New Crew Chief

We've selected a new crew chief for the 2012 PPIHC.  Cory Long has worked with Ken and Anthony on the '10 and '11 cars and has raced locally with Anthony for a few years.  Once the P1 car is complete it will be shipped back to its second home in Colorado Springs where Anthony and Cory will run the car in events around Colorado for practice and tuning purposes. ...

About Fatman Racing

Fatman Racing began in 1991 as a professional drag racing team built around Steve Davis' 1967 tube chassis Camaro. Since then the team has grown to include Drag car ...

Fatman Racing began in 1991 as a professional drag racing team built around Steve Davis' 1967 tube chassis Camaro. Since then the team has grown to include Drag cars, road racing cars, Drift cars, street cars and even Pro ATV's. Our primary focus between 2004 and 2008 had been building and racing Pro ATV's for Pikes Peak. Then in 2009 we rolled out the Pikes Peak Time Attack 240SX (The Pink Car). 

As the years passed, friends who appreciated our work on the different vehicles we build and drive started looking to us to design and fabricate custom parts for their cars and quads. With a full machine and fab shop this seemed to be a natural for us. It was in 1997 that we began doing custom electrical work, as well. Since then we have designed and installed custom harnesses, not only for all of our cars, but for several of our friends projects, as well. In September 2010, we were approached by Rally Ready Motorsports in Austin, TX to design and install the electrical system for their 2011 entry into the very prestigious Unlimited Class for the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Needless to say, we are very excited to be associated with such a high profile project.

 

For 2012 FMR will be expanding its lineup, Pink1 (since there's now a Pink2 in the works for '14) will be piloted by Anthony Perez.  Lee Kent will also be running the Banshee up the mountain.  We have some other projects in the works that hopefully you will see next July as well. 

   

Grand Prix

Photos of the Grand Prix restoration project..   [nggallery id=3] ...

Electrical Panel & Harness Build

Here are some images of the electrical harness and panels for the 240SX Pikes Peak Car.   [nggallery id=1]   ...

Steve Davis Tube Chassis 1967 Camaro

Here are some pics of Steve Davis's 1967 Tube Chassis Camaro Pro Stock   [nggallery id=2] ...

Travis Tollett Co-Driver #22 Pink Pikes Peak Car

Co-driver of P1 back when it was just "the pink car", the #22 Nissan 240SX, in '0 ...

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors

• We could not do what we do without the help of these fine people and companies. We feel very lucky to have such great people and products backing us as we face new challenges.

• show details
  Our Sponsors

  • We could not do what we do without the help of these fine people and companies. We feel very lucky to have such great people and products backing us as we face new challenges.

      

  • Alamo Autosports Since the first time we met Brice and his team they have been on board to help us be successful. From top shelf tuning and setup advice to a great source for performance parts and supplies, Alamo can't be beat.

     

  • Motul The world leader in racing fluids. We run Motul exclusively in all of our racing vehicles. For you engine, Transmission, or differential, there is no better choice than Motul.

   

  • Competition Clutch Our Stage 5 clutch performed flawlessly at Pikes Peak in 2009, '10, and '11. Great feel and even better performance.

   

  • Skybeam High Speed Internet - Digital Phone Skybeam can get you hooked up with high speed internet and Digital phone service. Check out their web site for current coverage areas.

      

  • Rally Ready Motorsports If it has wheels, "Texas" Dave Carapetyan can drive them off it. Dave is a world class driver and a true professional. Fatman Racing subsidiary Catch22 Racing Electric designed and built the electrical system for Dave's 2011 Open Class Evo and in return has gone above and beyond providing FMR with parts and advice.

     

  • Dent Sport Garage Home of Bill Washburn's 240RS Maxi. This car sets the standard for what is possible with the 240SX platform. An incredible car built by one of the most talented fabricators in the industry.  Bill's shop has been very helpful in putting the car back together after the issues in '11.

       

  • Revolutions Performance Our borrowed maintenance and tuning space during race week.  Revolutions allows us to use their dyno for Brice to tune the 240 for the altitude.  Their guys have even jumped in to help out from time to time when we break stuff.  Their service and professionalism is unmattched, we couldn't do it without them. 

      

  • JSR performance Our friends at Big Bore Motors have built the engine for every FMR quad and are lined up to build us a few more for the Banshee and some upcoming projects yet to be announced. 

