Topic: The Underground Reno Race Recap (possibly the longest in history)

Prepare yourself for this one. Underground team member Dan200 has written a very long writeup in detail of our epic weekend.

Well I have been home from Lemons for almost a week and I know the results have been posted and everyone knows what happened but here it is......

The dan200 Lemons Race Recap...

(My entire journey from begining to end.)

Departure...

I headed to San Diego on Wed night.

I made sure I got to the airport super early because I was wanting to get my wifi going so I could catch the TORR broadcast from the airport bar before my flight.  Fish was going to be doing a little promoting of our upcoming weekend and I wanted to listen to it.  This was especially important to me because last time I raced Lemons I raced against Fish.  We had a $20 dollar side bet on whose team would beat the other and I won.  That was great and all but, there is currently a youtube vid with Fish passing me and that damn thing has been the bane of my existence ever since it showed up.  I was sure that there was no way fish wasn't gonna take the "on air" opportunity to tell the world about it.  He texted me while I was in line at the metal detectors that they were on in a few minutes.  So there I am, texting fish to see if he is on yet, holding my shoes, laptop, plastic bag of liquid and trying to keep my pants from falling off (since I also had to remove my belt to make it thru the metal detector.)  Any way, I made it thru and raced for the bar.  Finally got my wifi going and ordered a Sam Adams.  The bartender asked "Ya want the big one or just the regular size?"  I instantly lifted my head and simply looked her in the eye.  A minute later there was a large alongside my laptop.

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I was listening to the show with my headphones on and I guess i was talking out loud because the woman next to me nudged me and asked why I was yelling at my computer.  I explained about the adventure I was embarking on.  I told her what was about to be broadcast live and that the show was running out of time.  Or, I had missed it already.  In the end they did run out of time and we never got on air but I picked us up a few fans and it wasn't long before a good portion of the travelers in the bar were all captivated by the whole concept of "Lemons." I even might have gotten Pistol Pete a customer for his TL rental program.  (Some guy in a suit with a fancy watch had me write down the website and said he was gonna look into it.  I told him to say who sent him and my note included "watch the movie Dust to Glory".  (If that don't sell him on doing it nothing will)

WELCOME TO SAN DIEGO...

I landed and Loomis picked me up curbside rolling tough in Pat Dailey's (freshly detailed) truck towing the enclosed with KITT inside.  It was a little after ten and we headed for Mikes place.  He lives in a gated community and they have a rule about parking the trailer in there so we headed to mikes shop and dropped off the rig.  Since I am obviously a potential customer for luxury and exotic cars he rationalized we take the Mercedes for a little test drive.

The next thing I know we are loading my gear bag into a sweet convertible and headed to get some tacos.  He hit the gas at the first corner and I sunk into my seat.  He was laughing as he explained that our Z made it to the green power boxes along the road side faster than the Mercedes. I knew this was gonna be awesome... The Underground was rolling with impunity thru the streets of San Diego in style.

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It happened that the taco place was closed but there was a bar next to it so....   When the Asian guy and the black dude were arguing about penis size and stereotypes being untrue we asked for the check, tabbed out, and headed for another taco place that was far, but open.  I have no idea what time it was when we finally made it back to Mikes with our dinner.  His girl had set up the guest room for me and I was fast asleep dreaming of the green flag.

ROCKET TO RENO

We got up, skipped breakfast and headed to the shop.  Swapped out the Mercedes for the diesel and finished loading the trailer with tools and spare parts.  We had a few stops to make along the way.  We were barely out of the parking lot when Erika called and said to come back to come back to the shop.  (The sway bar mike ordered had finally shown up on the ups truck so we turned around).    The next stop was only a few blocks away.  TIRES.  Instead of the street tires we had run last time, we were on some real rubber now.  These were going on rims with a better off set but we only had two of the rims in our possession at this point.  The other two we were supposed to pick up at ORW along the way.

