The National Chumpionship is ON!

From east and west, from north and south, even from Canada, ChumpCar teams have converged on Newton, Iowa, for the first, and possibly last, National Chumpionship. Nearly 50 cars took the green flag this morning shortly after 10:00 a.m. That's a lot of cars for the one mile road course and the 7/8ths mile oval.

About an hour into the race, the rain started to fall, soon turning into a deluge. The suddenly slippery track caught a few drivers, especially those not used to racing on a wet track.

The track configuration was supposed to switch to the banked oval at 1:00 pm, but ChumpCar officials have decided to stay with the road course until the faster oval dries out.

At 12:30 pm, the top ten look like this:
1. #33 Tubby Butterman BMW - 116
2. #1 My Little Pony, Mustang - 115
3. #68 BSD, - 114
4. #3 Three Sheets, Escort ZX2 - 112
5. #24 Bear Patrol, Lexus - 112
6. #66 Holy Rollers, Acura - 112
7. #11 BrainNerds, Porsche 944 - 112
8. #47 Chump Change, Miata - 111
9. #51 British American, BMW - 111
10. #89 Schumacher Taxi, Toyota FX16 - 110

At the finish....

#70 Speed Doctors BMW joins the list of ChumpCar winners by taking the checkered flag just 1:38 ahead of the #58 Speedlab BMW. After final hour retirements by a couple of early front runners, third place went to the #26 Shake N Bake Toyota MR2. The overall victory went to the EC (Exception Class) #23 Brake Dusters BMW 540.

EC #23 Brake Dusters, BMW 540 - 204 laps
1. #70 Speed Doctors, BMW 325 - 203
2. #58 Speedlab, BMW - 203
3. #26 Shake N Bake, Toyota MR2 - 200
4. #33 Tubby Butterman, BMW 325 - 200
5. #38 Chump Races Chump Faces, BMW 325 - 199
6. #49 Slugworks, Honda Civic - 199
7. #3 Three Sheets, Ford Contour - 189
8. #99 Team Short Bus, VW Golf - 182
EC #37 Acme Racing, Honda Prelude - 179
9. #66 Holy Rollers, Acura - 174
10. #6 Hackcent, Hyundai Accent - 169

#66 Holy Rollers wore their brakes completely out in the final hour, through the pad material, through the backing plate, into the brake caliper piston, until the piston popped out of the caliper and there was no fluid left. They were on the way to a podium finish, but instead ended up on the trailer.

#38 Chump Faces BMW, yesterday's race winner, had an electrical issue late in the race and spent the final laps in the pits.

One hour to go

EC #23 - 175 laps

1. #70 - 174

2. #58 - 172

3. #66 - 171

4. #26 - 171

5. #38 - 170

6. #33 - 170

7. #49 - 169

8. #3 - 162

9. #99 - 152

EC #37 - 152

10. #6 - 145

1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, rock!

Getting behind in my updates, so here are the 1:00 and 2:00 reports.

I have been out taking photos and pointing a radar gun at fast cars. Which would you like to hear about first? Standings? Sure!

At 1:00pm
1. #26 - 118 laps
EC #23 - 117
2. #70 - 117
3. #49 - 116
4. #38 - 116
5. #58 - 115
6. #66 - 115
7. #33 - 111
8. #3 - 106
9. #99 - 105
EC #37 - 99
10. #6 - 99


Drivers told me they gain a few MPH after turn 2, and hit top speed just before they brake for turn 3, an acute right hander. So I stood near the braking zone for 3, catching cars before they nailed the brakes.
#23 - 107 mph
#3 - 107 mph
#26 - 106 mph
#66 - 106 mph
#33 - 104 mph
#70 - 104 mph

There are other fast cars but I didn't catch all of them. #23 & #3 were clearly the fastest.

