The first Challenge car that really blew my mind was the first turbo Dodge minivan that entered. It was my introduction to what can be done with 4 cylinder turbo Mopars.
The first Challenge car that really blew my mind was the first turbo Dodge minivan that entered. It was my introduction to what can be done with 4 cylinder turbo Mopars.
G_Body_Man wrote: Didn't you guys have a crazy Neon with a 440 or something like that show up several years back? That thing was nuts.
Mayflower racing. Last year in fact.
Some of my favorites over the years haven't always been the fastest or best. Ones that always stood out to me were:
The original $1500 clown Vega Midget as it blew away everyones idea of what was possible at the time.
The Festiva Shogun esc creation
The Corvette CRX
The final iteration of the (I think it was) Condor wide body E30 with the single big ass turbo exiting through the hood.
The first NElson Nova or whatever it was. It just moved the bar so far in the drag race section on power
Bat Van for the nuttiness
NElson Beetle based hot rod for thinking so far out of the box.
AMC Jeep for such an awesome looking, simple yet so so effective vehicle.
The T Bone Camaro in both iterations. The first as it just looked so cool in the pics. the 2nd because...well....look at it. Mid engine Can-Am based Camaro!
I've never been to the Challenge and wont until I retire, but those are some of my favorites from reading the magazine and reading the forum. There are more, but those are the ones that stick in my mind without googling the past.
You might be able to determine which car was fastest, or have a calculated dynamic score of some sort, but it's gonna be hard to weigh the Concours.
The problem is that the Concours, in some ways, defines the event. If our purpose is to create editorial content, that's what we do on the Concours. That's where the stories are told that make them article worthy, or interesting to readers.
If the "Best" included the Concours and recognized the need to generate editorial content, a car like the BatVan would certainly be on the top 10 list. But it never ran, so if it was judged on speed and dynamic score, it would score a total of Zero.
Ed, I'm more interested in the stories than "Who's best". Who's best at generating editorial content would be impossible to judge. Even the dynamic score would be tough. Open courses favor high powered cars, tight courses favor nimble cars. The Challenge has been a mix of both. Heck, 2004 didn't even have a "real" autocross- it was run on the performance driving track, with very high top speeds on the back stretch.
If all I cared about was speed, I could go to the track any Friday night and find cars much faster than Challenge cars.
The ones that I find most interesting as a build are the Cheaparral, the Hybrid Fiero and the Zamboni.
With 841 entrants having made the pilgrimage, there are a lot of potential choices.
Can we add up the total points for each time the same car entered? 
I love the concept of this article and I can not wait to read it. With all due respect though, you have to admit this is kind of like asking "Who would win in a fight, Rocky Balboa or Batman. They are both awesome in their own light, but their worlds never cross. All of the spreadsheets in the world can't level the playing field. There are so many variables beyond the drags getting rained out. Just comparing autocross finishes year to year would be tough. Differences in course layout and weather could make it more or less favorable for any given car any year... Maybe I'm over thinking this, and maybe that's my point. Its a competition, but its also fun. Don't forget the fun part. :-)
sanyarcosean wrote: I love the concept of this article and I can not wait to read it. With all due respect though, you have to admit this is kind of like asking "Who would win in a fight, Rocky Balboa or Batman. They are both awesome in their own light, but their worlds never cross. All of the spreadsheets in the world can't level the playing field. There are so many variables beyond the drags getting rained out. Just comparing autocross finishes year to year would be tough. Differences in course layout and weather could make it more or less favorable for any given car any year... Maybe I'm over thinking this, and maybe that's my point. Its a competition, but its also fun. Don't forget the fun part. :-)
Batvan beats Rocky every time. Oh you said BatMAN. Yeah, him too
I was 4th or 5th dynamic after racing this year. It quit being fun and got real serious after that. Don't let that happen to you (royal you) in the future, it's not fun when it's not fun. It's about fun.
patgizz wrote:sanyarcosean wrote: I love the concept of this article and I can not wait to read it. With all due respect though, you have to admit this is kind of like asking "Who would win in a fight, Rocky Balboa or Batman. They are both awesome in their own light, but their worlds never cross. All of the spreadsheets in the world can't level the playing field. There are so many variables beyond the drags getting rained out. Just comparing autocross finishes year to year would be tough. Differences in course layout and weather could make it more or less favorable for any given car any year... Maybe I'm over thinking this, and maybe that's my point. Its a competition, but its also fun. Don't forget the fun part. :-)Batvan beats Rocky every time. Oh you said BatMAN. Yeah, him too I was 4th or 5th dynamic after racing this year. It quit being fun and got real serious after that. Don't let that happen to you (royal you) in the future, it's not fun when it's not fun. It's about fun.
And Patgizz FTW!
Another rule change that would totally destroy the dynamic score comparisons- free tires.
Some years most people were riding on cheap worn cast-offs, other years many had brand new R-compounds (because they didn't hit the budget)
I don't mean to derail the thread, but is there a listing somewhere for the vehicle types that were entered over the years. Just year, make and model would be interesting to see.
paranoid_android74 wrote: I don't mean to derail the thread, but is there a listing somewhere for the vehicle types that were entered over the years. Just year, make and model would be interesting to see.
I bookmarked this thread from earlier this year.
A couple pages in you'll get most of what you are looking for.
In reply to JohnRW1621:
Thank you sir!
But the link doesn't take me anywhere. Might be because I'm on my phone?
paranoid_android74 wrote: I don't mean to derail the thread, but is there a listing somewhere for the vehicle types that were entered over the years. Just year, make and model would be interesting to see.
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/never-challenged-chassis/109732/page1/
Hi all,
I'm putting together a challenge team for 2018 and stumbled across this thread. Two questions:
1. Did this article ever publish?
2. @wheels777 Any interest in making this spreadsheet public? Alternatively, does GRM publish the spreadsheet to competitors? I'm mostly interested in the past 3 years or so for benchmarking purposes.
Thanks!
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