O2 National Champion 1997
CenDiv Champion 1997
SuperD Champion 1997
Paul Schwerin grew up in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota for several years, studying Theater and Chinese. He went on to study in China for a summer, then took a couple of years off to get away from the college grind. After the break, he attended Control Data Institute and studied computers.
The 33 year old is now living in Coon Rapids, Minnesota and is employed at HBO & Company (not Home Box Office) as a Software Analyst. The company is one of the largest providers of information technology solutions in the healthcare industry.
Paul was an important part of the Mayhem Racing team, co-driving for Mark Utecht in SCCA PRO Rally. Paul has a history of racing in his past, too. He started autocrossing in the fall of 1991, road rallying in 1994 and began his PRO Rally career in 1995. He has also had some formal training in rally. He attended the Corvette's of Minnesota road rally seminar and the Lockwood Lake PRO Rally Navigator school. He also stays involved in other types of motorsports as the current Vice-President of the Minnesota Autosports Club, a local autocrossing club.
In his three years co-driving inside the Mayhem Racing Dodge Omni, Paul has come to describe PRO Rally in this way: "The ultimate weekend drive: out for a drive, not sure where you are going or what's around the next corner, but getting there fast."
They have been running a Dodge Omni GLH Turbo in the past but, they are currently building a Dodge Shelby Charger Turbo to run in O2 and Group 5 for 1998. The car is generally stock, but some revisions are necessary. Plenty of safety modifications have been done and they put in the MOPAR computer to get a little more power from the engine. Paul added, "As Mark and I improve our skills, we will make more modifications to get more power from the engine. "Asked about their car plans for the upcoming season, he replied, "We will still be running the Omni at Sno*Drift 98, after that we will save it as a spare chase and start racing the Charger."
Paul has been a part of a very successful team. They have had five 1st place finishes and two 2nd place finishes in Divisional O2 class. The 1997 season ended with Paul being named the 1997 LoL Region SCCA Rally Co-Driver/Navigator of the Year and the Mayhem Racing team finishing in 1st place in the following catagories: O2 in LoL region, Central Division, Overall Divisional, Central Area Super-D and Overall Super-D. Their future plans include running all the CenDiv divisional PRO Rallies in 1998, developing the new car and their team skills over the next couple years and then to go national.
When asked if things always run so well for them in PRO Rally, Paul responded, "We learned how tough it can be right away at the 1995 Headwaters divisional, our first PRO Rally. It was raining and the roads were muddy and slick in some spots. We hit one of those spots just a little too fast and ended up sliding off the road just a couple of feet, but it was far enough that we couldn't get out on our own and needed to get pulled out by sweep. We did real well on all the other stages though."
One of their best finishes was in Michigan in 1997. Paul explained, "Winning first overall at Magnum Opus in Munising, Michigan was great!"
If you are thinking of getting involved in this exciting form of racing, Paul has some advice. "In Pro Rally, the 'edge' of the road is a lot closer then in a lot of other forms of racing. You can be only two feet off the road and you are no longer in the race." Paul adds, "Go to rallies: work, spectate, whatever. Get a feel for how they are run and get ideas about the type of car you want to run. Tulip style road rallies are good for developing navigator skills and communication between team members."