Rob Hamilton Evolution CupCar Mini Cup Series/H2 Motorsports & Action Restoration Crew Chief & Dad
Rob Hamilton started off in racing in Northern Ontario with his brother at IMCA Stock/Factory Stock. He built and raced many claimer cars at Race City then built and raced a Mustang mini stock at Race City.
After Race City raced at Medicine Hat, then raced Baby Grands for 3 years. Layne Hamilton Rob’s son, got a Mini Cup race car for his Christmas present when he was 9 years old. Won his 1st race on the last race of his 1st season. Blake Hamilton, another son, got his Mini Cup race car the next year after his brother’s 1st season. Layne Hamilton has been running both a Mini Cup Car and a Baby Grand for the past 2 seasons.
Interview with Rob Hamilton of Evolution Cup Car Series (Mini Cup) & H2 Motorsports/Action Restoration
Velocity: “So you have a Baby Grand and a Mini cup, Lane races the baby grand?”
Rob Hamilton: “Lane actually races both, and rides the mini cup and the baby grand. With the schedule this year, most nights he is running double duty, so he runs both cars in the same night. Blake is in the mini cup always.”
Velocity: “You move them up as it grows? Cause that looks pretty tiny. Lane can fit in the mini cup?”
Rob Hamilton: “They actually race in mini cups as adults in the US, I fit in Lanes mini cup just fine, and I’m 6 feet tall. The mini cups are great to introduce people into the stock car racing. They’re very adjustable cars so there’s lots you can do to learn about the chassis as your child is learning about the driving aspect of the racing program. So it’s a great learning tool for new families.
Currently right now roughly 70% of our families in the Mini Cups of our 23 cars we have in Western Canada, are from non-racing backgrounds – no one really raced in the family. So it’s bringing life back into the sport again. I always say McDonald’s doesn’t cater to adults and we are much the same. We want to get kids involved and loving the sport at a young age, cause usually by the time a child is 17-18 he’s got other interests, they’re not really going to go out and build stock cars too often anymore.
So the Mini Cup, the general dimensions are 10ft long 48in. wide, they’re powered by an industrial 13 horse Honda that we’ve had to restrict with the 9-horse carburetor to slow them down slightly. Medicine Hat and at EIR they’re running right around the 60mph range, now the thing with the Mini Cups, that make them so fast is they don’t lift in the corners, they are 60mph across the whole track so kids don’t use the breaks, are basically flat footing and steering and navigating through traffic.
They are full coil over suspension, full disc break cars. Most of the cars that are in the circuit today are all built with Promali™ tubing so phenomenal chassis, safety’s paramount with any kind of kids racing and we think that the Mini Cup is probably the safest form of kids racing out there today. They do run a full aluminum seat 5. Harnesses most of our kids are wearing some form of head and neck restraint whether it is a Hanz™ device or an impact rev.
They run on an eight-inch tire, they have a full containment fuel cell in them with roll over valves, just the same as every other kind of racing class out there. They run an inch and three quarters off, to two inches off the ground so the chances of rolling are very slim. We have not rolled one yet, we have only had one kind of big accident with he kids over the 4-5 years we have been involved. We had one child hit the wall at a pretty good rate of speed, did end up bending his chassis but he walked away with only a bruised knee, so the overall safety of them is phenomenal. Unfortunately we had to prove that they are, but we have proved that they are very safe cars.
We start them at the age of 8 – they can race here until they’re 16 years old. A lot of the kids will move out by the time they are around 14-15 they have been moving into the baby grand class somewhat. Baby Grand Nationals are an adult class but they’re such a great stepping-stone for the kids coming out of the Mini Cups, that’s been a fairly natural progression for them.”
Velocity: “So if you’re a parent getting into this, what type of investment are you looking at? Cause this is a race crowd of a box?”
Rob Hamilton: “Yes they are. That’s the thing . . . and they’re a full race car. They’re not a toy by any means. Before we restricted the motors we had them on radar at actually 73mph in Regina. Generally, good use car will be anywhere from 6500 to 8000 main differences being is where they’re at with engine and shocks at that point and time engines will see a 3 year run on them pretty easily so if you get an older engine, you’re going to be a little bit less, and body condition somewhat.
Kids do bang them up a little bit. So you’re looking at somewhere in the 6500 range for a used car. New, they sit at about 13,000 today for a brand new chassis. That’s fully assembled, ready to go to the racetrack.
