OPTIMA® Batteries ChumpCar World Series and Fastrucks, Inc. Partner to Form ChumpTruck
Announcing the all-new ChumpTruck World Series for the upcoming
2014 North American racing season
(Morgan Hill, Calif. - March 21, 2013) - Fastrucks, Inc. (Santa Clarita, CA), a company that develops specialized big-rig trucks for hill-climb racing and motion picture work, and ChumpCar International LLC, owner of the ChumpCar World Series®, one of the fastest-growing segments in North American motorsports, announced today the formation of the ChumpTruck World Series, a road racing series for big-rig trucks. Each company is a 50% partner in the new entity. The announcement was made public at the 2013 Mid-America Trucking Show (Louisville, KY).
Modeled as a cross-section between FIA European Truck Racing and the ChumpCar World Series, ChumpTruck draws from both organizations to create a grassroots, low-cost truck racing series that will compete on some of North America's most famous race tracks - Daytona International Speedway, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Texas Motor Speedway, Portland International Raceway, Road America and others across the United States and Canada.
Co-founder and Fastrucks CEO, Mike Ryan, stated, "Trucks competing in the Euro Series are a huge fan favorite; however, each truck can cost upwards of $250,000 to develop. Cars competing in the ChumpCar World Series cost about $2,500 to develop and go endurance racing for up to 36 hours! That low-cost and the tremendous race program they have are part of what has made ChumpCar the fastest growing and hottest ticket in car racing today. It was easy to see that if we could combine the excitement of big-rig road racing with the low-cost, no-hassle approach that ChumpCar uses, we'd have a winning product."
OPTIMA Batteries, a division of Johnson Controls Inc. based in Milwaukee, is the series sponsor for the ChumpCar World Series. Fastrucks is sponsored by Freightliner Trucks, Inc., headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
"Mike and I have been working on this program for about a year," reports ChumpCar's CEO, John Condren. "We are both huge fans of the Euro Truck Series but we also felt that this needed to be opened-up and made available to anyone... not just guys who can spend $250,000. Our target race truck will be 1975-1995 trucks that have seen their last over-the-road trip but still want to show that they're not ready to retire. Mike and I feel that a truck, valued at less than $5,000, and about $5,000 - $10,000 in modifications and safety gear should provide one great ride. ChumpTruck is grassroots road racing - real racing, real tracks... and really big trucks!"
The ChumpTruck World Series plans eight events in 2014, with six (6) 50-mile sprint races per event. Races will be held on Saturday and Sunday and may involve night road racing. Rules and race schedule will be posted on the company's new website,
www.chumptruck.com. The series is open to amateur, semi-pro and professional race teams in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Contacts
John Condren
ChumpCar International LLC
408-824-8818
john@chumptruck.com
john@chumpcar.com
Mike Ryan
Fastrucks, Inc.
661-295-7711
mike@chumptruck.com
mikeryan@fastrucks.com
About Fastrucks, Inc.
Fastrucks Inc. is heavily involved in the motion picture industry, including vehicle and stunt work on feature films such as Herbie Fully Loaded, After the Sunset, The Italian Job, Training Day, Swordfish and Terminator II. With over 500 feature films, television shows and commercials to his credit, Fastrucks' CEO Mike Ryan is probably best known for his work with semi-trucks. In 1997, Fastrucks built a Mercedes Benz-powered Freightliner Century Class S/T Super Truck and started competing in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, held annually near Colorado Springs, Colorado. The race is the second-oldest motorsports event in the United States after the Indianapolis 500. Fastrucks set their ninth Pikes Peak record in 2012. For additional information, visit
www.picturevehicles.com.
About the ChumpCar World Series
ChumpCar International LLC is the owner of the ChumpTruck and ChumpCar World Series. The ChumpCar World Series is an endurance road racing series that is open to anyone and everyone... with a $500 car. A throw-back to an era when racing was fun, competitive and cheap... when Bondo beat carbon-fiber; when a crescent wrench was the most valuable tool in your box; when home-made engineering made everyone sit up and take notice; and when adding a little theme or personality to your car didn't get you laughed off of pit lane. ChumpCar endurance racing events are held at world-class tracks and facilities throughout North America and range from 7-hours to 36-hours in length. In 2013, the series will hold 66 race events. For the full ChumpCar series schedule and information on how to join in the fun, visit
www.chumpcar.com