We motor up there and guess what?  They weren't there.  THIS WAS NOT ORW'S  FAULT.  They just didn't make it on the right truck.  ORW really made this up to us.  They located the rims, had a guy do a visual to insure there would be no mistakes, located a place in Reno where they could have them drop shipped and set it up so we could continue our journey and get the rims the next day in Nevada.  They covered all the extra shipping etc and really hustled to help us out.  In the meantime they mounted our new tires to the 2 rims we did have and we were on our way.  (This kind of customer service is not something you see very often.  Those dudes are solid and I encourage everyone to shop there)  On our way out the door i got a couple stickers for the car so we could proudly represent ORW for the weekend.

Next stop was 10 hours away.

Our road trip consisted of the generally slap happy conversations that come along with hundreds and hundreds of miles in a vehicle.  Pats truck is sweet.  With the Bullydog programmer it barrels up hills and has the power to let you pass with ease and in luxury.

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The only real issue we had was with his GPS.  It is a TOM TOM with a suction cup dash mount.  We quickly renamed this thing DUM DUM.  It has absolutely no idea where Nevada is and it's ability to plot a course was terrible.  According to DUM DUM we were to drive to Hawaii, turn south and make our way to Brazil,  then double back to Florida and finally cut across Canada to Fernley (our destination).  We vetoed DUM DUMS route and took our own route instead.  Throughout the trip Dum Dum became continuously frustrated with our refusal to submit to his wishes.  About every ten minutes he would try to commit suicide by leaping from the dash into the center console.  We would replace him atop the dash and then he would just do it again.  It was painful to watch but if I was DUM DUM I think I would wanna end my life also.  He talks and nobody listens because he is totally insane.

We were getting gas in some little town (We must have passed thru a hundred of these  The route had lots of cool littl podunk towns to check out along the way) and when I yelled to Mike to get me the pump number so I could pay we both realized it was number 7.  This was also our race cars number.  As the trip went on the number 7 started showing up every place.  We considered this a good sign.  It was also cool when we came alongside another Lemons racer on his journey. to Nevada.

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Because I am a briliant genius, I had forgotten to bring the paper with the hotel info, address and phone number so I called Gabby.  (you can always count on her)  She went back a few hundred posts and found the hotel info on the RDC thread and texted us the info.  (Thanks again Gab)  We were texting back and fourth with fish who was towing up the Saab team.  The car owner had waited till the last minute to prep and it was super late.  He was not shy expressing his frustration.  Desert racers know the importance of good prep and this must have magnified his displeasure.  We were pulling into the hotel parking lot at our destination when he finally just got under way.  Just to be a prick I sent him a pic of the beds and Mike and I unloaded our gear and went to the casino that was literally 100 feet from our hotel room.  I think the reply from fish was "FML..."

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We had a couple drinks and asked the bartender where the local dive bar was.  It was called TJ's and was right across the street. We rolled over there and played the dumb bar slot machines and worked on depleting the towns supply of Captain Morgan as fast as we could.  We checked out the local wild life, shot the bull about Lemons with the bartender, and took note of the free drink policy they had.  (If you give them your bra you get a free drink.)  The ape hanger handlebars on the wall that hung like antlers from a 10 point buck had about a dozen sets of unmentionables on them.  Sadly they were mostly padded.  (Fernley needs a plastic surgeon).  When the night seemed to be over we walked thru the drive thru at McDonalds.  We knocked on the window and explained that we were truck drivers and our rig wouldn't fit thru the driveway.  The guy who used to sing for "In Living Color" and wore the wet suit on stage must have fallen on hard times since he was working at Micky D's but he sympathized with our well delivered lie and served us anyway even though they are not supposed to serve walk ups.  I wanted a quarter pounder and we were shocked to hear that it was so late/early that the breakfast menu was all that was available.  Mc muffins in hand we returned to the glorious Super 8 we were calling home and passed out.

Tech inspection day.

We slept in a bit.  In the morning my phone was blowing up and we jumped out of bed and left our cave for the track.  When we walked out the door below us there was a Lemons car on a trailer in front of the lobby.  It was a white 85 RX7 and was painted like the American flag with patriotic slogans all over it.  Seeing this first thing in the morning gave me a great feeling an reassured me that this was gonna be an awesome day. 

