Ev Exhibit Rapids Museum

Anyone who lives in or has visited Rapids knows of the big blue tower building that houses the Ev Kamikawa Ferrari Museum. Most people forget that there are several buildings in the Rapids Museum complex that house cars and drivers in addition to Kamikawa. The main brown building hosts cars from all kinds of drivers that competed in ARA, Indyslotcar, SlotIRL, and ISF competition at Rapids. Sometimes the museum brings out the other cars from Kamikawa's career. Here are images from the most recent exhibition before the 2018 Indyslotcar Grand Prix.

 

The Penske Indyslotcar. Winner of several races and a 500. Painted by Mark Walczak and given to Ev as a present.

A prototype F1 car for the ISF F1 division

A drone shot of the first floor of the Rapids Museum

The National Guard Indyslotcar. Driven for one season. Ev said the only thing he could paint were army tanks so commissioner Mike Kristof told him to paint a car in camouflage. When the National Guard sponsorship became available Ev took up the challenge

John Shea painted this Penske car for Ev when they became teammates again in 2007. This car lasted one practice session before breaking. Notice the rising sun design Shea painted on Ev's helmet. Kittenzilla often reaches into the museum to try and get the car out in order to eat the tires. Unfortunately this car is now in worse shape then when this photo was taken

Paul Kamikawa took part in one qualifying session and started an invitational. After he died the car he used was put in a display with mannequins of his family included

Ev missed the first half of the 2007 season. He returned as part of Team Australia with Shea and won his first race back. This is another of Shea's paint jobs

Never raced by Ev but given to him by Jacky Stewart (not the famous F1 driver) as a congratulations on opening the museum

When Indyslotcar banned Ferrari, Ev switched to Target. The first race of the season September 13, 2001. Ev put the American flag on his car that night as a solidarity with the country for the events of 9-11-2001. The flag has been on the car ever since. This car also raced in SlotIRL competition

Ev made one start in the Kmart car. It was his fifth start. The car was so slow he switched to Ferrari

Ev made two starts for Benetton. It was the first car he bought

Ev was going to race Jaguar but never raced as
Jaguar soon signed John Wiedemann and Mike Lack

Ev's return to Indyslotcar in 2005 was with the fully funded Wallshot Racing. John Wiedemann created the decals and Ev detailed his and Shea's cars. This car won the 2006 Indy 500

Another Wall Shot racing car. Shea painted up two different cars for he and Ev to try. Ev ran this car in one race and decided it was too cool to race and he had better luck with the other style of car

Another car that Ev drove in SlotIRL events

Ev drove this Firebird to pole and victory in the first ARA race ever. Commissioner Shea banned the car immediately saying it was too fast and needed a closed roof.

Ev drove the 24 car in ARA. So when the ARA began a truck division Ev took this truck

Another car Ev won the ARA Late Model title with.
He financed the ride as you can see by the sponsorship

One of Ev's 24 cars. He won the coveted Tyco Triple event three times in his career. This is the car that won the only Brickyard 400 race in ARA history raced at Southshore Speedway

The ARA started a Super Stock series for more powerful cars. Ev won the division championship twice. Once with a 24 car and another time with this 18 car

Ev's three 24 rides for the ARA Heavy Metal Challenge Series
based on NASCAR Winston Cup

The ARA had a one season Super Stock league using Life-Like cars. Ev again drove 24 but the division proved unpopular and dropped after one season

 

The ARA also ran a nostalgia division based on historic NASCAR. Ev ran this car through the many seasons and finally won a race in it during the final season of ARA competition

Ev's original ARA Thunder Truck

Ev ran the 18 car in the premier ARA division, Heavy Metal Challenge Series, after winning the Super Stock title in the 18 car the previous year

The most popular ARA division with the drivers was the Dirt Late Model. This is the second generation of those cars

The championship winning Camero from the ARA Late Model division. Ev won the last four races in a row to overcome the legendary John Shea to take his first ARA title

