2002 Hyundai Elantra - Champ Car Build/Story

She's chomping at the bit to get back on the track to show what she can do this year.

CobraBob said:

She's chomping at the bit to get back on the track to show what she can do this year.

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March 3-5 for the VIR 12 Hour race on South Course. Car number is 324 and our team name is Pickle Boy Motorsports.

Car is even more prepared than the last race and i think i have eliminated the biggest issues we had last race - alignment and tire wear.

We are also signed up for the 8+7 race on VIR North Course in December. At that point, im hoping to have the full bolt ons completed and some aero changes that are forthcoming. This should give us a little more speed on top of what we currently have. Car isnt fast for its class and durability is key but just a little more horsepower should ensure we stay on podium for the duration of the race versus being in the back of the field until people start dropping out due to mechanical failure.

Sounds like your plans are working extremely well. I wish you and your team, Pickle Boy Motorsports all the best success in 2022!

Welp, we won Class B at the 12 Hours of VIR South.
Car went 11 hours and 49 minutes before blowing a right front brake line sending us off into the grass at Turn 5 "Fish Hook". Grass under the car caught fire due to it being so dry. Fire was extinguished but we were done for the day as there was only 10 minutes.

To qualify to win the class you must show up to post race inspection. So we pushed the car into the post race inspection area and with no protests submitted then solidified our win.

Car will be fixed back up and the next planned event is at the end of the year at VIR again.

Some photos from the event....

Tech inspection sticker applied and we are approved to go racing.

In the staging grid next to a V6 swapped Celica from Ass Clown Racing(awesome team and extremely fun to pit next to)

Car is ready to go on pit lane.

Coming down front straight.

Coming out of Oak Tree into the front straight.

Oak Tree.

Fuel stop and driver change.

Final photo of the car entering Turn 1 before the fire.

Man that looks like fun!!

It was an endurance race, right? You won your Class but didn't apparently finish the race, being short 10 minutes. I assume your team covered the longest distance in an allotted time or was first to cover a predetermined distance. A definitely CONGRATULATIONS for taking the Class win!!!

CobraBob said:

It was an endurance race, right? You won your Class but didn't apparently finish the race, being short 10 minutes. I assume your team covered the longest distance in an allotted time or was first to cover a predetermined distance. A definitely CONGRATULATIONS for taking the Class win!!!

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Correct. We were 82 laps ahead of the next person in our class. The only thing we had to do was push our car into the post race inspection area to claim the first place spot.

Sucks we didnt make the full 12 hours. 11 hours and 49 minutes was soooo freaking close.

Thanks for that explanation. It all falls into place now. And congratulations. Don't be overly disappointed with slightly missing your goal of 12 hours. I remember running a half marathon in Myrtle Beach back in 2003 and my goal was 2 hours. I finished in 2 hours and 6 seconds. I was really bummed. But I did have fun running there with my daughter, so I held onto the positive. A year later I ran another half marathon and finished in 1 hour 50 minutes. So I did eventually reach/beat my personal goal, but the real enjoyment was the journey I took to get there. Enjoy the journey and look forward to the next race and great personal bests.

CobraBob said:

Thanks for that explanation. It all falls into place now. And congratulations. Don't be overly disappointed with slightly missing your goal of 12 hours. I remember running a half marathon in Myrtle Beach back in 2003 and my goal was 2 hours. I finished in 2 hours and 6 seconds. I was really bummed. But I did have fun running there with my daughter, so I held onto the positive. A year later I ran another half marathon and finished in 1 hour 50 minutes. So I did eventually reach/beat my personal goal, but the real enjoyment was the journey I took to get there. Enjoy the journey and look forward to the next race and great personal bests.

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Thanks for the uplifting words. I definitely felt bad that we didnt finish. At this point the trophy is a reminder that there is always a way forward.

Next race isnt for a while. December 2022 back at VIR for the 8+7 enduros. So for now it will be alot of maintenance, upgrades and suspension tuning.

Big changes coming before that race. Will document as we go along.

Thanks Kevin. I'll be looking forward to reading about the changes. I expect you'll do well at VIR next December.

Made opening the drivers door during an emergency a little easier as diving out the window was not a pleasant experience.

Live and learn.

Havent update this thread in a very long time.

