Champ Car 14 Hour Endurance 2020 Road Atlanta
The Champ Car endurance race has always been something that I have heard about , but never was able to check out.
I was in the area, and ended up stopping by Friday for practice and got a few photos while they did tech inspections.
In short, Champ Car is a Endurance series that classes cars based on a point system. Each car starts out with a set amount of points, and modifications add points to the car, which determines what class it competes in.
Its much different building a car for these types of events compared to HPDE or Time Attack. Because these cars need to be reliable enough to last the 14 hour race , cheap to maintain, and able to be competitive within the point system.
The rules and class restrictions makes it interesting. It forces teams to find the best chassis, and the best ways of putting a car together. Even though swaps are allowed, the amount of points that it adds to your car can make the extra power not worth it. So simply just buying a low points car and swapping the motor is not always the best way to start your build. The challenging part is to find the right balance and spread your modification points improving the cars weaknesses. But also being attentive to your competition and knowing what your up against.
It was cool to see the different types of configurations and variety of vehicles. Like the Mazda 626 above, which is the last vehicle I expected to see in action. But I did learn that the car has been involved in the Champ Car race series for many years, and has been very competitive.
All week it had been rainy and cold in Georgia , and we got a small break from it on Thursday. Only to be hit with freezing temperatures on Friday afternoon, and we had been threatened with the chance of snow…
Well…the meteorologist was right, we saw snow. And it could not have came at a worst time for the Champ Car race. By the time i had arrived at the track the race had already been red flagged due to the conditions. So it had put all the cars down, and the racers were on standby till the track could be cleared.
They had been racing in these conditions for about 2 hours but the officials had to stop the race for the safety of everyone.
During the down time, I was able to walk through and check out the huge field of almost 70 cars. Everything from a classic A60 Supra to a 8th Gen Civic Si. The best thing about these cars was the personality and the home crafting that was put into them to meet the rules, and or gain an advantage on the other cars.
I took a break and got something to eat, and warmed up. And came back to the track and cars were uncovered, and being warmed up getting ready for the race.
It was a mad dash, to get all the drivers situated and everyone back on track.
The officials had been working hard once the snow stopped to clear the track with the big trucks, and used the big blowers to blow the track dry and clear.
The first hour was filled with yellow flags, spins and a few wrecks. But that did not stop the drivers from going head to head with each other, and pushing the cars as much as the wet track would allow.
The coolest thing was to seeing the variety of cars show their weaknesses and strengths. It honestly seemed like some of the front wheel drive cars were having the hardest time with traction in the rear. While the rear wheel drive cars would step out a little and catch traction and take off.
I believe they only got an official 8 hours of driving, but it was full of yellow flags and caution laps from incidents. As the track dried, the cars picked up pace and slowly they got back to their normal times.
The pits were just as busy and important as the racing. The pits may not have been as fast and dramatic as a IMSA race, but it was just as important. There were several cars that had to return just to have snow / ice removed from the grill. And it was really cool to see how hard the teams worked during pit stops to get the drivers in and out as quick as possible.
Being new to the whole track life experience, the event was a huge motivation. The Champ Car series fits exactly where I want to eventually get the Protege 5 into. I encourage everyone to check out the Champ Car race in person if it is ever in your home town.