The 2:00 report:

EC #23 Brake Dusters - 148 laps

1. #70 - 147

2. #26 - 145

3. #38 - 145

4. #66 - 144

5. #58 - 143

6. #49 - 142

7. #33 - 141

8. #3 - 135

EC #37 - 127

9. #99 - 126

10. #6 - 123

#49 Slugworks ran out of fuel on track but was able to limp back to the pits under its own power. #26 Shake N Bake was not so lucky, coming to a stop in turn 5 after running dry. A couple of rookie drivers stopped, so as not to pass another car under a yellow flag, which confused the more experienced driver of #33 and he passed one of them as it started moving again. That led to a quick stop-and-go penalty for #33.

#22 BMW is back on track after repairs were made.

Halfway

1. #38 - 102 laps

EC #23 - 101

2. #99 - 101

3. #26 - 101

4. #66 - 101

5. #70 - 100

6. #49 - 100

7. #58 - 99

8. #33 - 96

9. #3 - 92

EC #37 - 87

10. #6 - 86

11. #81 - 86

A 5-minute fuel stop with the 25 mph pit road limit is good for 3 full laps.

Car #20 has re-entered the track after replacing motor mounts.

High Noon in Brainerd

The showdown continues with tight competition on the Club Course.

At 12:00 noon:

EC #23 - 91 laps

1. #26 - 91 (-10.888 sec)

2. #70 - 90

3. #38 - 89

4. #58 - 89

5. #99 - 88

6. #66 - 88

7. #49 - 87

8. #33 - 83

9. #3 - 79

10. #81 - 75

EC #37 - 75

#22 BMW just lost a wheel in turn 8, the cloverleaf.

#26 pulled in for their latest stop just after we posted the above standings.

Early Retirement ...

... may be the dream of the working class, but it is to be avoided in racing.

#51 British-American Racing BMW has been packed into the trailer with engine issues. A broken fan belt led to overheating which led to a warped head.

#20 Most Interesting Chumps BMW sheared all of the engine mounts. They were able to borrow parts from other BMW teams, but it appears that the radiator may be damaged.

#31 Chester of the Apocalypse Mazda is behind the wall with a slipping clutch again today. They are not going to attempt repairs.

#4 Mid-engine Crisis MR2 is out with a sour engine. Rod knock is the diagnosis.

#43 Ambitious But Rubbish (ABR) has made numerous stops in an attempt to stem oil leaks.

The 11:00 News

After nearly two hours of racing, there are five cars on the lead lap, though #99 had not yet pitted. No major issues today, though a few cars have made longish pit stops.

1. #99, 61 laps

2. #26, 61 (-19.684 sec)

EC #23, 61 (-22.622)

3. #49, 61 (-48.770)

4. #70, 61 (-51.424)

5. #58, 59

6. #38, 59

7. #66, 58

EC #37, 54

8. #3, 53

9. #33, 53

10. #81, 51

11. #31, 51

Eighteen cars took the green flag, with five of yesterday's cars unable to start today.

At 10:00am

EC #23 Brake Dusters, BMW 540, 33 laps

1. #26 Shake N Bake, Toyota, 33 (-12.576 sec)

2. #49 Slugworks, Honda, 33 (-38.002 sec)

3. #70 Speed Doctors, BMW, 33 (-1:33.781)

4. #38 Chump Races, BMW, 31

5. #58 Speedlab, BMW, 31

6. #20 Most Interesting, BMW, 30

7. #99 Short Bus, VW, 30

8. #66 Holy Rollers, Acura, 30

9. #3 Three Sheets, 27

10. #81 Party Cat, 27

EC #37 Acme Racing, Honda, 27

11. #31 Chester of the Apocalypse, Mazda, 27

Fastest lap: #38 - 1:54.427

The fastest lap was set while battling several other cars, which all set their personal fastest times on the same lap.

Sunday! SUN-day!

It's a bee-yoo-tee-full day for racing in Central Minnesota. There are quite a few teams that have chosen to camp on the B.I.R. grounds and they have been rewarded with "great sleeping weather".

The race start is nearly an hour away but teams are making last minute adjustments, and a few race engines have been started to get the juices flowing.

