Regular visitors to this site are familiar with SCCA racer, Warren LeVeque, and his Yenko Stinger YS#015. The pictures below right were taken during practice laps, when a problem cropped up. A short section of ring land broke off one of the pistons, damaged a cylinder head, and propelled metal debris into the exhaust side impeller of the turbo-charger, nicking its vanes. In spite of the problem, the hard charging LeVeque decided to run the time trials. Limiting his turbo boost to 8 pounds instead of the 15 he normally runs in competition, he turned in the Fastest Time of the Day, rounding the 1.95 mile course in 1:27.1.

Over the summer, Warren waged a successful campaign to have the Corvair reclassified in SCCA road racing. The new classification, E Production,  allows the 35+ year old car to remain competitive and run against other vintage sports cars like the Triumph TR-6, the MGB, Datsun 2000 and 240Z, as well as some of the current day cars like the very competitive Mazda Miata.

The E Production rules allow a .040" cylinder overbore, and give the racer free choice of compression ratio, valve size, cam selection, and transmission. The overall weight of the car and driver can be trimmed to 2,250 lbs. The SCCA uses an average driver weight at 180 lbs., which means the car itself can tip the scales at 2,070 lbs.

Below, we captured another handsome Stinger as it snaked its way around the Blackhawk circuit in the bright, noonday sun. Owner/driver John Gresham told me is was his first time on a race course, and he really enjoyed testing both himself and the car, YS#030. He and fellow Yenko lowners Jeff Moore and Terry Mitchell formed a Yenko caravan and traveled to the track from Springfield, Missouri.