Our Friends and Trusted Allies

Our Friends These are some of the great people we race with and depend on to do what we do. They are a diverse group and true professionals. Please take a few minutes to visit them and see what they do.

• Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
• The last great motorsports event in the country, held each year in one of the most demanding environments imaginable.
• show details
  Our Friends These are some of the great people we race with and depend on to do what we do. They are a diverse group and true professionals. Please take a few minutes to visit them and see what they do.

  • Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
  • The last great motorsports event in the country, held each year in one of the most demanding environments imaginable.
  • NICOclub - Nissan Infiniti Car Owners Club
  • A huge discussion forum dedicated to everything Nissan. Greg at NICO was so stoked about the 240SX project that in August he published an article about the Pink Cars journey from empty shell to race day finisher.
  • Imagewraps.com
  • There's a reason the Pink Car looks so good, and that reason is Shane and the fine team at Imagewraps.com. These guys are great, and Shane has always been there for us. Whether we needed a banner, car and ATV wraps, or any printing need, we always know we can turn to Imagewraps.
  • my life @ speed
  • The lifestyle associated with going fast is one filled with high energy characters, risk takers, and lots of great stories. That is what you will find there.  A blog with many contributors, Ken included.  

   

  • And of course, we can't forget our good Friends:

  • Lee Kent and his entire Family
  • John Stallworth and JSR performance
  • John Angel - Good Friend and Pikes Peak Champion
  • Jim Goertz and Family
  • Roy Tomkins
  • Brice Yingling

Custom Electrical Harness for Pikes Peak Unlimited Car

If it has wheels, "Texas" Dave Carapetyan can drive them off it. Dave is a world class driver and a true professional. He has won the Open division at Pikes Peak for the last three years in a row! Wow. Dave has been a good friend and we hope to be able to help him with his unlimited effort in 2011. That's right, there's a new contender in the highly competitive unlimited class at Pikes Peak and Fatman Racing subsidiary Catch22 Racing Electric has been tasked to design and bui ...

Pikes Peak 240 SX

This is the Pikes Peak Nissan 240SX. It was a crazy project from the beginning and barely came together in time for the 2009 running of the Hill Climb. We are very fortunate to have some great sponsors helping us out, so please have a look at the Sponsor page and go visit them. ...

Brakes and Suspension

Stop Tech big brake kit with Hawk pads. Nissan Z32 Rear brakes with Hawk pads. Modified stock suspension arms: all bushing ends replaced with Heims and reinforced. Moton double adjustable coilovers. Bump steer corrected front spindles. Wilwood pedal box and Wilwood master cylinders. Solid bushed rear subframe.   [nggallery id=4] ...

Chassis

Fully seam welded with multipoint cage. Stripped and lightened dash with custom gauge panels. Tubbed front wheel wells. Nascar style door bars.   [nggallery id=5] ...

Engine & Electrical

AEM ECU. Switch and fuse panels. Relay bank. Other pics of the engine bay and electrical system.   [nggallery id=6] ...

Exhaust System

Pictures all the way from the header to the turbo, and then some   [nggallery id=7] ...

Exterior

Fancy word for the outside of the car.   [nggallery id=8] ...

Interior

All the photos of the inside of the car.   [nggallery id=9] ...

Dyno Tuning

Pictures from the Dyno Room at Alamo Autosports in Arlington. Just a couple days before we left for Pikes Peak. [nggallery id=10] ...

The New Header

Photos of the new header that we built to take care of the leaks in the system that hurt spool up last year. [nggallery id=12] ...

The New Front Suspension Construction

Photos of the new front chassis being fabricated after the "accident" that left the original front end all jacked up. This is a project we planned to do at some point anyway. The mishap just accelerated the time line. [nggallery id=13] ...

Pre Fatman

Pictures of the car when it was owned and driven by Ed Shairbaum. The car was raced in the Speedvision series that traveled with the ALMS racing series. Most of the action shots were at Mosport. [nggallery id=11]   ...

Wrap Concepts and Application

Pictures of the car when it was being wrapped at Imagewraps in Colorado. There's also some conceptual drawings done be Travis Tollett who designed the wrap for the car based on a concept given to him by Ken Stouffer. It's Pink for a reason! Ken's Mother is a breast cancer survivor and besides the Pink being the universal symbol for breast cancer awareness, it's also his mothers favorite color. So the entire paint scheme is a tribute to her courage. [nggallery id=1 ...

