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THE VINTAGE. AND HISTORIC RACING NEWS MAGAZINE

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® Vintage Race Repor Cars for Sale, Auctions and More November 2018: Volume 33, No. 11 $6.95 USA, $7.95 Canada

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PRESORTED STD PRESORTED VSCDA at Road America an engine builder, instead he describes his path as just a series of steps set out in front of him that he took and enjoyed. The first major step was getting a job at Jim Grubbs Motorsports in Valencia, CA where at 18 he learned the finer points of engine building working on hot rod, circle track and drag racing engines. While Jim Grubbs, who was a retiring police officer, was building the shop with more and more sophisticated equipment, Pete was being factory trained on all of that machinery. Pete thought he saw an opportunity for growth and shop ownership or partnership at some point in the future courtesy of Jamie Stiehr but after 14 years with JGM the owner’s #23 Pete Christensen, 1970 Winkelmann. plans changed so Pete went looking for other opportunities. After stints at a couple of other engine builders in Sothern California, Pete Christensen he was ready for the next big step. Looking back on the opportunity and career and life FF Racer, Tech Inspector, Engine Builder experience at JGM, Pete feels grateful and wouldn’t change a thing. – story by Jamie Stiehr building dune buggies to drive in the open All of that factory training on machine shop spaces around the San Fernando Valley and equipment was good for more than just helping Vintage racing is more than just the racing, restoring cars and motorcycles as a hobby Pete become a first-class engine builder. It also it’s the people we encounter, get to know and and for a few extra dollars. David would take created some great contacts and friends in the establish bonds with both on and off the track. his family to the local Saturday night circle industry that encouraged him to go out on his In the words of a friend – “it’s the family we track races to watch his brother-in-law race own. They saw how hard Pete worked, how choose.” It’s also true that for Rocky Mountain each weekend. As soon as he was 16 and old talented he was as an engine builder and how Vintage Racing and most of the other VMC enough, Pete was right there trackside in the people sought him out because of his skill, work regional clubs, what keeps them running from pits wrenching on his uncle’s car. His dad who ethic and the touch he had with customers and year to year and race to race are the people Pete describes as his mentor and his uncle thought that if anyone should own his own who step up to volunteer and provide all of showed Pete the ins and outs of race car prep, shop, it was Pete. That was the beginning of the parts and pieces necessary to do what we engine building and auto mechanics which, Total Precision Engines. do. More so now than ever, this includes the needless to say, got him hooked on cars. TPE began in Canyon Country, California, racers showing up race in and race out. This At 15 Pete had saved enough to buy his doing what Pete knew best – building great is about one such person who has done it all first car which was a 1970 Camaro RS/SS. Of hot rod, circle track, drag racing and off- and more. course, he couldn’t drive it legally until he got road engines tapping in to the car culture Pete Christensen is a vintage Formula Ford his license so that had him waiting at the DMV in southern California in the early 2000’s. racer, professional engine builder and owner for the doors to open on his 16th birthday to Life and business were going well for the of Total Precision Engines, club volunteer, take his test in his Camaro. Not long after that Christensen’s but sensing the need for a husband to middle school sweetheart April and he literally tracked down and bought a ’68 El change in 2006, they took their next big step father to Kaitlyn. He started out as the son of Camino. Pete comes from good Norwegian and picked up stakes and moved to Ft. Collins, a truck driver and nurse turned entrepreneur stock and is about 5’ 8 and 230 lbs with just CO. Unfortunately, the timing of that move from southern California who grew up in a enough padding to keep him warm in winter but could have been better with the recession blue collar family that taught him early on the if you ran into him by accident, you’d bounce coming along just after Pete got his shop up value of hard work. Like a lot of kids his age, off and he’d wonder what that nudge was. Think and running. With work drying up in CO, Pete Pete was into his BMX bike, both for racing of him as the descendant of Viking ancestors made ends meet ranching in Nebraska where and tinkering. It wasn’t long before the other who hunted prey in the northern climes. Now he kept up his engine skills working on tractor kids in the neighborhood started bringing their picture a modern Norseman on the trail of and diesel truck engines. bikes to him to fix as well since he had the a wounded animal knack. As he got more and more into his bike which in this case was racing, it became apparent that to scratch that the El Camino with particular itch, he’d need some money so at a prodigious oil leak 12 years old he began to do what his parents that