Coaching / lessons learned on forming a Lemons team... (Page 1 of 2)

none of us learned our lesson, that's why we keep coming back

Also, set low expectations. You still won't achieve them, but at least you won't achieve them by as much.

+1

Especially when the car blows up in the first hours and only 1 or 2 guys get to drive.

Make your expectations clear from the outset about everything. If folks aren't cool with your plans, better to know it up front and plan accordingly than have something fall apart at a critical time later.

THIS.

I would like to expand upon it more though. Make sure your teammates are independently motivated to see this whole thing through. It really sucks to have 8 guys standing around waiting for orders when it's pretty obvious you have a thrown rod and the spares are right there on the trailer. As a leader, micromanaging will drive you insane (well, more insane than what participating makes you). repairs go a heck of a lot faster when everyone's working to some end. if you run out of space under the hood or under the car, you want anyone left to be handing tools, doing parts runs, fuel, scouring the paddock for that extra tool you left at home, etc etc.

I think have 2 leaders (captain and a crew chief) work excellent. Captains can always make the final call (pits, driver order, drive 3hours through hell and creation for a replacement motor, etc) and crew chief manages the pit stuff(making sure next driver's suited up, the paddock's clear, fueling guys have the cans ready, etc.

You can either have a relatively relaxed time pounding your head on the car and your crew backing you up, or you can have a crushing migraine butting your head against personnel and practically no issues with the car.

Make sure your team (drivers) know that they are NOT going to only spend $500 split 4 ways.  Prepare them for $1.5-2k EACH for their first Lemons race on a newly-built car.

Great stuff - very helpful. Keep it coming!

Thanks

As already stated, you're going to run across A LOT of flakes, especially if you try to do an "Arrive & Drive" to fill out the team. 99% of people who say they want to do Lemons will vanish the moment they're expected to lay some money down. If you're lucky you'll find a rose or two growing out of a big pile of crap, we did.

If someone has a bad attitude, loose them. Even if they have money, the headaches they'll cause both on and off the track are simply not worth it. It can be anything from acting like they're gods gift to racing to being totally incompetent. Someone like this can not only bring your weekend to a quick end by wrecking the car but can ruin the weekend for the rest of the team by spreading their crap around.

Make sure they understand Lemons is an endurance race, not a sprint. The key to victory is reliability, not balls to wall speed. Take it easy and don't drive beyond your ability.

As for the car itself, I'd highly recommend paying for it and the assorted safety gear (ex: rollcage, tires, brakes) yourself if you can afford it. Then just simply charging each driver a flat fee to "rent" seat time for the weekend. I know having 3-5 other people chipping in makes paying for things much easier, but if things go south then you run into all kinds of issues over who owns what and how much. Trust me, it happened with us and it can get real ugly. Think of it like a band that decides to break up, they're arguing over who keeps the mixing board, the mains, the subs, the monitors ect ect.

What we started doing this year is charging drivers a $600 flat fee plus $200 as a refundable damage deposit. You'll find people much more cautious with your car when they have actual money to lose.

Sometime, between buying a $500 car and getting it to the track, something unexpected and tragically fatal to the operation of the race car will occur.  Be prepared for sadness, disappointment, anger, frustration, and the occasional curse word to be said.  Just agree to disagree, work through it, fix the issue, and laugh when the fricking car breaks down repeatedly at the track.  The first race is not about winning, it is not about making a bunch of laps, it is about being insulted by the black-robed judicial court, sitting in the penalty box duct-taped to someone that just took you out (or you just took out), and having a good time with newly-found friends.  If you expect anything else, you are going to miss what Lemons is all about.

List of team members you will need:

1.  F1 mechanic with a lift in his garage
2.  Mechanical engineer
3.  Bodyshop owner
4.  Drill sergeant or anyone who knows how to delegate
5.  Salvage Yard Owner
6.  Unemployed guy without any skills who REALLY knows good beer.

Start at the bottom and work your way up. 

Don't ask your boss to join because when he turns out to be a flake it will get awkward

Your team should include someone who knows the factory-correct way to prep and fix the car.  Your team MUST also include someone who can fix anything on the car, at any time, using whatever happens to be laying around.  Lacking the second person kinda burned my team at Buttonwillow...