Kunzman says it’s an eclectic mix of cars. Taz Harvey has entered one of the more unique cars. He originally built his ’54 Studebaker to run in the Carrera Panamericana.
“I used to race rallies in Mexico,” Harvey explained. “Carrera Panamericana, I raced that rally for a 10-year span. I used a Datsun 510, a Datsun 240Z and when I decided I wanted to step up a class to the Turisimo Mejor, my friend owned a stock car shop, Davids Racing in Modesto (Calif.) that specializes in building and repairing NASCAR chassis.
“Mike Davids was all gung-ho to build me a modern-day Cup chassis to go under the Studebaker,” Harvey continued. “I said, ‘That sounds pretty wild.’ So he read the rules very carefully and took the Studebaker I found in a field In Sacramento and turned it into a race car. We dipped the body and got out all the rust and took it down to bare metal, and we went to town.
“Today, it’s an amazing car. It has truck-arm suspension like a Cup car, has a NASCAR front clip from North Carolina and a NASCAR Cup engine that puts 500 horsepower to the rear wheels.”
The car is street legal. It has headlights, turn signals and windshield wipers. Harvey had several “new race car blues” racing in Mexico and is not sure if he’ll enter that car there again. So it was detuned for the Thunderhill event by installing a 400-horsepower engine. Harvey was ecstatic that the Studebaker acquitted itself well.
Thunderhill also attracted the EXR Mitjet LV02, a bespoke race car that is imported from France, weighs 1,600 pounds and has 230 horsepower. EXR Racing was conjured up by pro racer Roman Thievin and investment banker David Perisset. They won the 2012 Team NASCAR Euro Series championship in the Mitjet.
The pair also owns Las Vegas-based Exotics Racing, a supercar driving experience. They figured giving drivers a few laps in a Lamborghini Huracán or Ferrari 458 Speciale would hook them on the real thing. It worked. Racing in a real race car, in a real racing series, was obviously next. So they formed their own rent-a-racer series and received approval for the car to participatein TCR competition.
EXR’s Alex Prenat says the Mitjet is gaining popularity and running the 25 Hours of Thunderhill is a great way to showcase the car.
“We can make it look like an Audi, Ford or Citroen. We also have Mercedes so we can make it look like a lot of different models,” he said.
Low operating costs are a big plus. “We only used two sets of tires for the 25-hour event,” Prenat said. “The race is a lot of fun and a lot of people from Australia and Europe come to that race. It is very casual and friendly.”
So, there you have it. You can join “the cult” on Dec. 7-8. Drive your motorhome or just bring a tent and a sleeping bag and be part of the happening. n