Car is going to compete in the 24 Hours of VIR next weekend! We are prepped like crazy, new teammates/drivers and 24 hours straight of Champ Car craziness.

Shooting for a class win but we are against some FIERCE competition this race....even a prepped Fiesta ST from another team.

Anyone going to the VIR 24 next weekend?

Some photos of the car prepped and ready to go. Super excited and forum member @cidsamuth will be joining us this weekend as a driver. Hoping for a top finish in Class B.

Biggest changes from March of 2022 is:
-Ported intake manifold
-58mm throttle body
-KSport coilovers w/ locked washers(-2.5 or more of camber)
-+10mm wider using spacers(5mm per side)
-225/45R16 Toyo R1R's in front(205's still out back)
-revised 2" brake ducts for more tire room(they still rub....)
-Electric/Hydraulic power steering system using a Volvo electric pump
-seat back brace
-driver cooling system
-Go Pro Hero 10
-additional hood vents
-more weight removed from trunk, hood and doors

Alignment:
-2.5 camber Front / -1.8 camber in rear
zero toe front and rear

Hope to document the weekend as much as we can.

Pickle Boy Motorsports 2002 Hyundai Elantra finished the grueling Lifeline VIR 24 hour race 34th overall(this is from Race Hero) and 3rd in Class B.

Speedhive is showing we placed 30th overall and 2nd in Class B due to a disqualification of the S2000 in our class but not sure which to follow.

Car went the full 24 hours. We had slight issues with it taking fuel during the heat on Saturday then an ignition/fueling issue around midnight which caused us to finish the race limiting the RPM shift points to 5000rpm. But it did finish the full 24 hours of racing.

I couldn't have asked for a better result. Everyone worked diligently to ensure pits were quick and driving was kept clean. Car came home in one piece and good mechanical condition.

@cidsamuth drove a very clean race and pulled two full shifts with very good lap times.

Next step is to swap the fuel pump and see if that cures the power drop off at 5500+rpm.

Putting the video together now and waiting on pictures to be posted by some of the photographers that were there. Just some from my phone:

Car off trailer, flew through tech inspection on Friday. Final prep and new rear view mirror. Zach's turbocharged/ethanol tuned crazy track car NB Miata in green in the left of the photo.

Danny in car during fuel stop sometime around 9pm.




After ignition repairs. New plugs, remove oil from plug wells and replace ignition wires/coils.

After ignition repairs in the garage around midnight. Jason getting strapped in for his second stint.

Early morning driver change. This would be @cidsamuth getting into the car around 2:30-3am with our teammate Jason(white helmet) getting out and helping to strap him into the car.

Passenger side front tire after 12 hours.

I ended up flat spotting the tires going into Turn 1. This was the Driver Side front tire.

Car after 24 hours being loaded on the trailer to head home.

Congratulations, Kevin, on finishing the entire 24 hours. ENDURANCE!! Finishing 3rd (or 2nd) with heavy competition is awesome.

CobraBob said:

Congratulations, Kevin, on finishing the entire 24 hours. ENDURANCE!! Finishing 3rd (or 2nd) with heavy competition is awesome.

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Thanks. It was a valiant team effort and the single most exhausting motorsport event ive ever entered. In the end it was an amazing time and worth every minute and dollar.

Each person on the team chipped in to ensure the car was ready, fueled and driven without incident that would put us out early. Mechanical gremlins did rear their head but were mitigated with excellent driving by my team mates who are MUCH better drivers than i am. They picked up time even after being RPM limited throughout the last 12 hours. Huge, huge, huge thanks to all of them and the commitment to the weekend.

We are already talking about the 12 hour in March at VIR South Course.

Some more photos from the pro photographers that were at the event. Such a beautiful track and a very successful event by Champ Car/VIR staff.

Grid during the HEAT on Saturday.

Andrew in the American Stripes helmet, Danny(bald guy) and Jason to the right. Im the idiot looking under the hood.

Grid before the start of the race. So many fast race cars.

Full grid right before the start.

NASCAR bend into Left Hook. Elantra in the top right.

Through NASCAR coming into left hook.

We are the blur behind the E46.

Not sure where this is but love this photo. Maybe going into rollercoaster?

The bridge timelapse. Cool photo.

The climbing esses. Pinnacle VIR section. Absolutely frightening at midnight at 80+mph.