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fish was nearing town and Chris (fabtoys) was already tracksid and securing the pits for us.  This is a first come first served kinda deal and he got us some primo real estate.  Thanks Chris!  From our pit we had quick track access and a great location because the judges penalty box was right in front of us.  Besides great racing action the promoter offers high quality shenanigans and we had a front row seat for the weekend.  By the time Fish made it were were gettin the pit set up.  The paddock was getting crowded and Tech inspection was about to get underway.  Our car was good to go but we still had to get the rims from Reno (38 miles away).  Since tech was an all day long deal we bailed to Reno and left Fish to hold down the fort.  (He had been awake for like 40 hours so we figured we would find him passed out in the enclosed with the AC cranked and the doors locked from the inside when we returned.)

We booked to Reno and without the help of the suicidal and irrational DUM DUM and we quickly located the ups store.  When our box had arrived ORW had instructed them to call us and let us know and they had.  This really took a load off our minds.

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We picked up the wheels and went looking for a tire store so we could get the tires mounted.  We were in a pseudo industrial area and quickly located a little tire shop.  This dirt parking lot dump called Reno Tire was a real craphole.  The guy explained that he could get to it tomorrow and then said that there was no way anyone was in town was gonna be able to help us today.  RENO TIRE SUCKS!  I rolled my eyes at the toothless jerk and we bailed being sure to dust his dump of a shop on our way out.  That Bullydog has some power!

It didn't take long to find a Discount tire (or was it Big O?).  Before Loomis even got the truck in park I was already in the front door.  I did my best schmoozing and explained to the guy our situation was urgent.  "It is all brand new stuff.  You won't even get dirty. etc"  He was more than happy to charge us full price for a mount and balance and sold us 20 lug nuts.  (18 of them were even the right size.)  Any way, he did hustle and by the time it took me to have a smoke the boss was in the shop cracking the whip and the tires were finally rimmed up.  I tipped the kid and we were gone...One more stop and we are headed back to the track...

Lowes.

First of all, we were going there for the Saab team.  They needed to weld something on the car and needed a adapter for the welder to work with the generator.  NBD.  The problem was that the box was there with the wrong plug in it .  SO we dug thru every box trying to find one.  Eventually a kid showed up in his red vest and got on the computer.  There were some in the inventory so after almost breaking his arm he magically finds the box of the way behind some washer/dryer plugs and kits.  It was great but, by this time the fact we were getting cranky because all we had to eat was Gatorade so far today.  We needed food.

We got the special from the hot dog cart dude on front.  Two dogs and a drink.  They had that east coast style bright green colored relish and we had a nice chat about Chicago summers and food dye while sitting at the picnic table.  He (the cart guy) blabbed and we listened while we powered down some nitrates.  He wished us luck at the race and we bid our farewell.

It should have been so easy from here...

Get back in the truck...  Get back to the track...

We were getting in the truck I stood at the back door of the crew cab and was getting something out of my backpack when it happened.  Like a ninja, a 60 yr old dwarf of a woman sneaked up behind me.  She and grandpa were getting into their rav-4 that was parked right on the yellow line next to us crowding our ability to get in and out of the truck.    I was being careful not to door ding her.  I opened the door just enough to reach int the center of the cab.  As I was standing up from leaning into the truck she shoved me. She put her hand between my shoulders and shoved me back into the truck. HARD!!! I swung around like WTF?  (I thought it was Mike messing around but he was on the other side of the truck and I was looking at him when this all went down.)  I was in disbelief when I saw this old lady there.  I seriously thought I was gonna turn around and knock some  dude out and here is grandma opening the door to her Toyota.  I was pissed off but also entirely confused.  Seriously, did this old lady just walk up behind me and shove me into the truck?  The whole thing was so messed up.  I just stared in dis belief.   She didn't even acknowledge me even then.  Like I wasn't even there,  Like it never happened.  I couldn't understand how this could really be happening....  She climbed in and shut her door never even giving a second glance my way. Then I climbed in the truck.  "Loomis did you see that?"  I explained the whole thing...  Just to show how tuff we are we did a lap and "mad dogged" her on the way out.  She still wasn't even looking our way, someone honked for us to get going and we took off.

The whole first half of the ride back to the track i was bewildered by the event.  Mike kept telling me I was freaking out and warning me that if there is a parallel incident on the track tomorrow and I let it rattle me like this I am gonna screw up.  It made sense and I debated him any way saying I was just confused, not angry.  Then the the topic quickly switched  to Brothels and how close they were to our current location.  Order was restored and we were headed for tech inspection.