Fatman Banshee

This is the last Quad still in the Fatman stable. The quad was purchased in 2005 to be built and run in the 2006 event. The idea being that Ken Stouffer would ride the quad. But the PPIHC decided to add a 450 four stroke class, so the quad was built and ridden in the Q500 class by Lee Kent. [nggallery id=15] ...

Suzuki LTZ400

This was the first Quad in the Fatman Stable and was run four years at Pikes Peak with a best time of 14:17. Originally it had a 470cc motor, before the 450cc class was formed it was forced to run with the banshees in the only Quad class available. Modified for 2006 by John Stallworth to meet the rules for the 450 class. [nggallery id=17] ...

Suzuki LTR450

This was a one year, one-shot deal we put together with Johnny Angel from Eight60 Racing in Colorado. Johnny had an extra bike from his sponsors and I wanted to see how the new fuel injection system from Suzuki would work up at Pikes Peak. So we borrowed and modified the bike just for the 2006 race. [nggallery id=16]   ...

CHCA (Colorado Hill Climb Association) Racing

Photos from CHCA Racing events [nggallery id=18] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2007

Here are photos of our 2007 hill climb effort. [nggallery id=20] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2009 - Tech Inspection

Photos from tech inspection day during the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. [nggallery id=26]   ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2009 - Practice Day 1

Photos from the first practice day during the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. [nggallery id=22] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2009 - Practice Day 2

Photos from the second practice day during the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. [nggallery id=23] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2009 - Practice Day 3

Photos from the third practice day during the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. [nggallery id=24] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2009 - Fan Fest

Photos from FanFest during the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. [nggallery id=21] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb2009 - Race Day

Photos from the mountain during the festivities on race day during the 209 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. [nggallery id=25] ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2010

Photos from the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb [nggallery id=27] ...

Pro Mod Beretta

This is the Fatman Racing Pro Mod Beretta. Just out of the paint shop, waiting for it's powerplant to b finished. We are probably a year or so away from completing this project. Seems like every compoent of the engine is another $1000.00. And we have several more components to buy! So, stand by, and check back oftenfor updates, or just to look at the brilliant paint job.   Before Paint - This is how the ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2011 Race week

Sunday, June 19: More work in the shop in Denver. A very long week is coming to an end just in time to begin another very long week.  Finally, late in the day, we get the pink car loaded on the trailer and head to Campground in Cascade.  We get the portable garage set up and grab a quick bite to eat up in Dave Carapetyans Campground Pit area. I head down to the office to settle up for my camp spot and it begins to rain. I hate setting up a camp spot in the ...

