Porsche Cayman Racing in Chumpcar this Weekend

The Chumpcar Facebook feed is showing in car video of a Porsche Cayman scheduled to be in the race this weekend. They're also posting pictures of high dollar pit rigs, like they're proud of it. Now I understand that some people/teams have more money than others, but the low-budget, "cheap cars" mentality is what drew me to Chump. Their recent attitude is really turning me off. Not only is non-sportsman-like to race a Cayman against "500 point" cars, but the speed differentials can be dangerous. What say you guys?

That is inconsistent with the spirit of the event.

They are in EC class, which means no matter how many laps they do, they can not win overall.

The Nonnamakers have been racing a long time.  They understand grassroots racing, with their dad starting out with showroom stock.  Just a few years ago, they were racing Daytona Prototypes.  They have a long time sponsor in Sahlen's (who sponsor the Watkins Glen Chump race, and feed everybody on Saturday), so I have no problem with them being there.

It all depends on how the team acts.

And they've written a ton of stuff for GRM over the years and they're very cool and I bet if you spend some time with them you'll come away a better team.  Money doesn't always make racers into pricks.

No doubt they're good guys. And I'm not necessarily questioning that team. It's Chump who's allowing them to run. They're just so far out out of the rule set, it's ridiculous. Nice guys who bring food = run any car you want in a $500 (point) series?

In reply to Lof8 :

Both of the main budget series (Lemons and chump) pretty much let you run whatever you want as long as you don't intend to win. Lemons gives you penalty laps - sometimes millions of them. Chump has a mechanism too but I don't remember it. Basically you need to be a budget car to compete for the win but you can race any rules compliant car just with a steep handicap. 

I understand that they can't "win" the race. It still boggles my mind and the speed differential seems dangerous to me. Would they let 2 caymans race?  A group of 10 caymans?  Whatever, it seems very few others have any issue with it, so I'll stop bitching.

Oh I get it. Chump does have higher average speeds than Lemons but I'm sure those Caymans are rockets compared to anything else on track. But in any multi classed series like that you have some amazing speed differentials. In Lemons I've been in the middle of passing an electric car going 25mph while I'm in a Jag XJ at about 40 and a Porsche 928 blows past me at 70 all in one turn. It's something you have to learn to deal with quickly. Lots of heads up driving needed in these series!!

If they're not willing to open up their toolbox when a team with a Festiva is desperate to borrow something, then they don't deserve to be there. Otherwise, there's a strong chance their weekend can be cut short by an errant Miata. I'm sure they realize that, and they long ago accepted the risks. I see how a Cayman isn't in line with the spirit of the rules, but after you factor in all the costs of running even a cheap car, the Cayman probably isn't that far ahead of the budget.

Toebra said:

That is inconsistent with the spirit of the event.

This pretty much sums it up. 

Face it....you Chumps are just rolling chicanes for Caymans.

A few years ago at Pittsburgh Chump, there was a heavily-modded S2000 running in EC. It was substantially faster than pretty much everything out there. However, the speed differential wasn't really an issue because the driver seemed to be making damn sure to stay way away from everyone and really just made its passes on the main straight. Clearly he wasn't interested in rubbing paint or causing a slow car to not see him. I would imagine the Caymen guys will do the same.

That said, I find EC cars in general to not really be in the "spirit" of Chumpcar. But it doesn't really upset me that much. There are plenty of cars that are "in the spirit" there that are really cheaty anyhow (IMO). At least the Cayman isn't pretending to be legal ;)

I was racing "against" a black s2000 last month at Thompson Chump. They did clean racing, and to be honest, they weren't THAT much faster than us legal guys.. I mean, they were definitely faster, but not dangerously so.  Seemed like good people too.

I'll let you know how the Caymen does tomorrow, but with the Nonnamakers at the helm, I'm not too concerned about them being out there with us.

Have a fun/safe/fast weekend and let us know how it goes!