Tech inspection and Jack Daniels...

Tech had two phases.  The first is the officials.  These guys work for the track, not Lemons.  They are there for the safety stuff, cage, fire extinguisher, seat, belts etc.  They hassled us about our belts because they did not go thru the seat in the shoulders.  (we need to fix this reminder).  Besides that, we were good.  We had passed this stuff before so we weren't worried any way.

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Then we went to secondary tech.  These guys are the official Lemons judges.  When I say judges I use the term loosely.  They are proudly corrupt.  Any team dumb enough to not have a variety of bribes to fall back on the minute they start picking thru your car is screwed.  They wil also be critical of you if you dont have a theme etc. 

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They had seen our car once before at Thunderhill and knew we had to repair the impact damage to the front strut from the last race.  Besides that we tried to pass it of as the same car with better tires.  They looked at us like yea right and Loomis started to explain it really was.  We fessed up to a couple hundy in upgrades like shocks. Then one of them noticed that ours was an automatic.  The tech sheet on the windshield was quickly given a zero penalty lap approval.  The judges failed to notice the bottle of Jack Daniels in the cup holder on the dash.  We had put this there in case they decided our car was too good.  Alcohol is a well known preferred bribe for the Judges and worked for us at Thunderhill.

We stopped him and handed over the booze in hopes of some leniency for any "future crimes". 

This later paid off in spades.  when you bribe these guys you get a stencil just so you are on the Up and UP..:D
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What ya dont wann have happen is get labeled a whiner.  this will ruin your weekend if ya gotta sound the horn on this.

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Post tech.

We finished putting the sponsor stickers on the car and I gotta say the car was prepped quite well.  When we roll with Pat his car always shows up dialed.  We aren't up all night replacing stuff, tuning, etc.  I know this has been part of the success of his racing and we certainly tried to model ourselves around this knowledge.  I am hundreds of miles from the car but that is OK because Mike Loomis rules.  He in coordination with Fish had the Z all set up basically as perfect as you can.  This was nothing like the car we raced several months earlier.  The cooling issue was resolved,  the car sat lower and was on real rubber now.  The turbo worked, the engine did not clunk around in the engine bay any more either.  We had a new exhaust courtesy of Richards Performance Mufflers.  For a 500 dollar car, this was gonna be hard to top.

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Once we got the pit all packed up it was time to put the Z to bed for the night.  We turned the key and...........

Click.

"try it again"

Click.

"One more time"

Click.

Our hearts sank but only for a second.  "I know what it is"  Loomis exclaimed.  We had moved the emergency shut off switch about an inch.  It came thru a hole in the hood.  The addition of the sway bar to the car had required this adjustment.  As it turns out the old switch had gone bad.  we jumped it with a screw driver and confirmed this.  There were some suggestions from the Neighboring team (we got the adapter at Lowes for) that we could pay them full price for the used 4 way connector one on their car because they needed a two way one and they had one of those in their parts box.  We mentioned the Plug adapter we had gone to the trouble of getting them and he tells us "you can go ahead and return that, it was the one I told ya to get but now I dont need it."  WAJ  We were once again like WTF?  We opted to got to town and get a new one.  "No thanks pal."

I got on the phone trying to figure out who had one in stock and auto zone said they had none.  we called Kragen next.  "Nope" they told us.  We all had remembered seeing these on the shelf there before so we double checked when they were gonna be closed and decided we would go to town any way and see for our selves.  Auto zone was right and they had nothing.  we walked every isle a bunch of times seeing if we can find something that will work but couldn't.  The girl at the counter explained that at the track her neighbor was racing the dirt oval tonight and he had tons of spare everything.  she gave us his car number and said if Kragen couldnt help us to get back to the track and find him, told us exactly where his pit would be etc.  "Tell him it was me who sent yan and I promise he will make sure you get to race."  The chick was just cool and helpful.

