Barefoot Racing

Information

Barefoot Racing was founded in 2005 by a couple of college buddies. They purchased a 1987 VW GTI rally car from Dave Cizmas, and with a few safety upgrades, were off to the stages. After a podium at the first event and a surprising win at the second they were hooked and have never looked back. Following this great start, a steep learning curve and a string of DNF’s plagued Barefoot Racing. The 2006 season was better, they hit their stride and earned 2nd place in the Central Region G2 Championship followed by 3rd place honors in 2007. Everything was going very well… so they decided to make a change.

Everything was going very well… so they decided to make a change

The 2009 season kicked off with the Sno*Drift Rally in lower Michigan. With a cameo from Heath Nunnemacher as co-driver, the Barefoot Racing Crew was able to achieve two commanding G2 victories with a 2nd overall regional finish. Over the two-day event, they ran times comparable to BMX Star Dave Mirra in his Team Subaru USA super-production car! A few more podium finishes through out the summer has Barefoot Racing sitting in third place in the Central Region G2 Championship. They are very optimistic that with some good finishes at the Ojibewe Forest Rally and Lake Superior Pro Rally, they can climb even higher in the championship.

Since the transmission failure at Nemadji Trail 2 in June, the Barefoot Racing crew has been diligently working to get the car into shape for the 2009 Ojibwe Forest Performance Rally (OFPR). The two-day rally kicks off on August 28th in Bemidji, Minnesota. OFPR is always an exciting event with large turnouts, fast flowing roads and huge commitment. This year will also host the final round of the MaxAttack! 2-wheel drive series. The best two wheel drive teams from across the country, and Canada, will attend in hopes of a share of the $5000 pay out and dibs on the Jake Himes Cup! This will surely promote the largest field of rally teams in years.

If that is not enough to get your heart pounding, Barefoot Racing is sitting in 3rd place in the Rally America Central Region Championship (behind Greenhouse and Eixenberger) and is hoping for a solid finish to improve their standings.

With all this at stake, the Barefoot Racing crew knows they have to prepare a perfect car to compete with the level of competitors that will show to contest this year’s event. In preparation, Tim and Paul finished the new close ratio transmission and opted for a Kaaz LSD instead of the problematic welded differential. The grip should be improved and the differential should be more controllable under braking and in rough sections. Barefoot Racing is sitting in 3rd place in the Rally America Central Region Championship Doug at Davenport Racing equipped the 98 VW with an awesome Hidja 300 Rally Computer which should take care of the team’s odometer issues. Cole, of Steinke Storage & Body Repair, has been working with the engine trying to squeeze a bit more power out of the VW’s 2.0L engine. The team is bringing back their secret weapon from Sno*Drift, Heath, to co-drive.

Finally, new sponsorships from H30 Polarized sunglasses and Terra Firma has the entire team’s spirits high and excited to hit the stages. With a few weeks yet to go, Barefoot Racing is sitting in a great position to have one of the most complete and professional packages they have ever showed up to a race with.