Autoblog

2:34 PM - The race is underway, with all 80+ cars out on the field.

Make the jump for all the action that's fit to post.


2:45 PM - The fastest cars on the grid appear to be the #82 and #64 1st gen. MR2s, anything with a Volvo badge seems to to be trouncing the field and several E30 BMWs are holding their own. On the other hand, we've got the #52 Caddy hearse that's been holding up some of the competitors, along with last year's #90 T-Bird.



2:47 PM - GRM's Volvo spun out in spectacular fashion.


2:48 PM - Full course yellow - crash in the chicane.

2:52 PM - Green flag - madness ensues.


3:00 PM - Full course yellow - #50 dies

3:02 PM - Green flag - damn there's a lot of cars.


3:03 PM - Yellow flag - #92 Alfa loses tire and possibly axle

3:05 PM - Green flag


3:10 PM - #60 spins - no mercy given by the marshal


3:11 PM - Full course yellow - #7 Jeep Cherokee has croaked

3:15 PM - Green flag - #32 Subaru black flagged, but he's back on course


3:18 PM - Yellow flag - Mazda 323 GTX dies, but its back in the action 45 minutes later.

3:19 PM - Green flag


3:21 PM - Yellow flag - #32 Subaru enveloped in smoke - kinda hard to see.

3:24 PM - Green flag - Zebra Jag gets black flagged and thrown into the pits.

3:28 PM - Yellow flag - #62 Neon bites the dust

3:32 PM - Green flag - Chuckling about the repetition and Team Enron's name.


One of our favorites so far is the Mitsubishi Works Galant. Not just because it's covered in fur, but because someone at Mitsu actually provided funding for these guys.

3:35 PM - Red flag - car #19 MK1 GTI overturned.



3:37 PM - Driver okay, car pushed off track



3:40 PM - Green flag

3:42 PM - Yellow flag - #80 Caprice proves it's not quite "Billetproof"



3:44 PM - Green flag


The sound of a turbocharger spooling up on a Pinto is one of many glorious aural delights to be had at LeMons.

4:00 PM - Longest time without a yellow so far, oh, wait -- scratch that.


4:01 PM - #98 BMW 5-series has a close encounter with a tire - Green flag


4:08 PM - Team #43's Chevy Vega took a wee on itself. Pushed off course. Yellow and green flag follow in close succession.

4:16 PM - It looks like the Popular Mechanics Golf had a suspension failure during an off-road excursion. Lots of smoke coming from its driver's side rear wheel arch.


4:22 PM - Yellow flag - Taurus hits the wall, tow truck on its way.

4:25 PM - Green flag



4:27 PM - #50 loses wheel and axle - Yellow flag out until they tow him out.




4:31 PM - Yellow flag - #45 Pinto gets pushed off course.

4:34 PM - Green flag

4:44 PM - Each car is fitted with a transponder, so we'll be getting overall standings within the next few minutes.


4:49 PM - #83 Neon passes away. Yellow flag out while they clear it out of the chicane.


4:54 PM - #21 Ford Fiesta Festiva towed off course.


4:58 PM - Green flag and the standings so far are...

1st - Team 500k's #00 Jetta
2nd - #99 Alfa
3rd - #93 Lemon Lapper's Neon
4th - Politically Correct Racing's #6 Volvo
5th - Car and Driver's #73 FC RX-7


This crash took place less than a minute ago, but in the spirit of LeMons, the cars were back to racing in seconds.


5:07 PM - Helen Keller Racing Team's #53 car gets stuffed into the wall. - Yellow flag

5:11 PM - Green flag drops again.


5:17 PM - Yellow flag as the #92 Alfa is pushed out -- again. Green flag comes out quickly.

5:21 PM - #666 Yellow BMW E30 takes 4th place. #93 Neon moves to 2nd.


5:35 PM - The all female Flying Angels #60 Maserati is being pushed off the course. Yellow flag out.

5:41 PM - Green flag drops

5:45 PM - Lemon Lapper's #93 Neon takes first, followed by the 500k #00 Jetta. The #99 Alfa drops to third, while the Car and Driver #73 RX-7 is in fourth, with the #666 Bimmer coming in fifth.

5:49 PM - Yellow flag to remove the #62 Neon.

5:52 PM - Green flag

5:54 PM - Yellow flag to push off the #90 T-Bird. Green flag follows soon after.

