"The Scratcher" Possibly the winningest Camaro in History?
Anyone in the Texas region of NASA has surely seen or heard about the infamous "Scratcher" Camaro owned and driven by Paul Costas. Over the years this beast as racked up an amazing amount of wins and records and continues to do so currently.
So how did he do it? For starters he is an accomplished driver and knows his car very well. Another key, he has put together an incredible competent team to make the car what it is, and give him the ammo to set the records and wins on track.
"I consulted with Erik on the build years ago and he helped me decide on a very tractable motor instead of going for a dyno queen that shows high numbers in a narrow band. As a result I've been able to focus on my chassis tuning and driving and enjoyed reliability that most road racers only dream of. How many folks can say they FINISHED the last 38 races in a row, much less WON them?" - Paul Costas
"The motor from HPR has been awesome! With regular fluid changes and solid tuning this motor has proven to be a true workhorse. Erik and the HPR team's attention to detail was fantastic and the results speak for themselves" says Paul Costas, driver of the Witchdoctor Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.
Paul competes in the NASA Texas division in the Super Unlimited and Time Trial Unlimited classes where 6-figure cars frequently come to play against Paul's "Built not Bought" Camaro. (Fair hates the "built not bought" but even car builders still send out to get their motors built 99% of the time, so it is not a ding here)
Parts on the car that are true GM production parts? Both taillights and the brake light switch activated by the brake pedal. LOL
"The motor is surprisingly basic and produces almost exactly the power Erik said it would. A production block topped with 18 degree heads using a Callies crank and Compstar rods. A GM single plane intake and a holley top off the winning combination. The tube frame car uses a jerico 4 speed and a 9" out back."
NASA STATS since January 2014
Starts 59
Wins 50
Podiums 58
Current win streak (since Oct 2014)
38 class wins
14 track records set or re-set
Of course the HPR power is nothing without control. With some help from our friends at Vorshlag and GSpeed keeps the Camaro planted and able to use the power the HPR Chevy makes under the hood.
"To put together a win streak like this is just incredible and ALL the pieces have to fall into place. The big things like car prep and setup and the chance things like avoiding punctures or getting caught up in on-track shenanigans. Luck plays a part in it, but so does careful planning and the correct selection of quality race-proven parts. In the power department, I could not have made a better decision than getting my motor from Horsepower Research."
Other stats on the car
Hoosier tires (14" wide) (occasionally I'll run Goodyears)
Wide-5 wheels from REAL Wheels
Wilwood brakes http://www.wilwood.com/
Porterfield/Raybestos pads
AST double adjustable dampers from Vorshlag/Maxcyspeed https://vorshlag-store.com/
ThinkFast Engineering for technical setup help http://thinkfastengineering.com/
G-Speed for chassis fab work https://gspeed.com/
Derhaag body
Tilton 7-1/4" OT-II triple disk clutch http://tiltonracing.com/
Thank you Paul, for entrusting Erik and HPR to power your race winning ride!