MIDDLETOWN -- They call themselves the Banditos Yankees and every fall they race a heavily modified 1957 Chevy through Mexico.

It may be a bit of a laugh for wealthy amateurs, but La Carrera Panamericana is not without its dangers.

The 2,000-plus mile race typically runs the first two weeks of October and includes crossing the Sierra Madres on gravelly mountain roads with no guard rails against precipitous drops.

Indeed, the race was cancelled in 1955 following numerous deaths, mostly of bystanders. It was resurrected in 1988 and James Gubelmann of New Jersey and Matt Hamilton of Pennsylvania, who are both members of Newport’s high society, first raced it in 1995 in a rental car.

Since 1997, they have been competing in their 1957 Chevrolet 210 — 383 cubic inches, 525 horsepower, 5-speed transmission – backed up by a team of four mechanics, a chase wagon plus truck and trailer.

About 100 cars compete in some 10 classes. Most of the classes are for historic cars, particularly from the 1950s. An unlimited class for modern cars was opened last year.

The Banditos’ best year was 2000 when they finished first in their class – Historic, 1955-1964 – and seventh overall.

This year, the rally starts in Oaxaca in southern Mexico on Oct. 26 and runs in stages for seven days, ending in Nueva Laredo on the Texas border on Nov. 1. The teams complete the stages and also run time trials. The faster cars – particularly the Studebakers – run over 160 mph on some stages.

Gubelmann and Hamilton trade off the morning and afternoon driving while navigator Therin Pace stays in the car through the day.

Hamilton said “racing on a two-lane, twisty road” is exhausting. “The focus and concentration is taxing,” he said, noting that he sometimes hits over 110 mph on the time trials.

“I’m glad that Jimmy and I have this set up,” he said of the morning and afternoon trade off. “After five days, you look at some of the drivers (who are alone) and we look fresh beside them.”

The Chevy is modified partly to meet the requirements of the race rules, including massive roll bars that extend the length of the car and wrap the car and cabin, as well as racing seat belts, and to make it faster and more reliable, including an enormous radiator to compensate for the Mexican heat.

“It’s more NASCAR than ’57 Chevy at this point,” said chief mechanic Michael Nunes, noting that it took two years to prepare the car out of his shop in Middletown. “Jimmy (Gubelmann) found it,” he said. “It was a barnyard queen with trees growing through it.”

“We’ve had the car up to 136 mph and it’s not aerodynamic,” he added. “It’s like holding up a piece of plywood and saying: ‘Let’s go!’ It’s a barrier and at a buck twenty (120 m.p.h.) it begins to get ugly.”

During the race, Nunes and his team of mechanics chase the car in a Chevrolet Suburban armed with lights and sirens, doing repairs when they break down or stop for lunch and even using the chase vehicle to push the race car onto the next stage if they cannot fix it in time. They only have an hour to work on it during the lunch break.

The team, which is sponsored by Gubelmann’s firm Windigo Architects as well as J.A.M. Construction and Coastal Electric, did not race in 2001 because the truck and trailer containing the car as well as the chase vehicle were held up at the border amid the immediate response to the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.

“We were turned away in the wake of heightened security after 9/11,” said Nunes. “There we were, a bunch of meatballs trying to get in for three days (before we turned back).”

And they did not race last year when the dates for the Mexican rally were changed and the team decided to run the Targa Newfoundland instead. That rally is held in September and runs nearly 1,400 miles through the Canadian province. Unfortunately, the car broke down and they could not fix it in time to finish.

“We couldn’t get the truck to the car to change the transmission,” said Hamilton. “It was our only DNF (Did Not Finish).”

To prepare for the race, Hamilton says he takes high-performance driving courses every year. “I have five kids and I want to be around for them,” he said while acknowledging, “It is just a hobby, an expensive hobby.”

“Half the adventure is getting the equipment down there, though,” he added, noting hassles from immigration authorities and local police. “We were stopped one time and they wanted $400,” he said of one local authority. “I bargained him down to $200.”

La Carrera Panamericana was established in 1950 to celebrate the opening of the Mexican portion of the Panamerican Highway, which runs from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina. The race attracted professional drivers and some American and European manufacturers built cars for the race.

However, it proved very dangerous, particularly for bystanders. By the end of the 1954 race, 27 people had been killed – nine in 1953 alone – and the government shut it down in 1955.

“The highway was littered with cars and bodies,” said Joseph “Dr. Joe” Lanuez, one of the Windigo Racing team mechanics. Two additional mechanics, Tim Friend and Joseph Fournier, and driver Richie Discarfano round out the team.

The cancellation was also influenced by the aftermath of the most horrendous crash in motor racing history when a Mercedes Benz flew off the track during the Le Mans 24-Hour Endurance Race in June of 1955, killing about 80 people and injuring 80 more. It came at a time when cars were getting faster but not safer and the incident set the sport back for years.

La Carrera Panamericana was a casualty and was only resurrected with the strong involvement of the Mexican federal police. It is now considered an historic race for amateurs – the entry fee is $6,000 – and it is covered on ESPN. Mexico also hosts a 525-mile professional rally in March that is part of the 16-round World Rally Championship.

La Carrera Panamericana is still a dangerous race, however, and the rules require the drivers’ blood types, Gubelmann A- and Hamilton O+, to be painted on car doors, helmets and sewn into driving suits.

Hamilton said a few cars always crash the first day.

“Some drivers are all testosteroned up,” he said. “They want to show everyone they have the fastest car. We always lose two or three cars that get wrecked the first day.”

Any low points? “Well, catching the local disease is not a whole lot of fun,” he said ruefully. “I tell you, Pepto Bismol just doesn’t do it.”

However, he said high points included a “fifteen-minutes-of-fame feeling” when asked for autographs and photo ops from locals when the team stops for lunch.

Hamilton added that most of the drivers are 40-plus years old. “If there is a younger driver, then he’s a ringer,” he said.

Nunes said the team takes “a hare and tortoise” approach to the race, making sure to finish each stage rather than worrying about always being in front.

“Knock on wood, it’s worked,” he said. “We win and all the fast cars are in the woods or off the road. We’ve always raced this car and always finished. That’s a feat in itself.”

For more information about the rally, check out: www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/ index2.asp