It’s time for a CT525-based racing again, that’s what the folks behind the new Vaden Chevrolet Performance CT525 Late Model Series and Vaden Chevrolet Performance Weekly Racing Series believe.
The series founder, Mike Vaughn, comes from a background with dealing with Chevrolet Performance products, founding Crate Racin’ USA in 2005 and then selling it in 2019. Now he has a new venture with a new Chevrolet platform.
“The time is right for a dirt CT525 series,” Roby Helm, series Communications Director and Announcer, said. “For $10,000, a racer can buy a high-performance racing engine that is far less expensive than a 604 crate engine that racers send out for blueprinting and then resealed, doubling the original price.”
The Vaden Chevrolet-sponsored series will not permit blueprinting and resealing.
“It won’t be necessary because the engine is so durable,” Helm said. “It doesn’t need any special attention nor rebuilding. Racers are already getting two seasons from CT525s, without any loss of performance, simply changing the oil.”
When the CT525 debuted eight years ago, its first run in the sport did not go well.
“They had a bad run of pistons in 2018,” Helm said. “But they corrected that problem. Since then, it is proven to be the most durable racing engine ever built.”
The LS3-based engine won’t use fuel injection, but instead carburation. It will have an electronic ignition.
“We will pre-tech the engines,” Helm said. “We will set maximum rpm and set the timing. We will have engine mapping and be able to set and check everything with a laptop computer. After the race, we’ll check those settings again. Everything will be time-stamped in the computer.”
In addition to a touring series, there will also be the Vaden Chevrolet Performance Weekly Racing Series. Both will have touring and weekly series will have point funds. The weekly series will consist of five divisions: CT525 super modifieds, 602 modified sportsman, 602 late model sportsman and 602 factory stocks.
In addition to the organization providing a rulebook and a points fund, Helm pledged to provide promotional help, too, in the form of PR and live streaming of events.
“We’ll give our weekly tracks a chance to be streamed, and there will be profit sharing,” Helm said. “Since streaming, everything that moves is sponsored. Sponsors at the track and on the cars will love the exposure they get.”
Much more information is to come about the Vaden Chevrolet Performance CT525 Late Model Series Vaden Chevrolet Performance Weekly Racing Series. That includes shock packages and tire choices. They will have a complete rulebook and schedule at the Outside Groove Racing Show in Knoxville, Tennessee, on February 20-21.
“If you want to spend money to go faster, you don’t belong with us — you need to be in super late model racing,” Helm said. “For most racers, having a fair shake to win and having fun is what it is all about. They will get that with us. We’re here for the working guys, not the guys who race for a living, but the racers who are doing this for fun.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