Sunday, June 19: More work in the shop in Denver. A very long week is coming to an end just in time to begin another very long week.  Finally, late in the day, we get the pink car loaded on the trailer and head to Campground in Cascade.  We get the portable garage set up and grab a quick bite to eat up in Dave Carapetyans Campground Pit area. I head down to the office to settle up for my camp spot and it begins to rain. I hate setting up a camp spot in the rain and hope I can wait it out, but after taking a quick look at the radar I see that the rain likely wont let up any time soon.  A long day turns into a long night as I finally get my tent set up and crawl inside hoping for a peaceful nights sleep before we load up for testing in the morning. It just wasn’t meant to be. Periods of heavy rain all night are amplified by the tightly stretched nylon rain cover. As if that weren’t enough, turns out my tent has a small leak. Not a big deal except that it’s positioned directly over my face. All night in the rain in a tent that leaks onto my face…not exactly how I was hoping this week would start. Supposed to find some dirt and do some testing Monday…probably not.  Monday, June 20th:  Rain washes out most of the day.  Drove the hill with Anthony for most of the morning and the sun comes out. Finally, after considerable debate, we decide to drag the car to South Park to do a quick test in the dirt.  We drop down into South Park and spot a lonely dirt road far enough off the highway that we shouldn’t bother local residents and shouldn’t be bothered by local law enforcement. Still, we decide not to doddle and unload the car quickly.  After a quick warm up I head down the road. The tires have surprisingly good traction in the loose dirt we’re testing on. The alignment and suspension setups seem to be pretty close to the mark, as well. The car launches hard and straight as a string and I’m getting through the gears cleanly and quickly. A little too quickly at first. I’m getting the car into the upper RPM band and when I shift, the tires bite hard and pull the Revs down too far, killing my momentum. After a few more pulls and taking some time to figure out how to feather the throttle so I get bite and speed before shifting, I begin to feel more comfortable.  I stop and talk to Anthony and we figure we have the data we need and decide to take just one more rip down the road and see if we can get it a little sideways. I’m pointed the wrong way so I flick the car around with some amount of confidence, jump on the gas and head up the road. I wave the back end of the car around a bit and find that she’s easy to recover and predictable. First time I’ve felt that in the dirt. Ever. I finish my run and flick the car around and I immediately see Anthony waving his arms and jumping up and down. Not in a good way. I take it easy getting back and pull up to his position and he immediately points to a dark spot on the dirt. Oil. Not good. We suspect a rear main seal or a front seal on the transmission. As Anthony is loading the car, I’m on the phone making arrangements to bring the car to Adam Kennedy’s shop, Revolutions Performance, in the morning.  We head back to camp, grab a quick bite to eat and clean up. A good day was made a bit miserable with the way it ended, and now to add insult to injury, all I can conger from the campground shower is cold water. Bummer. Tuesday, June 21st:  Tech Day. But much like in 2009 we have trouble.  We push the car through tech and quickly head over to Revolutions Performance.  We get the car on the lift and disconnect the transmission.  Roy Tomkins is here working on his car as well and comes over to lend a hand. As soon as we got the trans apart from the engine we can clearly see it’s not the rear main seal.  What we find is a missing bolt in the front seal cover on trans.  The bolt hole goes all the way into the interior of the transmission and that’s where the oil was pouring out. We spend the better part of the day removing and replacing the trans and do a complete fluid flush and fill.  There’s lots of debris in the oil.  This wear is probably more than just “break-in” debris, as well.  Not much we can do here, since we have no spare.  Adam Kennedy is AWESOME and all the guys at Revolutions Performance are top shelf.  Good stuff.  We decide to pony up and take the car to PPIR for some testing.  We get the car unloaded and have two good session on their infield road course. This is my first time driving the car on a big oval, as well, and it’s pretty fun. Not taking any chances, though, I take it pretty easy on the oval.  The car starts to have a pop and bang in 2nd and 3rd under load.  Fairly minor.  I figure it’s just a miss.  Check the plugs later and find nothing.  Quick once over through engine bay reveals nothing. We load up and head back to the campground. It’s already late and 2AM will come quick. Finally on the hill tomorrow. Anxious. Wednesday, June 22nd:  Practice day 1: Middle Section.  This section is known as the W’s.  A dozen or so hairpins, each requiring a push back into first gear.   Our bone-stock transmission does not like this.  We get underway and my times are not what I was hoping for.  Tires are working well in the cool morning air with a cool road surface.  The engine is popping and banging in 3rd and 4th under load and I’m having to short shift.  Feels like we’re giving away tons of time, and we are.  Our times are Mid pack, but we feel we will do better when we find and fix the problem. I call Brice after practice and he suspects rich condition.  Nothing we can do to change it now so we get the car ready for the next day's practice.  I get a chance to drive top portion of road for the first time and I love what I see. I’ve heard it’s fast and dangerous and it looks that way to me, as well. Should be really fun. Thursday, June 23rd: Practice Day 2: Top Section.  This section covers Devils Playground to summit.  We’re still popping and banging and having to short shift.  We know we’re giving up tons of time, but still, we’re getting to the summit in a hurry.  