Culture|Garage

Jalopnik gives team Cougar Bait/culture|garage a bone in their latest Lemons write-up.  We had originally challenged them, back in the day.  They said they weren’t coming.  Then we found out they were.  Unfortunately, they kind of decided at the last minute.  Which left them with a car that wouldn’t pass tech.

Luckily, we crashed.  We offered up our LV stenciled hood as scrap so they could get their sunroof issue fixed.  They finally get on track later that afternoon and their Celica was hauling ass.  That is until the wheel decided to shoot off the car, leaving them dragging the front clip in a blaze of glorious sparks.

Another team had a spare hub on hand and Jalopnik was back on track a few hours later.  And they were still hauling that Celica around the track.  Unfortunately, they were lapped by the Cougar Bait car, at least three times during my marathon 250+ lap session.  I was sure to wave every time I passed them.

So what’s the point of this post?  I don’t know.  But, I do know that in no other form of motorsports have I seen this many people helping one another.  Team Sofa King, helped us with pit stops another team helped us wire our fan back up after the wall incident.  It’s a feel good weekend with some wheel to wheel action.  It’s just like Lifetime, minus the teen pregnancy.

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Sure, we probably should have done the bios before the race so you could pick your favorite driver and paint his name on your chest and scream, “go Jon!” rather than, “wow, that guy looks pretty slow out there.”  However, we just didn’t have the time.  Getting the car running only two days before the race eliminated time that I could have spent retouching skin blemishes and posting sarcastic and untrue biographies.

So, follow the posts below and meet team Cougar Bait.

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Chris Campbell, born in Cincinnati, lived all over, currently out of Minneapolis.  Chris works in automotive advertising, with some semi-professional modeling on the side.  He will do just about anything behind a wheel, rallyx, ice racing, track days, autox, hill climbs, chicken, etc.  If you have seen him, it was probably him passing you.  He is bald.  His favorite TV show is any original series by Bravo (or Lifetime).

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Mike Sitzenstock, born in Chicago, living in Minneapolis.  Mike has a degree in electrical engineering and does stuff no one understands.  But he is damn good at correcting our piss poor attempts at wiring a kill switch.  Mike is a volunteer autox instructor and does track days in his free time.  As the oldest member on the team (by two years), Mike’s favorite hobby is driving through college campuses during spring in his Boxster S—with the top down.

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Andrew Douglas, born in Chicago, living in Minneapolis.  Andrew works in corporate realty.  And rules his tenants with an aluminum bat.  Just make sure you get your mortgage in on time.  His driving style is fast and aggressive, whether it’s behind the wheel of an autox car or the RV we towed the Lemons car down in.  The only thing faster and more aggressive then his driving is his mouth and wrath.  His favorite musician is Enya—one of the few things, besides horse tranqs, that slows him down.

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Jon Champ, born and raised in Minneapolis(ish).  Jon does computer engineering stuff (more stuff none of us understand) as his real job.  His part time job is being a smart ass.  He has spent quite amount of time in competitive driving, be it autox, rallyx, track days, etc.  When not in a car, you can find him on his bike (motorcycle or mountain).  He wears Birkenstocks.  One of the many things I make fun of him about.  His favorite hobby is playing swords.

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Jessop Krocak represents the 612 (Minneapolis, MN).  He joins the team as chief fix stuff up and make it work.  He brings years of hobbyist level mechanic ability to the team.  He also learned how to build a cage…his first one being our Lemon’s car.  He is an international purchaser by trade.  He has a wonderful wife and an annoying dog.  His favorite saying is, “well, to be honest…”

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Ben Cetrone hails from Two Harbors, MN, way up in North Country.  Ben is a recent relo to Minnesota from somewhere in Montana.  He currently does some computer and Internet stuff that none of us understand.  Should you want to have a bunch of pale skinned sweaty guys over for a LAN party, Ben is the guy to call to set up the technology.  His method of driving is slow and steady and he won’t give up his line.  His nickname is Night Terrors due to an unspoken “incident.”  His favorite movie is anything anime.

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