Introduction-Chambers Motorsports Group (CMG), sponsored
by Techtonics Tuning, is competing in the 2008 One Lap of America in a
1991 Volkswagen Jetta GLI. One Lap of America? If you think you've never
heard of it, think "Cannon Ball Run", and Burt Reynolds, and
you sort of get the picture. However, the modern day version, as adapted
and created by Brock Yates, the original Cannon Ball high speed cross
country hot rodder, is safer and redefined. Still at the core of it all
is the demand to the human body of trying to compete at precision levelsat
race speeds when you suffer constantly with sleep deprivation. Competition
is based on points and positions earned at race tracks all during th day,
then driving all night to the next track. And do it again; and again;
and again; and again; and again; and again for a total of 8 days. If you
don't show at the track in time-NO POINTS earned. See and learn more about
the Tire Rack One Lap of America at http://www.onelapofamerica.com/
The race starts from the Tire Rack store in South Bend, IN. May 3rd
History-Chambers Motorsports Group (CMG) has a history of amateur endurance racing with VW"s and Techtonics Tuning (tt). CMG prepared VW Rabitts and a GTI for the LOngest Day of Nelson and ran in five (5) of these 24 hour races from 1992-1996. tt built up the engine the team ran in two of the races which were in back to back years and the same engine!
Various family members continued to compete in Regional and National SCCA racing, then competed in the 2004 version of the One Lap. The car used in that event was a 1991 VW Jetta GLI, specially prepared for the event to achieve a balance of road comfort and track competitiveness. Many engine improvements were Techtonics Tuning components. Team members were Rob Chambers, Ben Chambers and Matt Chambers. Matt, a professional race team member, modified the complete car, and did so from combining the best from 2 cars while adding endurance capability and race competition parts.
The 2004 OLoA was the longest One Lap run in modern times, a total of 6000 miles. Competing against cars like purpose built Corvettes, Porsches and Subaru WRX's with unlimited budgets, the CMG team finished 61st out of a field of 85 starters and 5th in the Economy Car class out of 8 starters.
2008-For this year's One Lap of America event, CMG and Techtonics Tuning have once again teamed up. The team is using the same 1991 Jetta GLI used in the 2004 OLoA, however its not the same car at all technically, as follows.
The engine now produces 190 hp with the many modification made. The complete geometry of the car has changed due to further suspension modifications including more lowering, 300 pounds of weight reduction due to all sound deadener materials removed, the sunroof removed and replaced by aluminum,and the complete A/C system removed. Calculations ere made to determine horsepower and total car weight needed to run 14 second times at the drag strip and to achieve a 1.0 G's of lateral force on the skid pad. These changes also make the car faster at the road course tracks.
This year's event is a bit of a reunion. Erik Stearns rejoins the team for track driving. Erik was the team's crew chief for our first 24 hour race at the tender age of 19. He now is an accomplished racer having competed in recent years in shifter carts, Pro Miata Cup and the Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup. Matt and Ben Chambers make up the rest of the team.
Thursday and Friday were busy days of driving the car to South Bend, Indiana, home of the Tire Rack and the first competion site, the Tire Rack Skid Pad in the wet; then registering, placing all the required decals on the car of the event sponsors, our team/car number (58) and our sponsor's decals (yes, it rained in the process, of course). Then came tech inspection (we Passed) and the Driver's meeting, and kick-off reception buffet. (Lest you think it was dress up, it was hot dogs and hamburgers and chili!!)
This year there are 71 official competitors, which is down from the normal number of 80 to 85. We found out that 2 of the cars in our Economy Car class tht were likely to compete for 1st place, could not make the event. One suffered from an electrical fire during track testing somewhere. The other could not get the car problems they were having sorted out.
so tomorrow, Saturday, it all starts! The wet skid pad competitions a the Tire Rack; then pack up the car and drive to road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisonsin, to cmpete on their road course. Matt is to do both events on Saturday.
When we are done at Road America, its pack the up again (it has to be empty of all loose items and to reduce weight) and off to the Omaha, Nebraska area thru the night for Mid america MOtorsports Park at 8AM sunday morning. We'll try to keep up with the daily updates and pictures when we can.
Thanks, The CMG Team
Drivers,
Matt Chambers - Hunterville, NC
Ben Chambers - Bowling Green, OH
Erik Stearns - Van Buren, OH
car specs
Engine
2008cc, Ported and Extrude honed 16v cylinder head, Extrude honed intake
Manifold, Techtonics 276 cams, Techtonics 32.5mm x 28.5mm valves. 11.5-1
cr, Techtonics 4-1 Header and 2.25" exhaust. Techtoincs software.