Disappointing, because we’re still Mid pack.  Travis and I agree that it feels good to be on the summit again.  We love the new pavement.  It’s very fast, very scary, and it’s going to be great to do it when we aren’t forced to short shift.  It’s crazy, though. Going into a turn you realize a bit late just how much speed you’re carrying.  Jeff Zwart comments on this as well.  He says particularly with his car being so quiet he doesn’t realize just how fast he’s going.   After the second run we’re parked on the summit and we get the call to fire up and head back down. One minor problem…the car wont start.  We’re strapped in and yelling for the summit workers to help give us a push. Rhys Millen is there finishing an interview and sees us yelling for help. He runs over and leans into the deck lid and gives us a push out onto the road. This strikes me as funny and I yell over to Travis, “Holy Shit…We’re getting a push start from Rhys Millen!!” So, now the question becomes, are we having voltage problems or has the starter just shit the bed?  Thinking about what the engine problem is we wonder if there’s a low volt condition causing and injector problem and a rich condition? We need another run so we get a push start back to the line at Devils and head back up.  Still popping and banging, but at least we got in some practice.  I leave the car idling at the summit.  I sincerely doubt that Rhys will be so good spirited about giving us a push for a second time.  Brice comes in tonight.   We’ve already decided to get the car back over to Revolutions. Once there, we find the starter is in fact, kaput. The problem with the engine appears to be a plug gap issue.  We close down the gap to a very skinny .018 and get the Pink car on the dyno. The new starter works great and we’re making it through 3rd and 4th now with no problems.  Good, because we qualify tomorrow morning. p.s. I can’t say enough nice things about Revolutions Performance. These guys don’t know us from Adam and they treated us like we were something special. GREAT people and a really great facility. I am so thankful for the support they gave us not only this day, but all week long. Friday, June 24th: Practice Day three: Bottom half and qualifying.  Having way too much fun in the dirt.  Only took me three years to get comfortable.  First time I ever heard the voice in my head wishing for more dirt.  I start throwing around the steering wheel like I actually know what I’m doing.  First time through Brown Bush and I toss the wheel into the corner and hang the back end out longer than I have in the past. Travis gets wide eyed and yells at me, “where did that come from” ?  Still driving pretty aggressive in the dirt and I almost lose it on the exit of “sump” but we’re able to recover.   That one instant gave me tons of confidence that if we got out of shape we could recover.  The car is straight as a string in the dirt and the brakes are really doing well.  Even though we’re doing well, we still, to our disappointment, qualify mid pack.  I’m unsure about time. I know I made a few mistakes but it still felt much faster than the 6:03 we’re given.  I missed a shift and blew at least two corners:  Ski area and the switchback below Glen Cove.  I feel like we can drop a ton of time if I can just make a clean run on Sunday.  Car seems to be doing well.  Hiccup is gone, mostly.  Something still isn’t quite right, but not really in a position to dig for it.  I feel that if the trans holds together we should have a really good run on race day.  I am still hoping to meet my goal of a 12 flat.  Our best times, even being mid-pack in qualifying, suggest that we could very well make it if I run clean.  The long week of practice is over and we head back to the camp and try to get some work done. But not before waiting two hours for breakfast.  That was a nightmare. Any of you that have been to the place on the left as you’re coming off the hill know exactly what I’m talking about. We head down to the Springs and the host hotel to get credentials for Brice and Renee.  Back up in Cascade we do a quick cleanup on the car and head back down to the springs for fan fest. Grant Barclay is awesome.  If it weren’t for him ponying up for the spot at Fan Fest, we wouldn’t have been able to make it. We end up being parked right next to Rod Millen’s Genesis, which is lucky for them because I’m sure our Pink car is the reason that Red Bull machine is getting more attention than it really deserves (tongue firmly in cheek). The night, as usual, is great. We get a chance to meet a lot of fans and I’m really surprised at how much people are following the progress of the Pink car. I finally get a chance to spend time speaking with Taz from Federal Tire. Manage to miss the guys from Motul on two occasions. Once when I went to get some dinner with my Dad, Brice and Renee, and once again when I take the guys from Speedhunters and Tandem of Die over to meet Chris Nazarenus and Greg Tracy of My Life at Speed. I do get a chance to speak with them on the phone, though, and we agree to meet sometime later. It’s good to relax after a long and frustrating week. Fan Fest comes to an end and we load up the car and head back to the campground.  Saturday June 25th: I leave the list of stuff to do with Anthony and he takes over. He and our other volunteer crew member, Cory, get to work on the car getting it ready for Sunday. I head out with Brice and Renee for the afternoon and we decide to head up to the Summit. They’ve never been and I’m anxious to see the road one more time before race day. Anthony and Cory, meanwhile, have gotten through the entire list and even had time to get a sketchy, ready-to-blow tire on the trailer fixed and get the new tires on the Pink car scrubbed off. How did we get so lucky to find this kid? I dunno, but I’m glad he’s here. We decide to get a good nights sleep and head back over to Anthony’s house for the night. For the first time in a week I’m sleeping in a very comfortable, real bed. Today, was a very good day…that worries me.