After his firebird was banned Ev switched to the Camero. This version didn't win much

The three cameros Ev ran in ARA competition

Finally Ev had a firebird in ARA again. The cars were too heavy and were not fast and hard to stop in the corners so it wasn't a good race car. Looked good though

Ev's first HMCS car in the ARA. The first cars were based on Matchbox models before the league switched to NASCAR Winston Cup models

After the 82 camero was banned by the league after Ev won his late model title, the late 1990s camero was allowed. It too won a lot for Ev before the league switched cars again for the division to older HMCS cars

Originally a HMCS car, it didn't win for Ev, but the Adam Petty color scheme did win when these older HMCS cars moved to the Late Model division

Ev won a lot in dirt late models including three championships in a row in the #1 car. Ev decided to retire that car and a few seasons later won another championship in the 15 car. The dirt in this display is from the Hales Corners Speedway oval

Hiro introduced himself to everyone when he was little as "Richard Petty" so he and his dad both have a Petty car. Both admit most people come to see the cars because they were Petty's and not because they belong to Ev

So when you come to Rapids for the race, take time out to visit any of the Rapids Museum buildings and admire some racing history.

Until next time...It's not bad being in the pits!
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett

SHMUC 2018 Races 3&4 Black Track NASCAR

What's Up SHMUCs

With Winter Storm Mateo bearing down on the Black Track Superspeedway,
rounds three and four of the Super Hot Modified Unlimited Championship
were contested.  And, even without the driver known as "Carnage",
carnage was the theme on NASCAR night.

The NASCAR 90s and later round opened the racing action and every wall
hit seemed to feature chassis and body separation and a delay to get the
car back on the track.  The key was to run clean, but being able to do
that seemed to beyond the driver's control.

Andy and Bill Black were able to move up the most through the alphabet
mains as Andy ran from the E main up to the C.  But, it was his dad
Bill, the track owner, that was able to race from the D main all the way
into the A.

Pete Dorn and Ev Kamikawa both raced from the B main to the A, joining
Bill Black to challenge the top qualifier Mike Lack in the A.

A tight race had Dorn leading Black by two laps at the halfway break and
Lack eleven laps behind.  But Lack was just waiting for the right lane
and rocketed to the lead in the late laps of the race to win by just a
lap over Dorn.

The NASCAR pre 90s body round was a little more tame...for the most
part.

Kamikawa had electrical issues in the heat racing and qualified last,
lining up in the E main to start the feature races.  By that time, he
had his electrical issues figured out and finished 1st in the E main,
2nd in the D, 3rd in the C and 2nd in the B to transfer to the A main. 
This feat was the first time a driver has driven from the lowest main to
the A.

Filling up the A main just like they did in the previous round Bill
Black and Dorn raced into the A main to help Kamikawa take on the top
qualifying driver, Lack.

Bill Black showed his speed in the earlier mains by winning the C and B
mains, and it was no different in the A main.  By the halfway point Bill
had built up a 9 lap lead over Kamikawa.  Lack once again looked to make
a winning run in the second half, but dug too deep a hole sitting in
last place and 18 laps behind Black.  Lack made a charge but came up
seven laps short as Black cruised to a win on his home track.

Lack's win and second place finishes bumped him into the points lead
followed by Bill Black and John Wiedemann.

Up next is a race on Thursday February 15th in Wauwatosa.  The European
Cup and Truck race will be contested either on the road course of Quarry
Heights Raceway or the tight oval-ish Bermuda Raceway.  An announcement
on the track is scheduled to be made on Tuesday.

See you SHMUCs at the track.