The Slugworks Honda (#49) and the Mid-Engine Crisis Toyota MR2 (#4) will be joining us again today after DNFs on Saturday. The Slugworks car suffered an axle/bearing failure and did not have spares on hand, so made a trip home to the Twin Cities (round trip about 6 hours) and made repairs overnight. The #4 car made only a couple of laps on Saturday before succumbing to a rod knock. A dent in the oil pan was restricting flow to the oil pickup screen. The team located a used short block and worked all night to get it ready for the start this morning.

One of the drivers in the #4 Toyota is veteran ice racer Ron Verhagen (pictured here at the left). Ron has been involved in motorsports since the last ice age. He is now 68.

The #31 Mazda MX3 spent a lot of time behind the wall yesterday after a clutch failure. They were able to remove the transmission in about an hour, but it took two and a half hours for parts to show up from the Twin Cities, so they missed much of Saturday's race. They believe they are ready for a full day of racing today.

One of the drivers on the #3 Three Sheets Ford Contour spent time in the local E.R. Saturday after bailing out a half hour into his driving stint. Too many beers the night before and lack of water prior to the high adrenaline driving left him dehydrated. He is back today and looking much better, ready to put the Contour through its paces.

What a finish!

With only a couple of laps to go, the #26 Toyota slowed, apparently out of fuel. #70 BMW re-passed for 2nd place.

And on the final lap, #26 coasted across the finish line and parked just past turn 12 under the bridge.

The final results:

1. #38 Chump Races Chump Faces, BMW, 203 laps

2. #70 Speed Doctors, BMW 325, 201

3. #26 Shake N Bake, Toyota MR2, 201

4. #33 Tubby Butterman, BMW 325, 198

5. #66 Holy Rollers, Acura, 194

6. #58 Speedlab, BMW 325, 193

EC #23 Brake Dusters, BMW 540, 179

7. #3, Three Sheets, ford Contour, 178

8. #22, North Loop Motorsports, BMW 325, 178

9. #81 Team Party Cat, Mazda Miata, 175

10. #99 Team Short Bus, VW Golf, 173.

15 minutes remain

15 minutes left!

1. #38, 194 laps

2. #26, 191

3. #70, 191

4. #33, 187

5. #66, 184

6. #58, 182

EC #23, 179

7. #51, 169

8. #3, 168

9. #22, 168

10. #81, 166

1/2 hour to go

With 30 minutes to go, the #26 Shake N Bake Toyota MR2 is less than 2 seconds behind the #70 Speed Doctors BMW. A-a-a-a-nd #26 makes the pass in turn 4 to take over 2nd place!

But just prior to that, here were the standings:

1. #38, 186 laps

2. #70, 184

3. #26, 184

4. #33, 180

5. #66, 177

EC #23, 176

6. #58, 175

7. #51, 169

8. #22, 161

9. #3, 161

10. #81, 159

Wearing down

As the hours tick off, the drivers seem to be making more mistakes. Nothing serious, just a few offs here and there. No crashing, thank goodness.

With an hour to go:

1. #38 Chump Faces, 172 laps

2. #70 Speed Doctors, 171

3. #26 Shake N Bake, 170

4. #51 British American, 169

5. #58 Speedlab, 166

6. #33 Tubby Butterman, 166

7. #66 Holy Rollers, 164

EC #23 Brake Dusters, 163

8. #81 Party Cat, 150

9. #22 North Loop, 149

10. #3 3 sheets, 148

The 2:00 pm summary

1. #38, 142

2. #70, 142 (-1:23.074)

3. #26, 141

4. #51, 141

5. #33, 137

6. #99, 135

7. #66, 135

8. #58, 134

EC #23, 132

9. #3, 124

10. #22, 122

#20 BMW was behind the wall to replace a tie rod end, but is back on track.

#99 VW came in on lap 138 with a noisy inner CV joint. They are working feverishly to make repairs.

#49 Honda is on jack stands in the paddock area, reason unknown, but possibly engine related.