I had heard from some other people that there are pretty much some pro teams who run chump for fun. So even if their cars are "in the spirit" they have lots of equipment etc. Is that in the spirit? Is it in the spirit to have professional drivers in the car?

Chump has seemingly gotten lots faster, especially since the IAAV or whatever it was stuff went away that was truly trying to force people into 500 dollar cars. Calling these things crapcan racing at this point is a bit of a misnomer. It's still probably one of the most grassroots budget friendly way to get into wheel to wheel racing. But participation has never guaranteed a trophy.

I have raced against pretty fast ec cars with an Integra.  There is way more speed difference between a well driven Integra and a poorly driven anything than an Integra and a well driven Cayman.  Well, maybe not pure speed, but the danger level surely is higher.

Someone made a good point: They have a lot more to lose than the rest of the competitors. That alone scores a ton of brownie points.

I've never raced either series, but I know teams who participate in much bigger-deal series who also run Lemons. I think that the enjoy the camaraderie and emphasis one fun that's missing when your paycheck may be in the balance.

Last year at Sebring, Randy Pobst ran a 2:29 in the V6 swapped MR2.  The 1st gen 300Z I was in turned a 2:31 with Ethan Low driving, who is certainly no slouch.  The MR2 is in C class, the 300Z is EC.  This year, Randy ran a 2:33 in the winning SC300, built by the same guys who built the 300Z.  There are a lot of cars that run in the 2:50's, some even slower.  The speed difference between regular Chumpcars is already quite large.  This Cayman isn't gonna be significantly faster (on a slower avg speed track from Sebring) to cause a problem.

We have known the Nonnamakers for many, many years and, yes, they have written for us. They're good people. I'd also share the track with them any day of the week, regardless of the speed differential.

All of the anguish might be for naught, though. I don't see any Caymans listed on the entry list, and Team Sahlen's Will Nonnamaker just posted this clarification on the ChumpCar Facebook page:

"Team Sahlen has enjoyed competing in ChumpCar since 2012. We will be racing our three 1980's Mazda Rx7 rotary racers on Saturday in hopes of a podium and perhaps an overall victory. We did shake down our Cayman in prep for a race at Mid Ohio in two weeks."

Chump schump! What about the challenge? I envy all of this fun. 

So, I am at this race.  I passed the Cayman a few times in practice in my legal non ec chumpcar.

They are also racing 3 rx7s.  I have been talking to them about prep and how their pit setup works.

They are awesome.  They are grassroots.  

These are not the droids your looking for.

I haven't raced Chump or Lemons before, so maybe my opinion is null, but I personally like to watch pro teams operate their pits/garages. It gives me ideas for organization of personnel and stuff. Most of what they're doing can be replicated (perhaps with a bit less intensity) for a lot less money and can make a weekend better for everyone. Sometimes people who know the way can help show the way. 

I don't really know why I feel so strongly against a Cayman in chump, Normally I don't give a E36 M3 about much.  But I feel a lot better after hearing it was just shakedown laps and it's not actually racing. 

mazdeuce said:

I haven't raced Chump or Lemons before, so maybe my opinion is null, but I personally like to watch pro teams operate their pits/garages. It gives me ideas for organization of personnel and stuff. Most of what they're doing can be replicated (perhaps with a bit less intensity) for a lot less money and can make a weekend better for everyone. Sometimes people who know the way can help show the way. 

And there are several pro teams out there, usually racing for fun (I know, right?). Pro racing has become serious business. Low-buck racing seems like an outlet for them to just go out and run some laps. Plus I know some pro teams that use low-buck endurance racing as a way to put crew/support people behind the wheel. 

If you're at a low-buck endurance race and see some of our friends in the business--BimmerWorld, Team Sahlen's, Riley Technologies, Pobst, etc.--tell them that you have seen them in GRM. That should break the ice. 

Also, Will Nonnamaker won't mind me saying this. If you're impressed by their trackside setup, ask him about it. I'm fairly sure that he didn't pay full retail for it. Yes they have been successful in pro racing, but they're still club racers at heart.