We asked for directions to Kragen and she pointed to the stores front windows.  "Look out there.  See the great big building across the street that says 'Kragen auto parts' on it?  Go there."  I looked back at her, smiled and we were on our way. (See, I told ya she was helpful) Thankfully the guy at Kragen was an IDIOT.  the part was on the shelf.  He explained he meant "the good one" or some crap to cover his arse.  "whatever works" we said and headed back to the track.  We hooked up the switch (and it worked w/o incident.)  Threw the tarp on the car and blocked it in  behind the enclosed.  By this time there was stormy weather on the horizon and the wind was getting gnarly.  This race runs rain or shine so we crossed our fingers that it would blow over and headed back to the hotel to get some food, a beer or two and some rest.

Cocktails and Chaos...

It was our plan to hit the little casino up and have some food (on a plate, not in a wrapper) and discuss the strategy for driving tomorrow but the restaurant was closed.  As we were looking for the lounge to get a cocktail instead this big dude is goofing around with a waitress and lifts up his shirt and does a "mock" flashing of his nipples.  I jokingly blurted "put your bra on" but he didn't think it was too funny and stared me down making sure I noticed he was the "Alpha Male" around here.

As we sat in the lounge having a drink, we noticed that Mr Alpha Male is one of the bartenders.  (oops).  He noticed me also.  So I finished my drink, went up to order another round and make my apology.  He was cool and gave us a heavy pour and I left him a good tip.  (Not to big, not to small.)  We finished the round and decided to get some jack in the box across the street.  The problem was that TJ's the dive bar was on the way and we wanted Fish to see it.  The next thing you know..... shenanigans.  We accidentally started have way to much fun.  girls were making out with girls,  there was a cowboy there, the bathroom door would open randomly on people, these were some of the classic wierdos you only see in places like a small town dive bar.  Hick along side thugs, preps and rednecks.  creeps and cool kids. The drunkest guy in the bar targeted Loomis as someone he and his homies wanted to play in pool.  We took him for 20 bucks.  A while later the same drunk guy was on the dance floor playing UFC with a couple of folding chairs. He ended up in the bouncers headlock, and was escorted outside.  We stuck around and had a a few more drinks and then we all decided we should have gone to bed along time ago.

Since it was obvious that we were gonna have minor hangovers we decided that we better get some grub to join the alcohol in our bellies.  At Jack in the box my order was number 7.

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We got all excited and begged the manager to let us keep the little plastic table thing promising to return it the following day. She finally broke down and let us take it with us as a good luck charm on loan from Jack.  Her only condition was we return it the following day. 

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On the way home we discovered the Guy who got thrown out of the bar wandering around in an intersection.  We walked him to the casino Lounge where we shared the adventures of the evening with the bartender who only a few hours earlier wanted to kill me.  Got our new friend some water and then ditched him there and bailed to our room. Minutes later we were passed out dreaming of Lemons glory.

Race Day...

Fish bolted to the track bright and early.  The rum had a bit of a lasting effect on Mike and I so we lagged a bit.  I felt fine but was as nervous as hell.  We had decided that I was to take the green flag.  My nerves we going so bad I puked a little.  I played it off as part of my fake hangover, swished some mouthwash around my mouth and told Loomis to hurry up.  "We got a race to win!"

Last time I raced the z things did not go so well.  A guy in an acura had scared the hell out of me and tried to put me into the chicane at Thunderhill.  It rattled me real bad.  I was so freaked out I sounded like a girl over the radio saying I wanted out of the race car.  A lap later, i blew a turn and spun,  the cars coming up behind me stopped in time but then they got rear ended and bounced into me.  The strut was jacked from the impact and it almost got us a DNF.  My team let me off the hook but I have never let myself live that day down.  In many ways today was a race against myself.

As I showered i kept going over my plan for the day. This was my chance to redeem myself to my team. I had really beat myself up over that day and I wanted to prove to them and especially myself that I had what it takes to do this.   My Friend Lucas gave me some good advice once.  "Race Your own race"  That was what I was gonna do.  It was my job to race clean and go till the gas lite came on.  Keep the car out of the penalty box, on the track and as close to the front as I could.

We arrived at the track and readied the Mighty Z for battle.  Scottdsms and Randy Spiker made the trip to support us, film and take pics.  The tarp came off and last minute inspection took place.  We are ready.

