Remember the Black Metal V8olvo? Featuring an all-star cast of Spec Miata racers (a vast improvement over the not-so-great drivers- e.g., me- they had in the past) and great penalty-avoidance skills, they're leading the race!

Of course, Justice Lieberman and myself, being so closely associated with the team, are required to recuse ourselves from judgment if and when the Mustard Yellow Volvo Doing 45 In The Fast Lane shows up in the Penalty Box... and that means they'll be at the not-very-tender mercies of Chief Perpetrator Lamm. So, they're almost certainly hosed if they get the most insignificant of black flags. Meanwhile, breathing down the neck of the Ford 302-powered Volvo 244 is the Blanco Basura Honda Prelude (which finished second at the Goin' For Broken LeMons) and the Krider Racing Big Sausage Acura Integra. Krider, as you may recall, won the Altamont '08 race. Sadly, the Italian Stallions Fiat X1/9 has fallen to 22nd place, and both the Sprite and Mini are suffering from severe penalty and/or broken-parts issues.

Send an email to Murilee Martin, the author of this post, at murilee@jalopnik.com.