was more of a scheduling issue.

[pstrbrc]

I just read the 2012 schedule. Hallett wasn't on it. The best little track in this part of the country couldn't attract enough Chumps. What is wrong with this picture.

Since 2012 is our rollout year, and Hallett is our 4th closest track, I'm hoping this includes Hallett:

Within the 2012 schedule, a total of 41 events have been announced, comprising a staggering 63 individual races. ChumpCar officials note that there are still at least 5 additional events that are “still in the works†and that the calendar will undergo some refinements before 1 January.

(from John's post #7 2012-chumpcar-world-series-schedule/