The drivers meeting was at ten and the race was at eleven.  At the drivers meeting Jay asked everyone who was a total rookie raise their hand.  About 3/4 of the people put theirs up.  I knew this would give me an edge.  A little experience, even if was not good experience, goes a long way.  After the drivers meeting we walked to the pits.  I was nearly silent.  I got into my fire suit and into the car.  We did a radio check, warmed up the engine and I headed for the track entrance.

One by one all 103 of the cars made it on the track.  The field was under yellow and we just clicked away laps while the officials made sure the transponders worked.  I was amazed how long it was,  well over two miles.  Blind rises, steep hills, tons of s turns, and a crazy downhill sweeper.  The best part was the front straight-a-way that lead into some mellow s turns.  This was gonna be fun.  Finally the green flag came out and it was go time.  It wasn't long before it was pure mayhem.  There were some fast dudes, and some slow ones.  The crazy and the safe.  I was still trying to get comfortable with the car and let people by.  Eventually I got confident and started passing guys here and there.  I would study the car in front of me.  Figure out the best way around them and the make a move.  I wasn't racing the whole track, Just the one car ahead of me, then the next one, then the next.  I wasn't even fast but just under 3 hours later I pulled into the pits and we were in 17th position.  I couldn't have been happier.

Fish got in next and mike and I got him plugged/strapped  in and the car fueled up.  He got out there and tore it up and then Loomis took over after him.  These two  moved thru the pack.  They dominated the front stretch every lap.  Those two are just friggin fast.  The stayed smart on the track and we ended the day just before the sun went down in seventh place.

We jacked up the car, rotated the front tires to the rear.  With the car on jack stands we took a look at the underside.  The c/vs were working fine but the boots were torn.  There was some play in the rear and we could tell something was jacked up with the rear diff because there was some play and there was gear fluid all over.  We made some calls for second opinions and we unanimously decided, "it is what it is".  We topped off the gear oil and dropped the car down.  We were tired and we had done all we could do to to fix it.  The neighbors showed up with some awesome BBQ chicken and potato salad and we gorged ourselves.  Finally the day was over.  we had full bellies and a car that was in good shape (by Lemons standards) so we headed to town.  We spent a half hour waiting for the 100 yr old lady working the one open checkout lane at Wallmart to ring up some supplies for tomorrow.  Stopped by Jack in the box to return the borrowed good luck charm and went to bed.

Roger and me (and everyone else)...

Sunday was the final race day and was only five hours long.  This is also when our "guest driver" arrived.  We were all nervous and really did not know what to expect here. Its not every day you get to drive a race car with Baja 1000 Overall Champion and casino owner Roger Norman.  It also happened to be his birthday.  The black escalade pulled up with "Blak Jak" on the plates and he just walked up to the car.  We introduced ourselves and  proudly showed Roger the car and you could tell he was excited.  It doesn't take a fancy TT to get him interested in a race as it turns out.  His friendly demeanor quickly put us at ease.  Today he wasn't a Baja Legend, he was just another guy who was gonna run a beater around a race track with a bunch of other beaters.  We discussed the plan of attack for the day and met Rogers wife Elise. The we headed to a quick drivers meeting and when it was done Roger suited up and got in the car.

We sent him out on the track and let him have at it and there was no doubt about it.  The man can haul the mail!  I didn't take him long to have the hang of the car and the course.  He was running real good for quite a while and then during a partial track caution, I guess he may have sorta, kinda, passed a couple cars with the yellow flag flying.  They waved the black flag at him and he called on the radio and let us know he was headed into the penalty box.  Before he got there I was standing in front of the judges with a bottle of scotch that is really hard to find and the preferred whiskey of the judges.  We argued that it was his first time in the car and that the flagging system was a bit flawed.  They could care less what we thought but the booze bribe did its job.  The fact the we had raced close to ten hours and this was our first offense really helped us out also.  They said He was out of the car for now and with just a driver switch we could keep racing.  NO penalty!

Since  the flag caught us off guard we really weren't ready for a driver switch.  But in no time Loomis got in and hit the bricks running.  We needed to keep the car on the track as much as possible.  A pit stop will put ya about two laps down and we were going for the win.  GO GO GO !!!