Sunday, June 26th: Race Day. It’s finally here…It’s already here. It wouldn’t matter at this point if we did have a few more weeks to prepare. We’d probably still be only as prepared as we are right now. I’m feeling comfortable. I know Anthony has taken good care of the car and besides that, everything just feels right. Sure, I knew a few things were nagging the car, but I felt as good as I ever have. The morning rolls on. Drivers meeting is entertaining, as always, and we’re lucky enough to hear some inspirational words from none other than Fast and Furious star, Paul Walker. Travis and I even manage to trap him between Travis’ chair and the door of his pace car for a quick photo before he heads off to the summit.

The race is underway and things are moving relatively smooth. We have a fairly early start time so we head back to the car and start to get things ready. I load up and get the car out of the pit area and onto the main road so Travis can get loaded in. Loaded up and in line for the start, things start to go haywire up on the hill. We’re delayed…and getting warm. This smacks of last years 45 minute wait when ACP hosed it up at Engineers. Time ticks by…I’ve been in and out of the car a couple times now to stretch and make a last minute pit stop. We’re almost two hours behind schedule. This is a problem for a couple reasons. One being my tires. We specifically went with the softer compound because we were set to start early, before the road and air get too warm. We finally stage, and get the green flag. Once again we’re on our way. I spin the tires a bit on the launch and the engine revs out smoothly. We’re accelerating much quicker than last year and on the exit of the first turn I’m already grabbing the shifter and pulling fourth gear. Which would have been great if it had worked. I pull the shifter back from third and there’s no fourth gear. This was not how we wanted to start. I tried going back to third and can’t get it to mesh. I find fifth, clutch again and the trans reluctantly slides back into third. I’ve already lost a few seconds, but I think we can recover. Most of the lower half is third gear for me anyway so we power through the lower pavement, and even manage to find fourth gear just below Engineers and again at Picnic Grounds. But let me tell you, it did protest on both occasions. In the dirt now and we’re moving pretty quickly. The run definitely feels much faster than qualifying and I manage to avoid the mistakes that slowed us during qualifying. Glen Cove comes and goes, then into Georges Corner and Cove Creek. We don’t get to practice this section, but I felt like we make it through here pretty quickly. Climbing through tree-line and everything is going fine. Right up until I get to Ragged Edge. My first mistake. I’ve never made this mistake before…I just flat forgot where I was. Coming onto Ragged Edge I was on the brakes like it was the hairpin coming onto the First Leg, only to turn the corner and see the long straight in front of me. I definitely gave up a few seconds here. We recover and continue through double cut and into the W’s. When we make the turn onto the Third Leg and unexpected gush of fluid sprays across the windshield and steam and fluid are pouring through an opening in the firewall. Travis pulls his legs up and out of the way to avoid the scalding hot fluid. I glance at the gauges and both my water temp and oil temp are pegged. Something has gone horribly wrong. We are still pressing on, but the motor is clearly injured and our chances of making the summit are declining exponentially. I see my water temp gauge plummet as the system is now void of fluid. The oil temp is still well over 320 degrees. I’m sure now that we’ve blown the head gasket and the combustion is super-heating both the water and oil. I still have oil pressure so I decide to press on. I just cant bear the idea of not making the summit. We’re limping, but making it up the hill. We shoot through Devils Playground and up around the bend down into Bottomless. I feel the motor starting to seize and the back end is getting loose. I’m not sure if we’re dumping a bit of water still, or if the motor is starting to hemorrhage oil. A few more turns and I can really feel the motor giving up the ghost. More than not making the summit I really don’t want to be the guy who dumps a pad-load of oil on the course and causes someone else to have an issue they didn’t deserve. I get through gravel pit and, with smoke and steam now pouring from the engine bay, decide that we’ve gone as far as we should. I get through the hairpin and pull over. I jump out to make sure there’s no fire and check on Travis. Everything is ok, so I hop back in the car and wait for the tow truck of shame to retrieve us.  We’re towed up to Boulder Park and at the next break Travis and I are shuttled to the Summit. There’s no way Travis can sit in the car all day and stay healthy. Being on the summit is bittersweet. For the first time in eight tries I’m there without my race vehicle and I’m not pleased. I’m already thinking about what we’re going to do for 2012. Clearly, a new motor and transmission are in the plans, but what else will we do. With all the delays during the day, I had plenty of time to think about it. Disappointed. I’m ready to get off the hill and get home to my family, who I haven’t seen for nearly a month. Being on the the road for a month, even to do something I absolutely love, is way too long. Hopefully I’ll have the budget to bring them with me next year. Another year is over. Another year to prepare. I’ll spare you all the details of my long and uneventful drive home. I did get to spend a couple days in Grand Lake with my Dad and Sisters on the way home. That was a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating year at Pikes Peak. BUT, we’ll repair and replace, tune up and dial in, and we’ll be back next year for another go. That’s the great thing about that giant Pink chunk of Granite that we all beat ourselves against…it’s not going anywhere…and neither am I.