4 hours down, 3 to go

Here is the 12:00 update:

1. #70 Speed Doctors, 88 laps

2. #38 Chump Faces, 87

3. #26 Shake N Bake, 86

4. #51 Brit-Amer, 86

5. #99 Short Bus, 83

6. #49 Slugworks, 83

7. #66 Holy Rollers, 82

EC #23 Brake Dusters, 82

8. #33 Tubby Butterman, 81

9. #58 Speedlab, 81

10. #81 Party Cat, 77

#11 Brain Nerds out with engine issues.

At 1:00pm

1. #70, 115 laps

2. #38, 115 (-25.44 sec)

3. #26, 114

4. #51, 113

5. #58, 110

6. #33, 109

7. #99, 109

8. #49, 108

9. #66, 108

EC #23, 106

10. #22, 102

Hour #2

At 11:00am

1. #70 Speed Doctors, 56 laps

2. #11 Brain Nerds, 56

3. #38 ChumpFaces, 56

4. #26 Shake N Bake, 55

5. #51 British American, 55

6. #99 Short Bus, 55

7. #49 Slugworks, 55

8. #66 Holy Rollers, 53

EC #23 Brake Dusters, 52

9. #58 Speedlab, 52

10. #22 North Loop, 52

#48 STP Mustang is out with engine issues, believed to be a dropped valve.

#33 Tubby Butterman is working to overcome a 9 lap MOV penalty. They are currently 7 laps behind the leader.

The first hour

It's perfect weather for racing, at least for the drivers. Cars seem to prefer damp air and 50s.

At 10:22 am

1. #11 Brain Nerds, 39 laps

2. #70 Speed Drs, 39

3. #38 ChumpFaces, 38

4. #51 BAR, 38

5. #26 Shake and Bake, 38

6. #49 Slugworks, 38

7. #66 Holy Rollers, 38

8. #99 Short Bus, 38

EC #23 Brake Dusters, 38

9. #20 Most Interesting, 38

10. #58 Speedlab

I brought my trusty little Bushnell radar gun this weekend. Probably the fastest point on the track is coming into turn 2, which can be taken flat out. I won't say these are terribly accurate as I'm having to shoot a a bit of an angle, but it will give a decent comparison of speeds.

#3 - 97 mph

#49 - 97 mph

#38 - 96 mph

#26 - 94 mph

#51 - 93 mph

#99 - 93 mph

#33 - 92 mph

#58 - 92 mph

Several cars out with engine failure in the early stages:

#44 Tow Mater, burned piston

#83 Mayhem Racing, lower end

#4 Mid-engine crisis, rod knock

#3 and #49 are racing hard nose-to-tail with #3 barely able to hold off #49 every lap. They are clearly the fastest cars on the track, as evidenced by the top speeds posted above.

Daylight in the Swamp!

"It's breakfast time! Hot coffee! Rise and Shine!" During the 1970s & 80s, the guy who owned the concession stand in the B.I.R. race paddock would tramp through the worker's camping area shouting that phrase at the top of his lungs... at about 5:30am. He was the target of many threats from hung-over workers who had shared too much free Budweiser (or Miller or Schlitz) the night before. But dutifully they would get up and stand on corners, or man the watches in T&S, or patrol the grid and pit areas. We have a smaller crew of race workers these days, but their assistance is no less appreciated.

Our latest count shows 22 cars here, but there are rumors that another couple of cars may register late.

Pictured here is the School of Mayhem. Sister Myron wields a wicked dipstick whip. They might be considered "drag" racers.

