Kip's Story...

Kip was raised in Northern Connecticut by a family of racers and mechanics.  He started driving lawn mowers and go-carts when he was five and began racing when he turned 18. 

Even though he had the passion to race at an early age, his parents set certain goals for him to acheive before he was allowed to chase his dream. He had to work and save the money to purchase his own towing vehicle, earn his Eage Scout, and most importantly, maintain his grades as an honor roll student.  By his 18th birthday Kip had completed all of the necessary requirements and was ready begin his quest.

With his hard-earned 1986 Chevy Silverado tow vehicle, Kip ventured out to western Pennsylvania to pull a neglected 1978 Ford Fiesta ITC race car out of a corn field. The car was a gift from Mike Byers, a long-time racing buddy of Kip's father.

Over the next couple of months Kip spent every spare hour restoring and bringing his car "up to speed" according to current specifications. He also completed the mandatory training to get his competition drivers license, and began racing his little blue ITC Ford in the New England Region SCCA. Over the next four years, he continued SCCA racing while earning his degree in Economics.

With help from his father and an old Peugeot 505 Diesel engine, Kip soon learned the virtues of compression ignition motors. He was particularly interested to learn that the diesel engine was originally designed to run on vegetable oil. With his background in Economics, it didn’t take Kip long to reallize the benefits of this alternative fuel and its potential to help reduce our reliance of foreign energy sources. This soon became another of Kip's passions, right alongside auto racing.

Soon Kip hit upon the idea to start a program that would combine the use of alternative energy sources and automobile racing. While restoring a 1959 Mercedes 190 Diesel, he added a second fuel tank that used the car’s own cooling system to heat filtered waste vegetable oil.  The oil is directly injected into the car when brought up to temperature and runs perfectly on a recycled domestic product.

As a young child Kip remembered reading about the racing greats campaigning in the open road races such as the Milimeglia and Targa Florio as well as the fabled  Mexican Road Race.  When he considered the revival of “La Carrara Panamericana”, it became clear that this was the race for a waste vegetable oil-powered Mercedes!

All cars from the 50s were eligible and while special racing fuel was not permitted, the rules did not preclude diesel fuel (or used vegetable oil for that matter!)  What better place to prove to the world that one of the last and most classic open races in the world, could be done using alternative energy.

Using old technology Kip and his Navigator, Mike Devine used local waste cooking oil for this 2000 mile race from the bottom to the top of Mexico collected at various restaurants and hotels along the way.  In addition, they gave several interviews on Mexican Television and radio, espousing their alternative energy commitment.

With the help of his friends and family, Kip fixes his own competitive race cars.  He also manages Connecticut Biofuels LLC, an alternative energy company that is a leader in the biofuels market. Kip always strives to be environmentally conservative and to be resourceful in the pursuit of his dreams.

The Volkswagen TDI Cup represents the apex of his mechanical, economic, global, and racing aspirations, principals and desire.  The TDI Cup is the next step for Kip to fulfill his dream of professional racing while advancing alternative energy.