Sponsors
http://www.techtonicstuning.com
Saturday May 3rd. update
WET SKID PAD
We’re pumped. On our way to Road America now and
as we left theTireRack we wer first place in econo class with two cars
yet to run. One is the Scion TC that may be a formidable in competitor.
We’ll find out where we stand at RA.
The skid pad must be run in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions
with the two times averaged. Then the g-force is calculated. Matt did
this event and pulled a 0.861 g’s in the wet. We are hopefull this
will mean 1.0 g’s next Saturday, the goal of all the work to cut
weight and lower the center of gravity.
Grabbed a to go lunch and enough gas to give us ahalf tank when we show
at RA for better track performance. MPG has been around 30 so we hnope
that will continue.
High chance of rain in Wisconsin. Light rain in Chicago right now. Traffic
sucks as do the tolls.
Next update after Matt runs Road America. And we.ll try to get pictures
posted when we can.
Typos will be common. It’s a bumpy ride in then bck seat and the
keyboad and bifocls don’t help.
Thanks, thed CMG Team.
Road America-Erik and Matt split up the drive to Elkhart
Lake's Road America. Chicago traffic slowed us down enough to start worrying
about being late but we made it.
Conditons were cold and windy and reminded us of our 2004 adventure there. Run order was by car number so at 58 we had to wait. With cars going off, 2009 Dodge Challenger, BMW, and people not listening to rules it got dragged out and we all felt the cold. The delays caused other issues. The run groups started to get jostled so people could get out of thefre for the drive to Omaha area. They let one of the super fast BMW's into Matt's group and when he lapped Matt and 2 other cars, the flagger thought the field was done and gav`e them the checkered flag. They only had 2 of the 3 laps done, but thinking that the event had been shnortented to get out of there, they camo pits. As a result, we got a DNF (NO POINTS) for the second run. It wasn't until muchn later an d some worry, that we got points established and no DNF status.
A nice part of RA was a family friend's (Wendy) parents, the Weber's, who live nearby came to see us.
After RA cars that were out or delayed for the next event were the white Challenger, later replaced by an orange one, the NSX, the turbo Beetle, and the Audi S4 later to show at Mid America.
Matt did well at RA but we didn't know where we stood when wed left. Did not leave the track til6PM for the drive to the next venue, Mid America Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa, near Omaha,NE,nearly 600 miles away.
Next Ben sees flashing lights in the mirror!
Thanks, the CMG team.
Matt is concerned about the DNF and calls Brock Yates, Jr on his cell phone. Brock seemsa to understand and says they'll review tomorrow and fix it if needed.
Matt drove the rest od the way from West Des Moines, where Ben's head nods were drawing attention.
We got in at 3AM to the hotel and parked next to the only other one lapper there, the Nissan Skyline GTR. We concluded we must have better tast than we thought in hotels. Up at 6:30, a half hour drive to the track, and to the track at 8:30. Cars are lining up on grid. We unpack the car and check the post ings for corrected points . The DNF is still there.
They say TWS was the hotbed of NASCAR about 30 years ago. Now it hosts between 200-3000 amateur racing events per year. It’s old but a nice facility. And the people are nice-especially Rusty who you’ll hear more about later.
We’re in first place in our class coming in here, but you never know what can happen with rain and a racetrack. Rain, Rain and more Rain. Water everywhere. You had to walk thru inches of water to get anywhere. Thank goodness we got there early and got a garage space. Even though it had water on the floor all day, for the most part our stuff stayed dry.
Water on the track can be dangerous especially if flowing across it or large areas of puddles. High speeds and water equal hydro planning, or the stone skipping effect on a lake.
Matt is on the track today for 2 sessions. The track layout is a combination of the bigger circle track and extensions of it to make it a road course. Everyone gets in line for the run order during each event so there is waiting that occurs while the cars in front of you run their group. Rain began early enough that it became a pain of having to deal with it with all the waiting.
Matt ran well for the first session. Being cautious and smart but still pushing it. He had fast run of the class, then told us how he skipped across one of the last turns before the transitions to the circle track’s front straight. When he hit the water he shot left and straight thru the grass on to the next corner. Must have been A little scary being out of control. He slowed some the next lap and moved over, too. The second lap was also successful as fast of class.
We walk back to the paddock to meet Matt and pack up to go to Louisiana and there are problems. With the session over and successful, Matt says a loud noise started just as he came to the garage area, coming from the clutch. Its diagnosed via cell phone by Collin listening to the noise over it. Broken parts on the pressure plate of the clutch system and it needs to be fixed or we’ll definitely but out with a larger problem. Twenty phone calls and referrals later and we find the Bug Clinic in Bryan Texas has the parts we need. We are offered assistance by Rusty of TWS in offering a floor jack, jack stands,etc AND taking Ben to the Bug Clinic to get the parts, while Matt and Erik dissaemble the tranny from the engine and remove the bad parts. They are ready for the parts when Ben gets back with Rusty. Assembly and test drive are smooth by this experienced duo, and we are ready to go by 8PM. Another long drive ahead but we are at least ready for the next event.
