Against All Odds
Take a look through the final standings of our Super Lap Battle and you'll notice three teams don't have team or tuner names; that's because no manufacturer or sponsor has helped them out. No free parts, no donations, just hard work and pure passion. These guys are true enthusiasts like you and we'd like to congratulate Tage Evanson of Phoenix, AZ who brought his home-built '95 Civic and won the Limited FF class.
Tage isn't a stranger to racing, but he's fairly new to Super Lap Battle. He's been an autocross addict for 10 years. He started racing the big tracks three years ago through NASA events. During qualifying at his home territory of Firebird Raceway, he easily won his class. "I decided to go to Buttonwillow and see if it could beat everyone else especially since everyone there is practically all sponsored or factory-supported. It was neat coming in there as an amateur," he explained.
Tage's car is unlike several cars at the finals. He's done all the work himself and has tried to save as much money as he could, as you can tell from the plywood splitter and eBay roof wing. He may have cut corners trying to make the car more aerodynamic but under the hood is a different story. "I had a '95 Integra before this which I owned for eight years. I spent all that time developing the chassis and engine. I sold the Integra as a rolling frame and swapped over everything to my Civic. It was the exact same track width and wheelbase but lighter than the Integra. I had both cars on jack stands for three weeks while I did the swap."
When it came time for Super Lap finals, Tage trailered his car from Phoenix and entered Buttonwillow as a stranger. His race started with problems due to his inexperience. "I typically run the gas tank really low for minimum weight so I showed up to the track with a quarter tank," he told us. "My car was immediately sputtering and cutting out. I wasn't sure what it was. It could have been ignition related. I still ran only a couple tenths off of the leader, Hasport's CRX, in the morning." The second session worsened for Tage though. "The car was running awful. I barely got one lap in and I was 11 seconds off pace. 12 seconds would have got me eliminated! My first two sessions were a 2:04 and 2:10. I filled up my tank for the third session and ran a 1:59. I eventually dropped to a 1:58.366 and beat the previous track record by 1.1 seconds held by Hasport. The team at Hasport was really nice and congratulated me at the end. I was surprised to win since their car on paper along with a professional driver should have been faster than mine." - Sam Du
Fast Facts
'95 Honda Civic
Class Limited FF
Time 1:58:366 (1st in class, 19th overall)
Driver Tage Evanson
Owner Tage Evanson
Hometown Phoenix, AZ
Power 229whp, 169 lb-ft
Under The Hood GSR block B18C1, gold needle sleeved to 85mm, LS crank 89mm stroke, eagle rods, Endyn pistons 12.5:1 compression, Endyn ported type R head, Endyn bump stick cams, STR cam gears, ITR intake manifold, RSD 550 injectors, AIM fuel pressure regulator, Endyn .5mm oversized race spec valves and retainers, Hondata S200, JDM 4-1 header with 2.5" collector
Drivetrain GSR '95 case with '99 Civic Si gears, JDM 4.785 final drive, LSD, custom short shifter
Stiff Stuff Koni race spec shocks, Ground Control coilovers with 800 lb front and 600 lb rear springs, GSR front sway bar, Comptech 22mm rear sway bar, Neuspeed strut bar front, roll bar welded to rear shock towers
Rollers 15x8" 949 Racing wheels with 225/45R15 Nitto NT01 tires
Stoppers GSR front brakes with Carbotech XP10 pads, 10.2" rear '01 Civic Si rotors with RSX caliper brackets, GSR calipers and Carbotech pads
Konig Wheels Hookin' Ish Up!
Here's the part of the story where you start kicking yourself for not paying more attention to the contests and free schwag we give out every month. A few issues ago, we wanted you to visit the Konig Wheels site (www.konigwheels.com) to fill out a questionnaire and check "yes" to the terms and conditions-all for the chance to win a set of Konig's new BriteLite wheels and a free trip to the Super Lap Battle Finals. Nick Kennedy was the lucky guy to be chauffeured by our very own Yamz to beautiful downtown Buttonwillow, where he was treated to a 4-star McDonalds dinner and a sausagefest motel party with the Source Interlink edit teams. He also received a ride-along in several Super Lap cars, including Jason Whitfield's Aveo.