This weekend I was part of a team that raced in the 24 Hours of LeMons event. Definitely one of the coolest I've ever seen. The cars have to be built for five hundred dollars or less. However, since they are race cars, tires, brakes and safety equipment (roll cage,belts,etc.) are not counted as part of the budget so you can spend as much as you have to on that stuff. In addition, you can sell off some of the original parts such as the interior, wheels,tires, etc. and get credit toward more race stuff. You can go over budget but you will be penalized 1 lap for every $100 of assessed value.
Our team had a '95 Neon 4-door with single cam engine, some stiffer front springs, light swaybars and Hankook tires (minimum 200 wear rating). We had 5 drivers, three local guys and two from Michigan. I was the appointed mechanic and ironically I never had to get my hands dirty. The car ran for the entire 14 hours of racing (not sure why they call it 24 hours) without a single problem. It didn't get hot (stock radiator!), didn't use any oil, didn't wear the tires much, and ran and handled great.
We ended up finishing 8th out of 98 entries and surely would have done better if not for a few black flag penalties (dumb stuff). The winner was a yellow Volvo with a Ford V8. We won an award for the "Least Horrible Yank Tank" (best American car). Anyway, you had to see some of the creativity to believe it.
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