How to put together a Chump Car team.

Hi all,

There are 5 Canadian Chump Car events on the calendar. Thinking about putting together a team to run the 323 in 3-4 of them. Looking for advice on how to structure the team. I'm looking for two other drives as I want to run this like a 'real endurance team'. I love the idea of the two man team (Ickyx/Bell come to mind), but I know that's gone the way of the Dodo.

How have others set this up? How do you divide expenses? How do you handle damage? What other issues do you have to consider? While I think it would be fantastic if done right, I can see it blowing up if botched.

And finally, anyone here interested in running? I'd be looking for folks who could commit to 3 at least. You can check the Chump Canada page for dates. I'd like the drivers to have some wheel to wheel experience. If you have none but are interested, it's not to late to get a few ice races in

Thanks,

Jeff

Our lemons teams consist of 4 or 5 people and expenses are split equally using a spread sheet. If things are uneven after an event, money gets passed around to level the field. The cars are cheap and most damage, barring a total write off, is cosmetic in nature. The bulk of repairs are time related rather than money.

Everybody on our teams get to drive. You definitely need one captain though.

When I decided to get in to ChumpCar (Build Thread) I decided it was worth owning the car outright so I could call most of the shots. I just didn't want to deal with the hassle of team members "buying in", figuring out what to do when someone moved away and wanted equity out of the team/car, or the hassle of big group decisions on car setup etc.

So, I own the car outright. I have friends who pay to race based on cost. Basically, I provide the car, and the entry fee and consumables gets split up among the other drivers. I also ask them to help out sometimes with working on the car, though the majority of work I do. The grey area is what happens if there's some big incident on track. I didn't have a formal agreement in place, but asked that if anyone damaged anything while driving that they help me fix it.

I think this model has worked out really well, generally. I have by far the biggest cost, but I also have all the equity (own a racecar) and pay nothing in fees or consumables to race (though there are usually parts that need to be replaced/upgraded that I pay for each race. The other drivers get a really good deal on the race (about half what most arrive-and-drive guys pay) and don't have to deal with the car or putting down big chunks of cash to buy in or buy a car.

Also, to give you an idea of the cost, it's usually about $2,500+ per weekend if you're honest about consumables (+++ if you're towing any appreciable distance or have a heavier car). That figure includes entry fees, fuel for towing and racing, tires, brakes, oil change, transponder rental, etc. Depending on how much equipment you already have and how much work you do yourself, the car itself will probably cost you between $3,000 and $10,000.

I have about $5,700 in to my ChumpCar setup if you include safety equipment, spare parts, necessary pit equipment, etc. I did spend a little more on the car to start than most people might ($1,000), but I did all the fab work myself including the roll cage, which most people would have made. It's not hard to see how someone could spend $10,000 if they bought good, new safety equipment and had the cage built at a shop.

There's a decent thread about this on the ChumpCar forum.

http://forum.chumpcar.com/index.php?/topic/12101-team-management-and-finances/

That's a very honest and realistic budget he's giving you there. We either already had or got deals from friends on lots of parts for the two chump cars we built and both came in at around $3,500 to build.

If you can own the car yourself, that's the best option for all the reasons already stated. If it means the difference between seeing track time or not, don't be afraid to split costs. The biggest thing isn't money either, it's a huge time commitment to prep a car. Being aware that fights over time invested can be a problem can hopefully avoid any issues.

Guys, thanks for the feedback and the links.