You’re daily running costs are so minimal; you change the oil every race at 800mL and you burn a gallon of gas and pay the entry fees. So it’s inexpensive that way. It is primarily that first kit that is the big one – buying the car itself.
Beyond that the kids being that they are growing kids, they do outgrow their gear. Boots seem to be the biggest one; they’re always outgrowing boots. But for the most part, if you buy good quality gear, you can run it for 2-3 years depending on the age of your child, seems the younger ones can stay in gear a bit longer, when they hit about 12 they start outgrowing it quicker. I think last year, Lane went through 3 sets of boots.
Overall, the running costs are very minimal on the cars, tires will last 2-3 years, engine about 3, I do shocks about every second year just to assure they’re still in good condition, it’s just preventative maintenance on that side. As far as maintenance, like I said, change the engine oil; service your clutch every couple days, or every couple races and you’re good to go.”
Velocity: “Personal safety equipment, single, double layer Nomex™ suit?”
Rob Hamilton: “In our kids class most of the kids are wearing a single layer Nomex™ suit. Some wear arm restraints so they don’t have to have the window nets, a little better visibility for them. But yes, single layer suit, preferably Nomex™, Proband™ is allowed in our class. Most have Nomex™, NSA 2010 helmet, our rated helmet, race boots, race gloves, head and neck restraints, a lot of the kids are running with the head and neck restraints, the Hanz™ device, they do offer a child size. Which is less expensive that the adult one Primarily most of the kids are in a Hanz™ device versus the next gen, but as the kids grow older the next gen is a nice option. Gives them a little more adjustability, and such.
All of the tracks we run at now are running the transponders and you do need a transponder so the track can communicate with the children. We do not allow radios in the class, we would rather the kids drive the cars and the parents in the pits, and we don’t allow mirrors. At one point I thought they were a good idea, but now that the kids are getting very experienced you can see where they would be an issue. They can still hear a lot, they know what’s going on around them. They don’t need to be blocking at this age, so we keep the mirrors out of the cars as well.”
Velocity: “And the escape route, like how they get in and out of the car is right from the roof?”
Rob Hamilton: “In and out of the car is straight from the roof, it’s either latched or velcro’d. They don’t Velcro it at the back end; they don’t come open so it’s not a real big issue.”
Velocity: “But rescues can pop that open quite easily?”
Rob Hamilton: “Yes, for sure. Especially the kids that don’t run the window nets, they can reach in and pop it up from the bottom quite easily.”
Velocity: “Now, Baby Grand, this is a step up?”
Rob Hamilton: “Yes, the Baby Grand is actually a huge step up. We’ve got two kids right now 14 years old running the Baby Grand series. Next youngest competitor would be 21.
Baby Grand series is actually an adult series, but, like I said, it’s such a nice step for the kids to get into this. They’re basically a late model scaled down to a two third scale. We are running the 1250cc Yamaha® motorcycle engine – the FJ. Most of the cars are oil cooled and running the big bar soft spring set-up, they run on a 13″ Hoosier slick, winter change quick change rear and once again, a 5 gallon fuel cell in the back.
The cars weigh in at 1500 pounds including the driver, so very nimble cars and with this engine package the horse power to weight ratio is phenomenal. They are an unbelievably fast race car. Once again they are not the big horse power so you do not see the big acceleration in the class. It is very much a momentum driven race car. You need to keep your speed up as much as possible at all points & time because you do not have that V8 acceleration.”
Velocity: “What is the name of the mini cup series?”
Rob Hamilton: “The Mini Cup Series is the Evolution Cup Car Series. You can find on Facebook just do a search for Evolution Cup Car Series. Baby Grand Nationals of Canada or Baby Grand Stock Cars of Canada is really been in the restructure here & has been mostly word of mouth. People just realizing the cars are so well priced, a lot of guys can not get into a good Hobby Stock for what you can buy a decent Baby Grand for. There is a lot more race car here.”
Velocity: “And you are the supplier for both cars?”
Rob Hamilton: “Yes we got parts in stock for both series.”
Velocity: “And you can get the cars?”
Rob Hamilton: “The Mini Cup Class due to the used car population in the US, we have been buying used cars from the US then bringing them up to our specs. People will seem them online for $3500 and that all sounds great but by the time you do your exchange & your freight $750 get from where ever they are even to the border. And when you do get them here, the engines will not be legal outside the US because they are US built motors, so you do have an engine to do. Typically the shocks are not the right shocks, the seat is usually the wrong size.