Mike was running real well and then there was a call on the radio.  "The Mustang in front of me is throwing oil all over the track every time he turns right and I cant get around him!"  I told him we would inform the officials and said to Mike "do what ya can."  The officials threw a black flag at the mustang but not soon enough.  Every time mike tried to get around him he would let him up and then shut the door.  There was oil splattering the track and our car.  This was dangerous.  Then when the guy finally noticed the flag he slammed on the brakes and Mike tapped him pretty good.  It kinda looks like a pit maneuver  on video but our brakes were not doing as well as the day before so the tap had a little extra unintended power in it.  This got us our second black flag of the day and another unplanned driver change.  Since before the tap happened we had told the judges about the oil on the track issue the let us off with no penalty again!  The other cool thing was the track went under red flag.  We had time to fuel, do the driver change and take a look at the brake fluid level and see if we could figure out where a ticking noise was coming from in the engine.  We did but since there was no time to fix it without sacrificing our top 5 (we think) position.  We topped of the brake fluid, checked the oil, and sent fish on his way to get back in the mix.  They were almost done cleaning the track at this point.  Well fish got about 50 feet from the pit and then the car died right on the paddock.  We pushed it back to the pit and popped the hood.  From the drivers seat fish noticed a frayed wire on the on off switch.  In seconds we had it rigged back together and fish was out on the track.  Relieved we went to go watch the race.  Fish said the ticking was getting louder but he pressed on.  They just posted the times and while i was looking at the scores I heard the judges talking about the curse of the 300 zx.

I asked what they meant and pointed out that I had a Z on the track and we were in a good position.  "yep you are.  Your car is also about to blow up."

Yeah, Whatever..

"No, Seriously, your car is about to blow up.  The track marshals have called in several times that it sounds horrible and it is their opinion it will be the next to die."

Great,  I headed for the pit to tell everyone that doom may be comming.

This info was soon confirmed wit a radio call from fish.  The track went under a cation and we told him to come in.  We had enough fuel to finish if the car held up but when Roger pulled away to race for the finish the car sounded like a broken chainsaw.  With about an hour to go the motor decided it was over it and decided to grenade  itself.  The track went under caution and the car came into the pits on the hook.  The judges came over to the pit to tease us as we stood there looking under the hood.   We joked around with them and talked about the race etc.  They are some entertaining mofos.

We were done.  Most likely we threw a rod.

So an hour later the checked flag came out.  The cars that were still running paraded off the track and we applauded everyone as it went by our pit.  We told Roger to bail and we would catch up with him later at his casino in Lake Tahoe.  He offered to stay and help us tear down the pit etc but we insisted he not spend the rest of his birthday carrying tires around and bid him farewell.  Before he left he gave us a detailed list of instructions of how to get to the casino and where to check in.  "Don't go stopping at Jack in the box either.  Tonight we are dining in my steak house."

When the final results posted we ended up placing 26th overall and 9th in our class.

We went to the awards ceremony and watch everyone get their trophy.  The awards here are kinda strange.  The winner gets 1500 dollars in nickles but there are lots of other awards too.  A team who's car had a spoiler made out of a two by six and that chalkboard paint  with writing all over it for a paint job got a prize for ignoring a black flag for more laps than anyone in Lemons history.  Another was awarded for having the courage to even enter a Cadillac el dorado.

http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr130/SKADERDIE/trophy1.jpg
http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr130/SKADERDIE/trophy2.jpg

We packed up the trailer. Said our goodbyes to our friends and neighbors and headed for Rogers Place.

About 90 miles later we were there.  The Marquee outside said "Happy Birthday Roger" We parked the trailers Vip style right in back, grabbed our gear and headed for the cashier to get our room keys.  We barely made it inside the casino and were greeted by the Pit boss and A casino host.  Our card keys were handed to us in fancy envelopes with gold stickers.  They guys escorted us to the building next door.  This is a new part of the hotel and has not been opened to the public yet.  On the outside the building looked like a log cabin.  the inside was like a luxury ski lodge.  We had the whole building to ourselves.  When I got to my room I was amazed.  Big comfy bed with a down comforter and super nice sheets.  Marble counter tops and a glass shower you could plat racquetball in.  My room had a patio, fish had a jacuzzi tub ab=nd mikes had a fire place.  each had a huge hi def wall mounted flat screen and satellite tv.  We took showers and regrouped to meet the Normans for cocktails in the main building.

