Autoblog

Photo: Gianna Babb

As the resident LeMons fanatic at Autoblog, it was tough to miss out on this year's first race at the Altamont. I live less than 20 minutes away, but prior commitments took precedence, so the team and I postponed our rat-rod run until later this year. Two of my LeMons teammates and I were driving through the Nevada desert on Sunday when we received word that a fellow racer had lost his life the day before. The mood turned somber in seconds. Details were scarce, but as our trek northward unfolded, we were able to get a few more details.

Court Summerfield, a 47-year-old resident of Alameda who worked with his wife, Vickie, at Ole's Waffle Shop, died of a heart attack while running the race. The preliminary investigation performed by the CHP confirmed that nothing was wrong with #39 Team Cant Am's Volvo 242 Turbo and that Summerfield was unconscious when he hit the wall.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was still an emotional blow to those of us that have followed the series since its inception, but one quote from Court's wife lifted our spirits immediately. Vickie said that, "It was really just something that he was happy doing. I'm sure the way he went, he was happy."

Jay Lamm, the man behind the 24 Hours of LeMons, informed us yesterday that a memorial fund has been set up in Court's honor, with all the proceeds going to his wife. You can make a donation by going to the 24 Hours of LeMons website and clicking the "Donate" button on the home page. I just donated what was left in my PayPal account after selling a few parts from my own track-day beater. It wasn't much, but it felt apropos of everything I'd like to think Court enjoyed.

Jalopnik reports that one of the competitors at the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Altamont has tragically died in an accident on the course. At present, the identity of the victim, who was driving the #39 Volvo 242 Turbo pictured above, has not been released. According to Jalopnik's Murilee Martin, who is reporting on-site from LeMons and also competing in the event, the #39 car collided with a wall at high speed, and rescue personnel cut off its roof to extract the driver. Following the incident, LeMons organizers reportedly called off the rest of Saturday's racing. We don't know what's planned for Sunday, and recommend you check Jalopnik for updates. Autoblog extends its heartfelt condolences and prayers to the fallen racer's family, friends and teammates.

UPDATE: It has now been made known that the driver who passed away is Mr. Court Summerfield, age 47, of Alameda, CA. Mr. Summerfield reportedly died of a heart attack at the wheel of the car, which CHP determined to be mechanically sound. Again, we extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Summerfield's wife, Vickie, and their family and friends.

UPDATE 2: Murilee shares some final thoughts.

[Sources: Jalopnik, San Francisco Chronicle, The Truth About Cars]

The Jaloptikons made the trek north this past weekend to take in the final 24 Hours of LeMons event at the Thunderhill Raceway and after making the long slog back to their respective homes, they've put together a comprehensive list of the top 50 competitors that ran the crap-can race.

The inaugural event's winners, Red Meat and Poontang, were forced to remove their stripper pole at the last minute, but despite the 11th hour emasculation of their 1.6-liter 1999 Mazda Protégé, they took home $1000 in unrolled nickels for surviving the two day event.

According to Murilee and Johnny's race report, the Thunderhill event was a totally different beast compared to the one we participated in back in October at the Altamont. Not only is the track comprised of several of high-speed straights and turns, the organizers were none to shy about black flagging any team whose aggressive driving put other competitors at risk. Three cheers and a broken tie-rod for that!

We're already beginning to plot our revenge on the Altamont in May, but in the meantime, check out Jalopnik's coverage here.

In a scant two years, the 24 Hours of LeMons has grown from one event featuring a handful of halfwits and their rudimentary rustbuckets, to what can now be considered a series. Jay and his crew have come a long way – likely to the chagrin of themselves and their spouses – and due to LeMons' popularity, they'll be organizing six events for 2008: one each at Altamont, Detroit and Thunderhill, plus three other races in the Southwest, Southeast and Northeast. Those last few events are still TBA until the rest of the "respected" motorsports groups (NASA, SCCA, NASCAR, etc.) have their own dates firmed up for '08.