Point Standings following Round 3&4
Mike Lack    48
Bill Black    44
John Wiedemann    39
Pete Dorn    38
Amy Butler    31
Scott Mente    29
Andy Black    29
Drew Turcotte    21
Ev Kamikawa    21
Mike Kristof    18
Steve Rist    14

Joe Heitz    6

NASCAR 90s + Results
A Main – Mike Lack, Pete Dorn, Bill Black, Ev Kamikawa
B Main – Dorn, Bill Black, Kamikawa, Scott Mente
C Main – Mente, Bill Black, Andy Black, Drew Turcotte
D Main – Bill Black, Andy Black, Steve Rist, Mike Kristof
E Main –Kristof, Andy Black, Wiedemann


NASCAR Pre 90s Results
A Main – Bill Black, Mike Lack, Ev Kamikawa, Pete Dorn
B Main – Bill Black, Kamikawa, Dorn, John Wiedemann
C Main – Bill Black, Dorn, Kamikawa, Andy Black
D Main – Andy Black, Kamikawa, Scott Mente, Steve Rist
E Main – Kamikawa, Andy Black, Drew Turcotte, Mike Kristof

Kamikawa Wins Indyslotcar Rapids Grand Prix

Kamikawa Is Back!

See the complete box score

(Milwaukee, WI) -- Six drivers have been to victory lane in the 2017-18 IndySlotCar season and the most glaring absence from the list of winners is two-time champion Ev Kamikawa, but last night, the home town hero of Rapids International came through and added his name to that list, taking the checkered flag at the Too Clean Laundry Grand Prix.

As the veteran driver noted after the race, the car was hooked up all night, qualifying on the front row, in fact, scoring the exact same lap time as pole winner Mike Fitzlaff, but by a quirk in the rules as to how tied qualifying times are broken, the driver that sets the time first, gets the higher position, meant Kamikawa would grid second. Mike Lack and Mike Kristof started on the second row, with Dan Margetta and Lack's Angry Squirrel Speedsport driver slotted on the third row and Black-Atom Racing's Bill Black and Pete Dorn on the final row.

Heats were filled by random selection and Kamikawa led from the start of the first heat, while Mike Fitzlaff tried to stay close, running fast on the straights but not holding the track the way Kamikawa did. John Wiedemann ran solidly in third in with the possibility that he could still qualify for the final in the two heat format, meant every lap could make the difference, ultimately it would, as he would score 82 circuits and come up one lap shy of Dan Margetta's lap total from the second heat, finishing fifth for the third straight race. Fitzlaff would advance to the final with a quality run two laps down to Kamikawa's Ferrari. Mike Kristof made the biggest backward move on the night, squandering a solid fourth place in qualifying, he was never a threat and backed up to eighth on the night.

Mike Lack started the second heat cleanly and kept the field behind him while Dan Margetta overcame numerous spins early on to bump Wiedemann and make his sixth straight final-four appearance. The Black-Atom Racing teammates would battle each other throughout, with Bill Black holding off Pete Dorn and finish sixth and seventh respectively.

The 20-minute final looked like the pole sitter would be able to reassert his lead position, after Fitzlaff finished second to Kamikawa in the heat, he took a solid lead in the opening half of the race, but pit-stops would see the Ferrari team work swiftly to get the hometown driver out in just eight seconds, it would take 20 seconds for Fitz-Matador Racing to complete the service on Fitzlaff's #34 Wellbox car and once the positions were swapped in the pits, Kamikawa never looked back, while third and fourth place would swap between Dan Margetta and Mike Lack, as the #41 ABC Supply car would lose power and eventually Lack would have to jump out of the cockpit as the car overheated and had a "hotseat" for the points leader.

Kamikawa's victory was the 41st of his distinguished career, just one behind the second place total, it was also his first since a win at the Black track in January of 2017. The win also catapulted the Ferrari driver from sixth in the Husarsbilt Cup standings to fourth and just two points behind third-place Mike Fitzlaff. Meanwhile, Mike Lack continues to hold a dominant 77 point strangle-hold on the championship over his Angry Squirrel Speedsport teammate John Wiedemann with just five races left on the schedule. The series takes a three week break before returning to the challenging "de-slot" format of the Quarryfest Deslotmania at Quarry Heights Raceway.