Pikes Peak Time Attack 2010

Pikes Peak Time Attack 2010 from Ken Stouffer on Vimeo.

First Day of Testing

http://youtu.be/DeZQjA5ochM Here is a video from the first day of practice with the updated car. Current power was 430 WHP. ...

Pikes Peak International Hill Climb - Practice Day 1

http://youtu.be/YVVbjq0zUJU Raw footage from the wing camera during practice for the 2010 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.   [nggallery id=27] ...

Tuning at Alamo Autosport

Brice Yingling, Owner of Alamo Autosports in Arlington Texas, tuning the Fatman Racing/Alamo Autosports Pikes Peak Time Attack car in preparation for the 2010 race. 469hp @ 20psi, Nissan 240SX with KA24DET.

FMR T-Shirt

Get your fatman racing shirts here... ...

Meet the Team

Who's in the zoo? Fatman Racing is made up of several dedicated people... here is a little bit about each of them!

• Ken Stouffer: Co-Founder and President of FMR and the owner of the Pink cars. Ken does all of the fab work and gets our ...
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  Who's in the zoo? Fatman Racing is made up of several dedicated people... here is a little bit about each of them!

  • Ken Stouffer: Co-Founder and President of FMR and the owner of the Pink cars. Ken does all of the fab work and gets our Pink Silliness ready to race. He has been driving, riding and Tuning for Fatman Racing for over twenty years. Ken has experience in many forms of motorsports, including drag racing, on and off road racing in cars and on ATV’s. Out of the car, Ken is a Project Manager for a telecommunications company.  

             

  • Steve Davis: THE Fatman. Co-founder of FMR and General Manager of the company. Steve does everything from financial management to logistical support. With a passion for winning like none other, his 30 years of experience in business management and small business marketing has helped grow the roots of Fatman Racing's success.

   

  • Anthony Perez: Driver of the Pink-1 240sx. Anthony has been driving through the Sports Car Club of America for the past few years with very respectable results in his Autocross 720 Pickup. He has also been working on the P1 car as Crew Chief for the past few years, but has recently been promoted on the team to the Driver of P1 for the 2012 Pike's Peak International Hill Climb and more.

         

  • Travis Tollett: The true badass of the team. Travis suffered a life-changing injury in 2007 while racing his quad which left him paralyzed. This would not break Travis' spirit, though. From '08-'10, Travis has competed as the first quadriplegic to ever race up Pike's Peak as the co-driver for P1 sitting along side of Ken.

   

  • Cory Long: Newly added to the FMR family, Cory has taken over Anthony's place as Crew Chief on the P1 Project. With Cory's engineering background, and setup expertise, P1 will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming year and beyond.

     

  • Brice Yingling: Owner and operator of Alamo Autosports in Arlington, TX, and the fearless tuner of the Pink Cars. With 30+ years in the performance automotive industry, as the owner of Alamo Autosports, Brice has pretty much seen it all. He is a world class tuner with an equally global client list. Brice often finds himself on the move to Europe and the Caribbean, tuning hi-performance street and dedicated race vehicles for some of the best shops in the industry.

   

  • Lee Kent: Pilot of the FMR Banshee for 2012.  One of Colorado's top ATV racers, Lee will be returning after a two year hiatus. His last stint on the FMR quad landed him on the podium in Third place at the 2009 race and we expect Lee will be able to improve his position at the 90th running of the Race to the Clouds.

   

  • Mike Patterson: Accomplished driver in the NASA American Iron series and is a respected official for that organization, as well. In the past Mike has helped with suspension and alignment for the 2010 PPIHC effort. His skill and advice was an important part of our being able to drop more than two minutes off of our 2009 time.  Mike Will continue he role with suspension tuning and is slated to drive P2 in 2014 in the Unlimited class

Lee Kent Returns on the Banshee

Lee Kent to take the Banshee up the peak in 2012!

Lee Kent to take the Banshee up the peak in 2012!

Lee Kent, one of Colorado's top ATV racers, has agreed to once again pilot the FMR Banshee at Pikes Peak. Lee will be returning after a two year hiatus. His last stint on the FMR quad landed him on the podium in Third place at the 2009 race and we expect Lee will be able to improve his position at the 2012 edition of the Race to the Clouds. Thanks Lee. It's great to have you back!