#3 - 3 Sheets, Ford Contour

#4 - Mid-engine Crisis, Toyota MR2

#6 - Hack-cent, Hyundai Accent

#11 - Brain-nerds, Porsche 944

#20 - The Most Interesting Chumps In The World, BMW 325i

#22 - North Loop Motorsports, BMW 325

#23 - Brake Dusters, BMW 540

#26 - Shake and Bake, Toyota MR2

#31 - Chester of the Apocalypse, Mazda MX3

#33 - Tubby Butterman, BMW 325

#38 - ChumpFaces ChumpRaces, BMW 325

#43 - Ambitious But Rubbish, Buick Regal

#44 - Tow Mater, Dodge Dakota

#48 - Slow Tired Pony (STP), Ford Mustang

#49 - Slugworks, Honda Civic

#51 - British-American Racing, BMW 325e

#58 - Speedlab, BMW 325e

#66 - Holy Rollers, Acura Integra

#70 - Speed Doctors, BMW 325e

#81 - Team Party Cat, Mazda Miata

#83 - Mayhem Racing, Honda Civic

#99 - Team Short Bus, VW Golf GL

Who is your favorite Babe? Blue Ox or Winkleman?

Brainerd, MN -- Paul Bunyan's blue-hued sidekick can be found here, and so can that TV Fishin' Legend Babe Winkleman. But most ChumpCar teams will be concentrating their attention on Brainerd International Raceway.

This track first saw racing action in 1968 as Donnybrooke, named after a pair of Minnesota race drivers who had lost theirs lives in the sport, Donny Skogmo and Brooke Kinnard. The first few seasons saw the likes of TransAm, CanAm, F5000, and USAC Indy cars, as well as SCCA regional and national races. Many time SCCA National Champion Jerry Hansen purchased the track in 1974 and renamed it Brainerd International Raceway. Today the track is better known for NHRA drag races on the 5000 foot long straightaway, but the road course is still used regularly.

A few years ago Jed and Kristi Copham bought the facility, and added a new section between turns 8 and 1, creating the 2.5 mile Club Course that the ChumpCars will be competing on. With its long straights, BIR is very much a horsepower track and cars may well hit Ludicrous Speed between turns 1 and 3. But the tighter arcs from turns 4 thru 12 favor the better handling machines.

BMWs dominated last year's ChumpCar race here, with victory on both days going to the Fokker themed Flying Circus 325. But the new AIV penalties may give extra laps to those cars, so other marques may have a chance to win one of the coveted ChumpCar trophies.

This weekend will feature a pair of 7-hour endurance races, one on Saturday, one on Sunday. Live updates will be posted here.

Road America Sunday. The Final.

And the Winner is...

#66 Holy Rollers! It's really an Acura with a Dodge grille, but the body is so cut up, who could tell?

The battle for 2nd place came down to the final lap. With two laps to go, the #26 MR2 passed the #34 Subaru on the straight, with one lap to go, #26 had a short lead over #34, and there's no telling how many times they swapped positions on the 4 mile course, but #34 got ahead on the final lap to win by a car length. After SEVEN FREAKING HOURS OF RACING!!! (See photo at right.)

EC #7, Team Brown, Miata, 96 laps
1. #66, Holy Rollers, Acura, 95 laps
2. #34, Top Fool Elemonator, Subaru Impreza, 94
3. #26, Shake N Bake, Toyota MR2, 94
4. #33, Tubby Butterman, BMW 325, 93
5. #01, My Little Pony, Mustang, 91
6. #3, Three Sheets, Contour, 91
7. #00, URA Tool, SHO, 90
8. #21, Brake Dusters, BMW 540, 87
ISS #168, 21-Gun Racing, Ford Escort, 82
9. #18, The Danish Flash, Mustang, 81
10. #15, United Nations of ChumpCar, Acura, 79
11. #20, Corner 12 Crew, 79
12. #14, It's Just a Datsun, Datsun 210, 74
13. #98, SHO Time Racing, Mustang SHO, 68
14. #49, Slugworks, Honda Civic, 65
15. #8, Eggboy Racing, SHO, 64
16. #68, Sgt. Shitbox, BMW, 56
17. #99, Team Short Bus, VW, 46
18. #24, Bear Patrol, Lexus, 41
19. #44, Dragon Somethin' Porsche 944, 19
20. #23, Hofmeister Kinky, BMW 325, 17
21. #22, Carpet Munchers, Neon, 12
22. #46, Cougar Bait, Saab 9-3, 8

Road America Sunday. Update #6.

