May / June 2014
26
R
acing is full of highs and lows, and they are
generally to the extreme. Autobahn Chicago
April was no exception.
I was coming off a high of winning last
year's Central Region Chumpionship. It felt like a long
cold off season so was itching to get back to the track.
I run a BMW e36, which has been a very competitive
platform in Chumps, almost since the series started.
There has been lots of complaining about BMW's for
many years and so Chumps stepped up and decided
to level the playing field by penalizing BMW's a
minimum of 3 laps for every 7hrs of racing. The only
problem is that they forgot to include e30's which are
just as competitive (not that everyone agrees with that
statement).
I took advantage of the off season to rebuild the
motor and driveline (again!!). So I was happy that I
now have a fresh rebuilt motor, conversely with no
track time before the race I was nervous to say the
least. Having run a BMW for a couple of years now
both on the track and street, I am not intimately familiar
with their quirky, temperamental nature. Just when
IT'S SHINING IN CHICAGO
Chumpcars Autobahn 2014
The Windy City Grand Prix April 5-6