Lemons Race Weekend With A Bunch of Idiots: Friday!

Remember: Themes Are For Suckers!

Let's just hit some highlights from last weekend with the Bunch of Idiots racing team. 

BACKGROUND: The Bunch of Idiots have been racing in 24 Hours of Lemons and Lucky Dog racing for a while now, and currently are running their 1990 1st Generation Miata. So, that's what we raced Saturday and Sunday at Carolina Motorsports Park along with 75 other crazy teams of all kinds of cars. Basically everyone is racing on track during about 7 hours per day, and most laps wins. No big rule book on engine size, car weight, etc, just a rough classification of better junky cars in A Class, Medium junky cars in B Class, and cars that will probably break down even more in C Class. We were in A Class, which puts a little 1.6 liter 32 year old Miata at a huge disadvantage, so along with me being the slowest driver on the team, I think that we finished 12th overall is pretty good, and 8th in A Class.  Enough of that stuff, this isn't Sports Illustrated, here's some pictures!

Brian and I were out at the track a day early to do some driving just for fun, and for me to get used to the car. This was my first time to drive it, and only my second Lemons race, so I was way behind the other guys Brian, Kyle Ray-Smith, and Luke O'Hara, but that's OK since they are all quick behind the wheel. We had multiple sessions on track, the car and our safety gear got inspected for Lemons, and then we and all the goofy cars headed to the Friday Night Camden Block Party. This is the only Lemons race across the country where they do a big shindig on Friday, and it was a ton of fun. 

Friday Schedule

All the safety gear has to meet certain specifications, here's the label on my head and neck restraint that shows the date of manufacture in 2018. It's good for 5 years, so next year I have to get it re-certified or replace it. 

Brian and the Tech Inspector go over the details of the car, and it passed the safety inspection. 

Did I mention the Friday Night Block Party?

Yes, racing costs money, and uses gas. 

Back to the Block Party, our friends in the Dragon Ball Z car went all out!

Ready to park it for the block party, no costume

left to right, Luke O'Hara, me, Kyle Ray-Smith, Brian Nixon, and our motoring friend Kyle DeGennaro. Oh and pizza!

This car was dressed as an Eddie Van Halen guitar, complete with microphone gear shifter and "I Don't Feel Tardy" sign. If you don't know what Van Halen song that line is from, you can look it up. 

Then the judges show up and determine what class you will be placed in. 

Kyle, Luke, and Brian (the Bunch of Idiots) tried their best to get downgraded to a slower class, but were once again placed in Class A. 

Once the judges are done with your car, they stencil the race logo on your hood, in this case, "Lemons Block Party."

The Miata got a lot of attention thanks to our free suckers, and free stickers where you could write in your own "_______" Is For Suckers. We thought everyone would take them and stick them on other people's cars, but most of them ended up on the Miata. 

The purple lights on the purple Miata added to the atmosphere, but eventually it was time to head back to the track and get ready to race on Saturday and Sunday.