chumpcar – Dan Crouch Blog

Apex of Failure is Preparing a New 2011 Entry for the Chumpcar Series

RX-7 Chumpcar Apex of Failure

My hat is off to these guys. They are a Pacific Northwest ChumpCar “crap-can” team that is building their 2nd RX-7 for competition. After a challenging 2010 season, they have found a new platform to build on and you can check out their blog at http://roadtochumpcar.com They update all the time and the photography is great from Gabe McGinnis. Here are some recent photos of their progress:

RX-7 FC Chumpcar
The donor car that will replace last year’s bent car. They are transferring as much as they can to this car.

Tearing down the old car and prepping parts for the new car.

Mazda RX-7 FC Engine
The current driveline out for inspection

Prepping the interior of the second car for racing

Great shot prepping the car for the cage!

Subscribe via email to their updates and follow what should be another exciting season. We’re proud to be their website sponsors at MotoringBlogs and wish them a great year!

Paul and I are going to prep the Rabbit for sale soon. It’s been a fantastic introduction to track days, auto-x, and hillclimbs, but it’s time to move on to new endeavors.

That said, if I was going to be looking to get back in, I’d be looking for a used race car that was already built. And this little Datsun 1200 looks like a perfect way to get to the next level: amateur road racing. Making the step from track days to actual road racing is an expensive proposition, especially if the car you plan to campaign isn’t prepped already. Think cage, fuel cell, fire suppression… not to mention the gear! Might as well start with a budget car that’s ready to go considering. Hell, the DCOE’s and Minilites have to be worth half of the asking!

If you’re curious about budget racing, check out a new site I’ve set up for some friends that are going ChumpCar Racing: RoadToChumpCar.com Sounds like Leo and Gabe are guest driving a car late in January at Willow Springs. I’m really excited for them and looking forward to following their progress. Good luck guys!