There is a night club and the band "Kaiser Soze" was setting up.  We hit the bar and they set us up with a round of drinks while our hosts showed us around and explained the casinos history.  There were super old pictures on the wall of the place from back in the day and he showed us all the remodeling he had done.  Finally it was time to eat.

We entered the restaurant and got escorted to a private room in the back.  We looked over the menu and talked about Baja and Lemons.  Viral videos and RDC.  Rally cars and chase trucks.  The Norman are super cool.  They have been together for ever and are probably the most gracious and friendly couple I have ever met.  We dined on some delicious appetizers and the best fillet mingon I have ever had.  When dinner was over the chef came out to visit and then out came rogers birthday cake.  It ws awesome.  Some kind of while cake, mixed with ice cream and covered in meringue. They poured some booze on it and lit it on fire while we all sang happy birthday to the UNDERGROUNDS newest member had a champagne toast.

After dinner we went to go check out the band and get our drink on.  Roger was showing us the fancy light system they had recently installed.  We played around in the sound guys little work space tapping on a monitor and making the stage lights flicker, dance and change color.  It was a blast.  Roger gave us a quick tour of the casino and after that we hit the tables.  I had about almost doubled my money when I left the roulette table.  Later I donated the money back (with interest) while i tried to learn the game of craps.  Roger likes to play also but said ut just is not the same for him in his own house.  "when I win, i win my own money.  When I lose, I lose to myself.  It just takes the fun out of it" He does play cards in the poker room though.  this way he can go against players and not the house.  He does this incognito BTW.

The boys and I partied and played late int the night.  I have no clue what time we actually made it to our private building and our luxury suites.  In the morning we dined at "Bistro Elise".  Had a delicious breakfast.  The casino host came by to thank us for our visit and we thanked him back.  We all went to drop a few dollars into the wheel of fortune progressive machine and had no luck.  As we headed to the doors to leave the "eye in the sky" guy told us to have safe trip home over the casino intercom.  Then Roger grabbed Mike at the door and said he was headed back to Baja to get back to prerunning for the 500.  "In the mean time figure out what we gotta do to to win this Lemons thing in august and let me know."  Then we hit the road.

We did a quick stop in Carson City and did a little race recap video with Scottdsms and then got back in the trucks.  Nine hours till San Diego.  The ride home was nothing exciting but we did get the phones out and were already searching for a new engine.  I also wanna mention all weekend long I was getting calls, voice mails, and texts of support from our fellow UNDERGROUND members and friends.  Thank you guys.  I wish you could have been there.

We dropped the car off at mikes shop, and then went to his condo and crashed out.  In the morning I was back on a plane and pointed home.

When I left AZ I was dan200... when I returned I was a race car driver.

The "24 hours of Lemons" RULES!!!!

None of this would have been possible without our sponsors.

Pistol Pete and "BajaRacingAdventures.com"
Roger and Elise Norman and the Crystal Bay Casino.
Jerry at Camburg
Joel @ Bilstein Shocks
Richards Performance Muffler
Bully Dog Performance
Group 5 Motorsports.
Ringers Gloves
Pat Dailey Motorsports
Scotty DSMS

and of course,

RDC

and the UNDERGROUND!


I also wanna thank the Lemons staff for a great weekend.

KITT will return to the track in August.  I can't wait.

Re: The Underground Reno Race Recap (possibly the longest in history)

Is this going to be in hardpack soon ?

Hey I'll keep my eyes open around the wrecking yards in my area for spare parts for you
What year is KITTZ?

Will try to make it down to Burn yourarseButtonwillow  probably not racing just towing cars down .

Pit Crew Revenge Racing   Rolling chicanelimo,95Lamdspeeder,Gimp Pimp Cadi,300zx Car show kaboom!! 90 Wagovan, mazda v8 Lemons LOGO TATTOO!  Aces 84 Cadi Eldo Briattz I O E WINNER
Class C win with LemonOdy Cannonball Run Whambulance !EX K Captain
Lemons Trophy Truck ShaGuar Baby!