1. #66, Holy Rollers, Acura, 79 laps
EC #7, 79
2. #26, 77
3. #34, 77
4. #33, 76
5. #01, 75
6. #00, 75
7. #3, 73
8. #21, 69
9. #98, 68
10. #18, 67

The rain has stopped, but it is still quite cold with temps in the upper 30s and a brisk wind out of the south. We're talkin' wind chill folks!

The final drivers are in the cars, hoping their particular piece of crap will stay running for just one more hour.

#99 Team Short Bus has packed it in for the weekend. Cracked head is the reported failure.

#8 Eggboy is now on the trailer as well. They are still shown in 13th place on the 3 o'clock lap chart, but three cars are only a few laps in arrears so will pass for position.

#68 Sgt. S#!tbox BMW is out after crashing their car.

It looks like there are 16 cars still running.

Road America Sunday. Update #5.

At 2:00 pm: Two hours remaining.

EC #7, 65 laps
1. #34, 65
2. #26, 65
3. #8, 64
4. #66, 64
5. #01, 63
6. #00, 63
7. #33, 62
8. #3, 61
9. #15, 57
10. #21, 57

#44 Dragon Somethin' Porsche 944 just turned in their transponder. Blown head gasket and transmission woes.

19 cars still running.

Road America Sunday. Update #4.

The standings at 1:00 pm:

1. #66, 51 laps

2. #01, 50

3. #26, 49

4. #34, 49

EC #7, 49

5. #8, 48

6. #00, 48

7. #3, 47

8. #33, 47

9. #68, 46

10. #21, 43

#66 Holy Rollers Pontiac Sunfire Acura Integra continues to lead. They are making good speed on the straights and staying out of trouble on the wet track.

#34 Top Fool Elemonator Subaru Impreza is doing well in the corners thanks to the beauty of AWD, but they are not fast on the straights.

#21 Brake Dusters BMW has no alternator, so the team is swapping batteries about every half hour. Their other team car, #23 Hofmeister Kinky BMW, is out with a blown engine.

#8 Eggboy Racing SHO is still on track, but expects to be heading home soon. They were having issues with the differential late yesterday and started the day without 1st or 2nd gear. They plan to have the SHO ready in time for Iowa.

#44 Dragon Somethin' Porsche spent a lot of time in the pits trying to track down an overheating issue. Their radiator lost coolant late in yesterday's race due to a leak and they parked it on the final lap.

#24 Bear Patrol Lexus hit a wall and had to come in on a tow rope.

#3 has now set the fast lap of the day at 3:34.744. Lap times are about 30 to 40 seconds slower than Saturday due to the wet track.

Road America Sunday. Update #3.

Racing resumed after about a 40 minute Safety Break due to weather.

At 12:00 noon:

1. #66, 36 laps
2. #26, 36
EC #7, 35
3. #34, 35
4. #01, 35
5. #00, 35
6. #8, 34
7. #3, 34
8. #24, 34
9. #68, 33
10. #33, 31

The cars that have dropped back a couple of laps, #3 and #8 in particular, slid off course and had to be extracted from the mud. The wet track has put a lot of drivers in the "sudden loss of talent" category.

Road America Sunday. Update #2.

Black flag for inclement weather. Radar shows heavy thunderstorms in the vicinity.

As of 11:00am

1. #8, 32 laps
2. #66, 31
3. #26, 31
4. #68, 30
5. #34, 30
6. #00, 30
7. #01, 30
EC #7, 29
8. #24, 29
9. #3, 29
10. #49, 28

#46 Cougar Bait has put their car on the trailer, reason unknown.

#22 Mutt Cutts is also on the trailer. The car slid off into the kitty litter (puppy litter?) on turn 12 and tossed the timing belt. The car is a Neon, covered on all external surfaces with carpeting. It has a red carpet tongue, black carpet nose and eyes, and a carpet tail wagging in the back. The corner workers refer to it as "number 22 fuzzy".

