Bob Guptill hopes his First Lap Race Car Rental gets newcomers hooked on the sport he loves. It offers an inexpensive way for fans to get a taste of competing in an actual race.
Guptill purchased eight GM W-body cars. These V-6 front-wheel-drives include cars such as 2005–2016 Chevrolet Impalas, 1995–2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlos, and 1988–2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. He converted these rides into race cars for the cruiser class that runs on Friday nights at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine. To make it easy for newcomers, the cars use automatic transmissions.
A one-night rental costs only $400, with a $500 deposit in case of race damage. Each race night consists of two practice sessions, heat races, and a 20-lap feature.
“There have been rental programs and buy-a-rides for quite some time, but those programs are way too expensive for the everyday race fan who wants to try racing to see if they like it,” Guptill, of Lewiston, Maine, said. “First-timers need not worry. There is no garage, no pickup truck, and no trailer needed. We haul the car to the track, set it up, and provide one experienced pit crew member who is also a driver coach.”
The cars from First Lap Race Car Rental come outfitted with Kirkey full-containment seats and roll cages. A driver may bring their own safety gear or rent a fire suit, gloves, shoes, helmet, and head-and-neck restraint for $100.
“The cruiser cars we will have for rent are very forgiving,” said Guptill. “If they get loose, the drivers will be able to steer them out of trouble. They will be fast, but not dangerously fast.”
The cruiser class itself offers a great learning environment, according to Guptill.
“My son Ethan raced in the division last year,” Guptill said. “He’s 15, and he won a feature on his fifth time out. The division is for people new to racing to have a good time, to learn what it is like to race, and most importantly not to get discouraged.”
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.