The event at the drag strip for today was cancelled due to the rain. That left plenty of time for the teams to drive on to No Problem Raceway, near Belle Rose, LA. They did and had nice meals and good sleep. We didn’t. We got in about our normal time of 3AM. Wishing we could have got a little more sleep.
We leave the track not knowing how everyone performed, but based on our times and comparisons, we think first is still possible. Next on to the bayou’s of Louisiana.
Thanks, the CMG Team.
I guess Matt was looking forward to seeing if we can continue to stay at the top of class. He should have been tired and let Ben drive, but drove all the way from Texas World Speedway to our hotel close by here.
What a contrast. It’s a bright beautiful day at No Problem, and we are able to snag a garage space between the Porsches to stay out of the sun.
This is a flat track that also has a drag strip. Now we are on a roll and wanting to do well to maintain our lead on class.
Erik is the wheelman for this one and he drives it like he stole it. The first session is in the morning, with a planned break for lunch. We are fastest in class and no damage to car. The clutch work is holding up.
The second session is strong also and no damage to the car. Based on our timing, we secure 1st place with more points separating us from second.
Brock Yates of OloA apparently is able to sell the idea to No Problem folks to let us do the drag strip run at their facility since it got cancelled due to rain at yesterday’s venue.
Matt was scheuled to run that event so he gets in the car and doe the 2 elapsed time runs for points. The bracket drags are not done due to time constraints.
While Matt does not get the 14 second flat run he hoped for, he has one in the low 15 seconds and one in the high 14’s.
We leave No Problem secure in first, but not looking forward to the 850-mile drive from this New Orleans area facility to the Carolina Motorsports facility in Kershaw, SC. Ben does the first 500 miles then both Erik and Matt do the balance. What else but a 2:30AM arrival, excuse me, now 3:30 because its eastern time zone! Just can’t seem to get that extra hour sleep we want.
Next CMP in the dry and Erik likes this track he’s never been on before.
Thanks the CMG Team
CAROLINA MOTORSPORTS PARK-Kershaw, SC
Arriving at CMP was fun, even with as little sleep as we got. The paddock is nicely laid out and is a pleasant place to be. Being from the midwest, it was strange to see grass trying to grow in sand instead of dirt in this area. With the sun shining again today something just made it seem like today was going to be a good day.
There are two sessions run today at this road course track. Erik is to do the driving. First session looks fast and no off tracks. Erik comes in and says he likes the track. Its fun. This is good. He wins session one in class.
Lunch break then session 2. He's fast, keeps the car on course and on the way to BMW facility we find he wins in class and ranks higher overall, too No problems but the guys are pretty sure the right front wheel bearing is going bad.
We pack up and off to Spartenburg,SC. Had no lunch at the track so we stop and do Subway again. In 2004 we discovered they're everywhere. Many times you could get gas and a halfway healthy sub (way) at the same place and save time.
Some good times at the BMW Test Center coming up next.
Thanks, the CMG Team
BMW TEST CENTER
We weren't sure what to expect here. You know, maybe a momento for One Lappers, or some free bottled water. What we got was a crowd of a couple hundred BMW employees and a chance to use the BMW test track to show why our CMG version 1991 VW Jetta GLI is doing so well so far in this 2008 competition.
There was only one session which included a recon lap and two hot laps. Erik drove this event also and put the WWF smackdown on them with a 1st in class and 22nd (!!) overall. Happy, very happy. Its a VW-Audi thing.
We all left as quickly as we came and headed for VIR near Danville, Virginia. Matt and family live near Charlotte. So no hotel this night!
Thanks, the CMG Team
The wheel bearing was going to be a problem it looked like so Matt called Robert at GMP in Charlotte to follow up on the offer to help if we needed assistance. GMP has a nice facility. The lift and tools made shorter work of replacing the bearing. The guys stayed late to help us get this done and it was much appreciated.
We got up at 4:30 and left at 5:30AM so we could drive the rest of the way to VIR and get there by 8AM. It was predicted to be a high chance of rain all day. It turned out ot be a great day.
VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (VIR)
This place is awesome! Reminded us mid-westerners of Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, only better. Beautiful setting in the woods, on-site hotel, and barn-like buildings that add to its appeal. You've go to go to VIR.