P2 Teaser

Ken has been working on acquiring a new chassis to take FMR to the next level.  P2 (as in 2.0) is another S14 240sx but will make P1 look like a grocery getter.  The chassi ...

Ken has been working on acquiring a new chassis to take FMR to the next level.  P2 (as in 2.0) is another S14 240sx but will make P1 look like a grocery getter.  The chassis has been delivered but the rest still in the planning stages.  You'll have to check back here to see it come alive, but so you know, it involves the letters; L and S, and also A, W, and D.  Look for it on the peak in 2014!

SEMA Plans

Ken, Anthony, and Cory are heading to SEMA in Vegas to meet and greet others in the industry.  We'll be looking into parts and sponsorships for P1, the Banshee, and even get the ball rolling on P2.  If you want to meet up to talk (or to take advantage of what Vegas has to offer) with us, send Ken an e-mail via the contacts page.  We'll post news and pics here as it comes in. ...

Why So Much Pink?

• A lot of people question why we have so much pink on the car, the logo and the website, and the answer is simple. Like millions of people world-wide our lives here at Fatman Racing have been affected by Breast Cancer. Fatman Mom, Patti Davis, has beaten the disease once, but last year it came back with a vengeance, spreading through her entire body, and unfortunately it will eventually take her from us.

• For now, however, she fights t ...
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  • A lot of people question why we have so much pink on the car, the logo and the website, and the answer is simple. Like millions of people world-wide our lives here at Fatman Racing have been affected by Breast Cancer. Fatman Mom, Patti Davis, has beaten the disease once, but last year it came back with a vengeance, spreading through her entire body, and unfortunately it will eventually take her from us.

   

  • For now, however, she fights the good fight every day to maintain her health. She's strong and is determined to beat back this disease as long as possible. In her words, "I simply have too much I want to do to give up now".

   

  • The pink is not only the universal color for breast cancer awareness, but happens to be My Mom's favorite color so it was a natural thing to make the Pink car Pink in her honor. We originally planned to have the pink paint for maybe a couple years, but the response and support has been so overwhelming that we've decided on a permanently pink color scheme.

   

  • Help us find a cure. Research and support a breast cancer awareness campaign, and do what you can to help support those organizations in their pursuit of a cure for this horrible disease.

   

  • Ken Stouffer

SEMA trip part 1

2/3rds of the FMR SEMA crew waiting at Longue 5280 at the Denver International Airport, 3 drinks in, ready for Vegas! ...

SEMA trip

Well the FMR team is back home and recovered from a few days in Vegas at SEMA.  Some great contacts made and hopefully some progress can be made with putting P1 back together and some upgrades at the same time with the help of some new sponsors.  

One great contact was Tom Paule from AEM electronics. We are considering a new ECU to add some power and flexibility over the current Series 1 Plug & Play EMS currently in the car.  Tom showed us the n ...

show details

Well the FMR team is back home and recovered from a few days in Vegas at SEMA.  Some great contacts made and hopefully some progress can be made with putting P1 back together and some upgrades at the same time with the help of some new sponsors.  

One great contact was Tom Paule from AEM electronics. We are considering a new ECU to add some power and flexibility over the current Series 1 Plug & Play EMS currently in the car.  Tom showed us the new Infinity-10 system we will hopefully get to use on the car.  It runs on a 200MHz 32 bit processor and includes 2 GB of 1 KHz internal datalogging memory.  This is possibly the most advanced EMS produced, more power and flexibility is an understatement.  With the upgrades in tuning and datalogging alone, 2012 should be a busy year. 

[caption id="attachment_617" align="alignright" width="320" caption="Ken and Anthony talking to Tom about making more work for Brice and Cory"][/caption]

 

Ken also made some contacts with a few companies that will help rebuild the KA24DE-t Six-Million-Dollar Man style (you know, "better...stronger...faster") Including Wiseco pistons and possibly rods from their sister company K1 Technologies, Rings from Total Seal, and Ferrea valves.  Ken's been working with Alamo Autosports to get the parts lined up and sent off to Dent Sport Garage for the massive rebuild and upgrade.  More to come on the intake and exhaust as well as tire sponsors, those deals are still a work in progress.  [caption id="attachment_631" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Ken also met Vinnie DiMartino from American Chopper"][/caption]