Last year at the Nationals, Chris was learning the Mid-Ohio track and ran 3.55 gears. These proved too tall, and this year he's switched to 3.90s, which have made a "massive difference. They should pick up a half second per lap."
Underneath, the Cobra sports a Maximum Motorsports K-member and shocks; the rest is all Steeda. Rehagen is still contracted for the between-race maintenance and setup duties during the off-season; the rest of the time the car stays with Chris in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Chris sees the AI championship shifting into more of a driver's championship. He figures 25 cars in the race are prepped to within 95 percent of what the rules allow, so the deciding factor is getting to be more driver ability than killer hardware.
So, while Chris has already suffered an engine failure this year, he's rebuilt the powerplant and is getting plenty of track time. Along with some tweaks to the chassis, that seat time and last year's knowledge of Mid-Ohio are what he's using in his bid for the AI podium.
American Iron is amateur racing, but there are working automotive pros, too. Beau Dunnivant typifies the breed: He's a real grassroots car guy who runs a race shop, Blue Oval Classics, in Kingsport, Tennessee. Racing since 2003 and NASA's AI Mid-Atlantic regional champion the last three years-he was undefeated last year in a total of 17 races-Beau has been working through a series of five cracked blocks and other mechanical issues in his Maximum Motorsports-suspended Fox.
Last year at the Nationals, a broken transmission put him out of the main race. "I was probably going to be in the top six," Beau said, adding that he's rebuilt his 306 pushrod engine around a new Boss block, worked on his brakes, and looked for reliability.
Beau is also looking to avoid any car-mangling crashes. He-and barely his car-survived a nasty crash-and-flip accident in May 2007. The wreck illustrates how, although he won a total of 25 races last year, the season wasn't an unqualified success. With his winning experience, two track records, native talent, and more reliability from his upgraded equipment, Beau should be in the top group this September.
American Iron is populated by future world champions and regular guys having a good time. Chicago-area resident Matt Erikson belongs in the latter category. He races for fun and a release from his plumbing business. He's a family guy and wants to keep it that way.
Even though he finished Third in last year's AI championship race, Matt doesn't have big plans for his driving development or hardware. He's going back for another shot at the Nationals title, but he has no illusions. "I know the competition will be a lot harder-it's going to be tough. I don't think I'll have much difference in the equipment."
Like many we talked to this year, Matt says he's looking forward to the National Championship, and while he'll run enough to qualify for the season-ender, he's not starting the season looking to win his region and the Nationals effort. "This year will be more of the same: qualify for the Nationals. I'm not really concentrating on the regional championship-I'll go when I can go."