The rainy weather held off and all 3 sessions we held. Matt was on track today and started with the South course. He had been to the facility, but only had run the North course on one test day. He ran hard and got a 3rd on the South. Next was the North course and he had a blast. Finished 1st in class by 8 seconds. He was able to get a 2nd place finish on the full course so we felt really good packing up the car (again!).
The goal was to get out early as possible to get to BeaveRun near Pittsburgh for a better nights sleep. The One Lap seems to test you every step of the way, tho. A traffic tie-up on the interstate near Big Walker tunnel slowed us. Also, it rained. No, actually, it poured rivers-for over half the way there. Ben drove nearly 300 miles of the trek and was ready for a double shot of anything with alcohol to take the knots out of the muscles. The car was all over the road, pulling and hydroplaneing, such that 55 mph was about as safe as you could drive it. We later discovered the ball joints we're going bad. No early arrival again, although better. We got to bed at midnight in Beaver Falls, PA. Yeah, Joe Namath's old home town. As you can see, its not just getting the points at the track. You have to show up, and sometimes cars don't make it.
BEAVERUN RACE COURSE
Here too we were expecting rain, and it sprinkled, but it truned out to be a nice day to be outside.
Erik was behind the wheel because he had run at here a couple years ago. Mattt originally thought part of the problem driving in the rain and track handling was due to alignment, so he reset the toe.
There were 3 sessions at BeaveRun, 2 on the road course
and an autocross, with cones,etc. Session 1 was good for Erik. 1st in
class and 29th overall! He came in and said it was evil, the car was all
over the place.
Matt checked the ball joints and sure enough they were going bad. Robert
at GMP had set us up with 2 spindles that fit the car. The ball joints
were removed and put on the car between sessions. The 944 guys were kind
enough to drive off site to get us lunch.
Erik squeezed in the autocross between track sessions and had a quick time but we had no idea what it related to on scoring.
Session 2 on the track was similar on lap times for Erik, and we think we got 1st in class based on our stop watch checks.
Leaving BeaveRun for DEI's mandatory sponsor stop in Avon Lake, near Cleveland (or lose 50 points off your scoring), it seemed like we had a lock on 1st in class, even if we were to miss the last event. we didn't want to get too confident, knowing anything can happen in the ONe Lap.
DEI PASSAGE CONTROL STOP
A required stop at Design Engineering's facility in Avon Lake, Ohio, (just west of Cleveland) was an enjoyable experience. We got our DEI stamp in our route book so we wouldn't lose 50 points in scoring, but we got more, too. Turned out to be a car show of One Lappers and local cars using DEI's thermal tuning products. We also got great food and drink. Sort of the official start of the One Lap wind-down. Thanks, DEI.
Now back on to South Bend, IN via the toll roads of Ohio
and Indiana, and the dry skid pad. Can we actually pull off the 1.0 G
lateral force that was one of the main goals?
TIRE RACK DRY SKID PAD
So its Friday night before the final event, the dry skid pad, and we are in first place in the Economy Car class. Shouldn't we at least grab a beer to have a little team celebration? The car is a mess. The silver OZ Superleggera's are black with heavily baked on brake dust and the body looks like its white primer with all the crud. Matt decides he'll go wash the Jetta so it looks good for the final day, Ben is busy catching up on the updates writing for the Techtonics web page, and Erik is busy on the computer (he's been running two businesses all week by cell phone and hand held computer with mobile capability!). When Matt gets back in under an hour, we're all so cashed out we go to bed. Exciting, huh?
First on the agenda at the Tire Rack is the annual One Lap cars group photo. We didn't rush to get there by 8AM like usual and got lucky by getting a front row spot for the picture in the last outside row. Hopefully, we'll be looking good for posterity.
Next was the announcement that the dry skid pad will be run in reverse order. This puts the big gun cars, the points leaders overall, running last and is a good show with burnouts and smoking drifts, and the results of these runs can decide the overall champion.
Matt is psyched up for the attempt to get a 1.0 G run in the dry. The weather is cool, but sunny, and warming up from the 39 degree F start this morning. He was about the 30th car to run, and the Toyota Yaris had already run a combined result of clockwise and counter clockwise runs of 0.997 G, leading the overall event at the time. Our closest in-class competitor, the Civic Si, had run a 0.915 G. Matt's run started with a counter clockwise force of 1.008 G, but the clockwise run, where the driver's weight is on the outside of the car, couldn't keep up to that standard and the result was 0.992 G. We got 2nd in class to the Yaris, but 18th overall!! You can't be disappointed with an effort like that.
And yes, we WON the Economy Car class in the 2008, 25th Anniversary year running of the Tire Rack One Lap of America!!
Next, our final wrap up, and thank you's to all who helped along the way.
Thanks, the CMG Team, Champions of Economy Class!