#and you are not exempt from that just because your job is racecar!!!!

[formula-fun]

insane that the narrative has always been that lando is SO young and SO promising and just waiting until his senior teammate(s) retire so he can inherit the #1 driver position and be rewarded for his loyalty with a car fast enough to win a championship! and then as soon as he finally gets that car a young promising rookie driver comes in and reminds everyone that the #1 driver position isn't something you inherit, it's something you take, and you don't earn it through loyalty, you earn it because you're the best and you're willing to fight for it regardless of your age or experience or who says you should step aside and wait your turn

their media strategy and brand is really fun and i can see why it plays well. unfortunately its also completely out of touch with how this sport actually works

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

got any favorite cars from the 24 hours of lemons? (and perhaps some facts about them)

Sure, but not before explaining to the audience!

So, you know how, when you start your car, you turn the key and it starts, and you don't have to fiddle around trying to get the air/fuel mixture to make the damn thing run and stop embarrassing you? And how it has disc brakes, halogen lightbulbs if you've got the standard version and a wing if you've got the sporty one? Yeah, this is all thanks to the century-old 24 Hours of Le Mans, so coveted by manufacturers as to push them to develop all those innovations which would later trickle down into sportscars. They made two movies about it. It is, without question, the most prestigious, serious and expensive endurance race ever.

And this is the 24 Hours of Lemons - without question, the least prestigious, serious and expensive endurance race ever.

It is most famous for the rule that ensures that: to keep you from racing anything but a lemon, a beater, a crapcan, a piece of... well, by now even the unaware have figured out what lemon means in the car world, there is a budget cap. To be precise, $500. Yes, that includes both car and performance enhancing modifications - but notably exempt are safety equipment and decorations. I say notably because decorations are a key component of the Lemons atmosphere in a way I consider best conveyed by a "progressively gets worse" slideshow.

Yes, these are all real vehicles that raced. As you can imagine, regulations are pretty lax. And mostly vibe-based.

So, now that we're up to speed, my favorites!

Favorite as in greatest job from the team? Probably (although I am biased) the Eyesore Racing Miata.

And since you asked for some fun facts, I have a little treat for you that even the typically impeccable Donut Bumper (or lack thereof) to Bumper (or lack thereof) video about it missed out on:

The team won Lemons' coveted Best Use Of Dangerous Banned Automotive Technology award (yes that is a thing) by cleverly reusing the motor that used to drive the pop-up headlights!

Favorite as in coolest car used? That might be a tossup (i.e. I am not going to wait for the undoubtedly long list of cooler base cars to shower my mind so I will call it a tossup) between the Chrysler Conquest ran by multiple teams though Lemons' history (specifically the TSis for their sexy flared fenders)...

... and B-Team Racing's Lotus Elite (seen here in two of its many liveries) which, due to its newfound Chevy engine, earned it the name Chotus. Why yes there's a website.

Favorite as in most beautiful car used? That might be a tossup between French Foreign Legion Action Team's Peugeot 505...

...or the engine-swapped second generation Chevrolet Corvair Coupe of... wait, multiple teams?

Favorite in terms of most beautiful decorations? That might be a tossup between the Honda Accord of Stanford students team Buck Ferkeley...

...and SilverSleeve Racing's incredibly-engined frankensteined Wolseley Hornet (for when a Mini is just not coupe nor posh enough)

Favorite as in greatest combination? That might be a tossup between two incredibly different interpretations of sportscar + truck: the Boneyard Butchers' mix of Saturn Sky and Chevrolet Colorado -the more you look at it, the harder it goes-...

...or the Porsche Honkeys' outstanding take on the popular Porsche 944 + V8 recipe that came when they decided to use the rest of the Chevy C10 they got for the engine: the Mulletmobile.

Favorite as in the bravest, most heroic, most Lemons feat? Well, given Lemons started as a way to experience racing without the pressure and expectations of high-tier stuff and eternally heralds the notioon that a racecar is any car you race, how could I ever go with anything but the far-too-slow-for-any-steadiness-to-remedy, Cali-bought-and-roadtripped-to-Kansas Toyota motherfucking Chinook.

Favorite as in favorite team name? I doubt it, but here you go: Off To Gay Porn. They called themselves this to ensure everyone who beat them could proudly say they beat Off To Gay Porn! And as you could notice, yes, so many of them are this good.

Links in blue are posts of mine explaining the words in question - if you liked this post, you might like those!