was only going taught him and that he’s done ever since – he to end one way. When started working hard. He had a lawn mowing Pete had followed the route that kept him busy but also kept him in oil and trailed that car race entry fees and parts for his bike. In fact, to it’s final resting he worked so hard, his parents’ old mower point, he made a fire broke, so of course what did Pete do? He took sale offer and got it apart, which was how racing and engine himself his first real building first came together for Pete. engine to rebuild. courtesy of Jamie Stiehr At the same time that he was racing bikes Pete didn’t so Pete Christensen’s history in racing dates back to and mowing lawns, Pete’s dad David was also much choose to be the early 1970s. 60 November 2018 • Victory Lane As the economy swung back to the positive, and into the driver’s the next big step happened for the Christensen’s seat of a race car. when High Plains Raceway, a local car club FF’s were an obvious owned track, opened in 2009. Wanting to make choice as by then they contacts in the local racing community, Pete were becoming the attended the grand opening party and made largest run group in some crucial connections one of which said, RMVR with good, “You should work Tech for RMVR!” That fair competition all the suggestion turned out to be one of the best way through the pack. things to have happened in Pete’s career. At that Also obvious to Pete time, RMVR’s chief of Tech, Andy Kitchens, was that racing what was just getting ready to transition out of that he built would be good courtesy of Jamie Stiehr role so when Pete said he’d be willing to get for business as he’d be “Now that I have a car, it’s not that expensive to involved on the Tech team, Andy jumped on right there helping and race and I really like being out there with my the offer. Little did Pete know that he’d soon getting to better know friends.” be running Tech on his own as the first race he his customers. When attended, he managed to find himself the only asked why he decided on a FF as his first race and whoever would do that needs to just go tech guy there! That was a bit of a surprise to car, he said “Working on Formula Fords has somewhere else.” He added “You couldn’t Pete, but he rolled with it and soon got to meet been really cool and as opposed to circle track pay me to build a cheater engine. Period. Ain’t virtually all of the RMVR racers. cars, this was a good situation that wouldn’t going to happen. Even in my NASCAR days, To know Pete is to like Pete and it wasn’t lead to a divorce and nothing [in the buying I wouldn’t do that.” long before it became obvious to RMVR process] said “no”. There’s a competitiveness When asked about where his racing and members that this was a guy who worked hard, in Formula Fords with a family atmosphere business are going, Pete said he’s looking made good on his commitments and could and that’s my favorite part.” forward to traveling and visiting some of the be trusted. With that recognition folks began Pete was asked about building FF engines classic tracks where NASCAR has held road bringing engines to Pete. Around that time and what he likes about it and he answered races like Watkins Glen and Sonoma. “The 50th Pete took another big step when the widow by saying “First, they’re such a historically anniversary of Formula Fords is happening of long time Formula Ford engine builder, important engine and class that requires a lot next year and I want to be a part of that at Road Bill Bradford, decided to sell his inventory of of attention to detail to make them fast within America so several of us from Colorado are engine parts and dyno. Now with his machine the rules. Second, they’re physically easy to planning to race there next year.” Pete noted. equipment and a dyno, his new connections work on and my body appreciates that.” That Speaking about such a big FF milestone, Pete and reputation with RMVR and a growing FF doesn’t mean that those are the only engines said “Folks are already coming to me with community in the Rocky Mountain region, his he works on, but Total Precision Engines has plans to get their engines rebuilt or freshened engine business really began taking off. certainly been building many FF engines for so they can put their best foot forward in those It wasn’t just his engine work that was both vintage and SCCA racers. 50th anniversary races around the country. I drawing Pete into the vintage community. In Not everyone is aware of it, but the FF expect things are going to start getting busy 2014 Pete bought a 1970 Winkelmann WDF-2 community has been rocked by the production this off season.” Work aside, Pete says that he from his old Tech predecessor, Andy Kitchens. and use of counterfeit, cheater pistons that wants to keep racing “as long as circumstances Ever since his circle track days when he had an have been marked to look like legitimate, permit. Since I’m pretty handy and can build opportunity to test one of the cars he worked legal pistons. When asked about that, Pete my own engines, now that I have a car, it’s not on and was fast right out of the box, Pete said: “There’s no room for anyone cheating that expensive to race and I really like being had the itch to get out of the machine shop when it’s supposed to be a driver’s class out there with my friends.”