The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Odds of making the race?
I'm thinking about putting a team together for the Chicago race this year. I have never been to a Lemons race. What are the odds of making the race (how many cars apply, and how many are accepted?) It would suck to build a race car, only to find out 10 weeks before the race that we didn't get in the show. I'm guessing that most people don't wait until they are accepted to start building, since 10 weeks probably isn't enough time to get it done, right?
I plan on doing everything immediately but the big ticket items (cage, wheels, tires) which are mainly safety items anyway.
Then I have 10 weeks to spend on the items once I am accepted.
If the car will be otherwise useless if you don't get in, your chances of being accepted are excellent. For example, a track prepped Studebaker, Skoda, Tatra, GAZ, Hillman, or Trabant is essentially worthless outside of Lemons but almost guaranteed to get into a Lemons race.
An E30 BMW (guilty), Civic, CRX, Integra, RX-7, 944, or other car you typically see at a track day will make it a lot tougher at the better attended events.
EDIT: Find a GAZ-M20 and I'll be on your team. Drag it to NJ and I'll cage it.
EDIT: Find a GAZ-M20, drag it to NJ, and I'll be on your team. Drag it to NJ and I'll cage it.
I dont know if NJ is ready to be overwhelmed with the awsomeness of a GAZ and a Wartburg at the same time.
Since I'm hoping to get in the same race I should say that it is a billion to one and no way you should try(one less person to compete with) but since it is the first race in Illinois and that 2 weeks earlier there is a race in michigan it shouldn't be to bad.
I dont know if NJ is ready to be overwhelmed with the awsomeness of a GAZ and a Wartburg at the same time.
Throw in a Hongqi CA770 for the communist trifecta and we would have the perfect team from the People's Republik of New Jersey.
If our Saab turbo lives through the Southern Discomfort, I'll sell it to you for $500 and you'll be ready. It comes with "make believe Tein springs/shocks and a CAI". I hope I can find the paperwork...
I'm still itchin' to build the camaro sittin in the pasture or find another RWD car for the next race.
Chicago is a new event. So turn out and capacity are both up in the air.
A new track in a new area is more likely to have lower turnout so your chances of getting in are better there than in California.
Plenty of guys have asked for Midwest races. So there is some demand.
The Autobahn Country Club looks pretty fancy. Might also increase demand.
Did you see their membership dues? They make other tracks in our area look cheap! Might be worth the price of admission just to check the place out.
As the Lemons Addiction grows, more teams are willing to travel farther to do events too. So many events are seeing pretty strong turn out.
I suggest you spend as much time building your car as possible. Once you think it's done, you're going to find plenty of short comings and areas of improvement.
For our first race, we did not start working on the car until 2 weeks after getting accepted. There were only three of us working on the car. Really, how long does it take to strip a car, build a cage, cut the springs and make various repairs, add a race seat and fire extinguisher?
At our first CMP event there was a team putting the cage in the car the night before.
Apply, get accepted, and then you'll figure it out. We were still putting the car together the night before the last Lemons race, and then the radiator cracked on the way back to the paddock after tech inspection, so we wrenched on it some more. Was it "ready"? Not really, it blew up seven hours in, but we had fun, semi-rebuilt the motor in the paddock, and it made it home. With the next one coming up in three weeks and the car in pieces scattered around Raleigh at different team member's houses; we will probably be wrenching on it right up until it's time to run it again.
Our build for Autobahn is already underway. We're insuring we get in by building a Frankencar. Fields are sparse for 1st events in a new locale, but with the interest in this track, I wouldn't be surprised to see it fill up early.
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