#86 Team Phoenix replaced a broken sway bar overnight, but a seized power steering pump has put an end to their weekend.

#33 Tubby Butterman has made up a couple of their Margin Of Victory (MOV) laps awarded as a result of yesterday's win. The MOV penalty was 7 laps.

#3 Three Sheets and #24 Bear Patrol are also nipping away at penalty laps, setting fastest times among the ChumpCars.

Road America Sunday. Update #1.

The standings as of 10:00 am:

[EC] 7 Team Brown, Miata, 20 laps

1. 66 Holy Rollers, Pontiac Acura, 19

2. 26 Shake N Bake, Toyota MR2, 19

3. 21 Brake Dusters, BMW, 19

4. 3 Three Sheets, Contour, 19

5. 8 Eggboy, SHO, 19

6. 01 My Little Pony, Mustang, 19

7. 34 Top Fool, Subaru, 18

8. 00 URA Tool, SHO, 18

9. 49 Slugworks, Honda, 18

10. 68 Sgt Shitbox, BMW, 18

11. 15 U.N. of C.C., Acura, 18

Road America Sunday. The Start.

Another day, another race at Road America. The ChumpCar staff is alert and ready, despite spending too many hours and too many hard earned dollars at Siebken's bar last night.

The Hofmeister Kinky team (#23) is switching cars. The BMW 325 that they had intended to run this weekend blew a transmission during Friday's testing, so they ran their backup BMW 318i (last season's Space Oddity car) on Saturday. The 325 trans-plant was finished on Saturday, so that is the car they will be driving today.

The #11 Lowered Expectations Acura is on the trailer with a blown engine.

#43 ISS Ford Probe stayed home with a weak clutch.

My count says 24 cars on the track for the pace laps.

At the moment the track is wet thanks to overnight rain. There are thunderstorms in the forecast, with possible strong winds. If there is lightning in the area, the cars will all be black flagged and brought into the pits for safety.

There was a bit of sleet as the race started, and that turned to sleet pellets (not quite hail) about 9:30am.

Checkered Flag on RA1!

Time for Beer and Bratwurst!!!

1. #33 Tubby Butterman BMW 325, 126 laps

2. #24 Bear Patrol, Lexus, 121

3. #8 Eggboy Racing, Ford SHO, 119

4. #21 Brake Dusters, BMW 540, 119

5. #34 Top Fool Elemonator, Subaru, 117

6. #44 Dragon Somethin', Porsche 944, 116

7. #01 My Little Pony, Mustang, 116

8. #49 Slugworks, Honda Civic, 114

9. #66 Holy Rollers, 113

10. #15 U.N. of ChumpCar, Acura, 111

11. #00 URA Tool, Ford SHO, 109

12. #168 21 Gun Racing [ISS], 105

13. #26 Shake N Bake, Toyota MR2, 103

14. #22 Carpet Munchers, Neon, 102

15. #14 It's a Datsun, Datsun 210, 97

16. #20 Corner 12 Crew, 96

17. #68 Sgt. Shitbox, 95

18. #99 Team Short Bus, VW Golf, 95

19. #46 Cougar Bait, Saab 9-3, 95

20. #23 Hofmeister Kinky, BMW 540, 95

21. #43 STD [ISS], , 95

22. #98 SHO Time Racing, Mustang, 86

23. #86 Team Phoenix, Shadow, 82

24. #18 The Danish Flash, Mustang, 76

25. #3 Three Sheets, Ford Contour, 66

26. #11 Lowered Expectations, Acura, 47

#7 Team Brown completed 127 laps, but was running in the EC category so is not included in this list.

Results at MyLaps.com

Some more reports from the pits after the race:

#11 Lowered Expectations Acura - blown engine

#46 Cougar Bait Saab - hose blew off the intercooler in the turbo stream. They tried to fix it but could not get it to stay on. They should be back tomorrow.

#44 Dragon Somethin' Porsche - Overheated on the last lap after a bolt wore a hole in the radiator. Parked it rather than risk damage.

Let's do this again tomorrow!!!