In addition to the news about venues and events next year, we got word that "Nerf Bars" – the large, metal tubing that protrudes out from some LeMons cars, protecting wheels, bumpers and other extremities – are now banned. The rules (yes, there are rules, with subsections and everything) now state that these "added structural elements" are no longer allowed. The reason seemed to stem from the race we participated in a couple of weeks back, where the organizers noticed that teams outfitted with external protection had a tendency to, putting it lightly, use it to their own destructive advantage. They're out for '08, and we think it's a good call – only because we didn't install them.

click above image to view video

Damon went straight from racing in this past weekend's 24 Hours of Lemons to Japan to cover the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, so we haven't been able to corner him for a recap on his experience. Thankfully Bryan McQueen from Team Santa Cruz ran the entire race with a pair of cameras in his car pointed out the front and back. His video on YouTube shows you exactly what driving on a tight course with dozens of other insane racers is like. There are no driving lines, no apexes to consider, and no strategy other than to keep going at all costs, even at the expense of taking out your competitors. It's the live action version of Carmaggedon and downright scary and thrilling to watch. Follow the jump to view the video.

UPDATE: Team Santa Cruz uploaded a new version of the video with no soundtrack, just the aural assault of beater cars slamming into each other. Check it out after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

UPDATE: Added Mega-Gallery (120+ photos)

Click the image above for over 120 pics from Sunday's LeMons race.

9:18 AM - Brad is gridding as you read this and the race should be underway within the next five minutes.

Follow the jump for our progress and to see how many laps we got dinged for the B.S. factor.

Good morning LeMons fans! We're freezing our arses off, but we've got the tie rod installed and it is one beefy mo-fo (check the pic after the jump). We've got a driver's meeting at 8:45 AM PST and the race is beginning around 9ish in the AM. We'll have another post marked LIVE BLOG going up around then and it's been decided that Brad will be manning the 7 during the first stint since his race was cut short yesterday by an aggressive pass around the glacial school bus. Traffic should be pretty heavy, so we're not planning on moving up too far in the morning -- just racking up laps and trying to hold on to our position. Speaking of which...

As far as we can tell, we're somewhere in the high 40s or low 50s, and the #96 Bimmer from Maximuus Motorpool is heading the pack in first with a 13 second lead. They're veterans of July's event and incredibly nice guys, so if there's anyone to lose to, they're it.

Check back in just under an hour for day two's festivities.

2:27 PM - Jay is gridding now. Once all the vehicles hit the track, a car's number will be drawn out of a hat and that team will be the race leader when the green flag drops.

2:34 PM - The race is on!

Follow the jump for the rest of the action.

We're about a half an hour away from the driver's meeting, with the action set to start around 2:30 PM PST. After calling or visiting over 10 different tire shops in the surrounding areas, we weren't able to secure a new set of tires that were to our liking. Instead, we pilfered a set from the shop (thanks John!) and during the transponder check we were able to see how it feels. The verdict: better, but we weren't at speed. Jay is the first man behind the wheel (and has more track and traffic experience than any of us here) so we'll see what he says and then make a few corrections from there. We've got a little bit more weight in the rear with a full tank of gas, and if that doesn't do us any good, there's a bag of horse feed to my left that weighs 40 pounds. Some (duct tape) assembly required.

Stay tuned...

So we wrapped up our practice time at the track, and if anything is for certain, our RX-7 is going to utterly suck in traffic... unless we do something about traction. The lack of a rear hatch (weight), coupled to the cage and the integrated strut tower brace (rigidity) has made our 7 an oversteering pig. Dip the throttle more than a quarter of the way down – anywhere in the turn – and the rear is swinging around like Colin Farrell at a sorority party.

So here's the plan: we're picking up a couple of new tires this morning and then trying to play with the alignment settings at the track. More toe? More camber? We'll see. The one upside to not laying down the long pedal is that we're doing great on fuel consumption. Go figure.

We'll give you another update a bit later today and when the green flag drops at 2 PM PST, watch this space for our live blog post.