I think myself before I got involved in Mini Cup Series, brought up 7 cars out of the states – every car is the minimal $500 of miscellaneous stuff you through on them. So those $3500 cars in the States by the time all said and done to have it race ready you will be $8000”
I’ve done enough of them I know, it shocks me every time, I think its a good deal but they add up, up & up just trying to get them up to standards & up to snuff. This class prides itself on the cars and looking good at all times and things like that, even windows, you think it needs new window a sheet of Lexan™ is $200 so there’s another $200. So they do add up quickly. Clutches, things like that and depends what clutch is in it, so it adds up quickly.”
Velocity: “So someone can get a car from you ready to go and ready to race?”
Rob Hamilton: “Most people found its the easiest route to take, just that way when they get the car, the seat is mounted correctly, it’s built properly, they know their parts are legal. They don’t have to worry about not having the stuff on their cars, because nobody wants to go through tech and not pass tech. It is typically the easiest way to do it, your not going to save a whole bunch from buying from the States. Most people just buy them direct from Evolution here and when you buy a car from us you got to paint it to your own colors, trust your kids will pick a colors they want.”
Rob Hamilton
Evolution Cup Series Sponsor Mini Cup & Baby Grand Distributor
H2 motorsports/Action Restoration
Layne Hamilton Driver Evolution Cup Mini Cup Car 24 & Baby Grand Car 24
Blake Hamilton Driver Evolution Cup Mini Cup Car 44
Rob Hamilton H2 motorsports/Action Restoration Crew Chief & Dad
Points Standings after August 9th, 2014
Evolution CupCar Series
1.#24 – Layne Hamilton – 909
2.#10 – Alex Krause – 874
3.#44 – Blake Hamilton – 827
4.#28 – Autumn Kopeck – 797
5.#7 – Travis Dolter – 796
6.#77 – Faith Luther – 719
7.#2 – Patrick Labrash – 694
8.#36 – Keira McLean – 641
9.#1 – Blaine Kopeck – 576
10.#95 – Rylee McKennit – 569
11.#12 – Chantal Orman – 547
12.#18 – Tyler Emond – 533
13.#84 – Tyler Knowles – 487
14.45 – Colton Orman – 486
15.#23 – Kaylee Wilkie – 421
16.#16 – Jaycob Masciangelo – 273
17.#66 – Jayde Masciangelo – 123
Medicine Hat Speedway
1.#2 – Patrick Labrash – 465
2..24 – Layne Hamilton – 450
3.#10 – Alex Krause – 449
4.#12 – Chantal Orman – 420
5.#44 – Blake Hamilton – 411
6.#28 – Autumn Kopeck – 407
7.#7 – Travis Dolter – 383
8.#1 – Blaine Kopeck – 372
9.#77 – Faith Luther – 364
10.#45 – Colton Orman – 345
11.#95 – Rylee McKennitt – 327
12.#36 – Kiera McLean – 274
Edmonton International Raceway
1.#24 – Layne Hamilton – 552
2.#10 – Alex Krause – 528
3.#7 – Travis Dolter – 498
4.#44 – Blake Hamilton – 493
T-5.#28 – Autumn Kopeck – 487
T-5.#84 – Tyler Knowles – 487
7.#18 – Tyler Emond – 484
8.#36 – Keira McLean – 462
9.#77 – Faith Luther – 446
10.#23 – Kaylee Wilkie – 421
11.#2 – Patrick Labrash – 388
12.#95 – Rylee McKennit – 315
13.#1 – Blaine Kopeck – 280
14.#16 – Jaycob Masciangelo – 273
15.#12 – Chantal Orman – 232
16.#45 – Colton Orman – 216
17.#66 – Jayde Masciangelo – 123
There are 4 races remaining in the 2014 season. 3 races are at Edmonton International Raceway, and 1 at Medicine Hat Speedway. The last race of the year at EIR is also the only remaining event to collect Evolution Cup Car Series points.
There are great sponsorship opportunities for the Evolution Cup Car Series or H2 Motorsports contact Rob Hamilton: rob@evolutionracingproducts.com
H2 Motorsports Sponsors:
Action Restoration Ltd
3 Boys Tank & Vac
Greenslades Disposal
Global Signs & Graphics Ltd
Dan Frederickson photo credits for hero cards
H2 Motorsports & Action Restoration Ltd. race cars on display tomorrow from 10-4 at the Chestermere Car Show.
Boys cars on display at the Action Restoration and Disaster Services golf tournament.
https://www.facebook.com/EvolutionCupCarSeries
http://www.evolutionracingproducts.com/