6:03 PM - The #99 Alfa drops out of the leader board, and the #74 Miata takes 5th place.



6:06 PM - #43 Ford is involved in the largest collision of the day so far. Full course yellow as they clean up the glass.



6:11 PM - Green flag

6:14 PM - 500k's #00 Jetta just plowed into the back end of a competitor. It's been holding the number two slot for a while, but the liquid dripping from its right front bumper may spell disaster... soon.

6:17 PM - Team Helen Keller, who ate the wall earlier in the race, is back, along with the #92 Alfa that's been pulled off more times than we can count.

6:23 PM - It's been a bad day for the two MN-12 Thunderbirds, #30 and #90, as both were pushed off during a full course yellow. We think they're done, but we've thought the same about other competitors.


Lewdness under caution: Car and Driver's RX-7 aims to distract drivers on their approach. We've blurred out the photo on the left to protect innocent eyes.


7:07 PM - Full course yellow - #21 Festiva loses a wheel and its will to live.

7:12 PM - Green flag drops, racing continues.


So far, most of the racers have stayed on their best behavior -- except the #81 Firebird. Between slapping into competitors and spinning out in almost every turn, the man with an opposite lock deficiency has finally felt the wrath of rule-enforcing VW Microbus, who has been running ahead of the 'Bird for the better part of four laps. We hope that teaches you a lesson Mr. Flaming Chicken, but we've got a feeling that he'll continue to be the bane of the field.

7:19 PM - Yellow flag falls, the #92 Alfa is pushed off the track... again. But the field is back to "racing" a few minutes later.


7:31 PM - Yellow flag out. Black flag for the #666 E30 Bimmer. Not sure why.

7:36 PM - Green flag means "Go!"


7:45 PM - Yellow flag to #96, racing resumes


7:50 PM - #90 stalls at one of the tightest corners of the track. Yellow comes out, he gets started up again and the party continues.


After considerable discussion, we've determined that the race leader, #93 Neon, is a ringer. Seeing the yellow streak barrel down the banked runs, it's obvious that its owners have either done some serious work to the engine or, at the very least, its got a wickedly hot cam coming on while climbing the tach. Further investigation is needed, so we'll try to get more information tonight.

8:08 PM - #96 -- the "Pope" car gets a penalty. He's sent in to spin the wheel of death, or whatever. What does that mean? Well, he might get a training wheel welded onto his bumper, maybe he'll be forced to wear a bra on his head, we'll find out later, and we'll hopefully have a pic of the wheel tonight.


8:12 PM - The #42 Hyundai is the first car to catch fire. Thankfully, it's been running without a hood since the first lap, so extinguishing the blaze was easy. Fire out, game on!

8:26 PM - The standings are as follows:

1st - #93 - Lemon Lapper Neon
2nd - #73 - Car and Driver RX7
3rd - #94 - Popular Mechanics GTI
4th - #22 - Orange CRX
5th - #6 - Politically Correct Racing Volvo


8:30 PM - Red flag - Car rolled. It's been righted and taken off course. Green flag falls. One hour left to go.


8:43 PM - Yellow flag - #21 loses driver's side wheel. Towed off course. Racing resumes.


8:55 PM - We're in the home stretch and #93 is still kicking butt and taking names.


8:59 PM - Yellow flag as #86 is pushed off the field.


9:07 PM - #7 Jeep is out and making its way off the track under its own power after a healthy shove from the pickup truck crew. Racing resumes.

9:19 PM - The standings, with less than half an hour to go, are below. Simply a shuffling of the top five, with no new contenders.

1st - #93 - Lemon Lapper Neon
2nd - #22 - Orange CRX
3rd - #73 - Car and Driver RX7
4th - #6 - Politically Correct Racing Volvo
5th #94 - Popular Mechanics GTI


9:23 PM - The #89 Eclipse is pushed to the pits. Their day is apparently over.


9:25 PM - The Popular Mechanics GTI swaps places with the Volvo for 4th. Further proof that every lap counts.

9:35 PM - White flag!


9:36 PM - Checkered flag for the #93 Neon!

Top five are as follows:
1st - 93 - Lemon Lapper Neon
2nd - 22 - Orange CRX
3rd - 73 - Car and Driver RX7
4th - 94 - Popular Mechanics GTI
5th - 6 - Politically Correct Racing Volvo