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    Porsche 928 To Take On Renault Alliance, 158 Other Heaps: LeMons Arse Freeze-A-Palooza 2009!

    Get ready for the final race of the 2009 season, taking place in two weeks at chilly Thunderhill Raceway! More cars than ever before, and the most staggeringly wrong collection of vehicles ever seen on the same track.


    Ah, the Arse Freeze! Who could forget the incredible end-over-end Datsun B210 flip at the 2007 race? Or the upside-down '66 Plymouth Belvedere at last year's race? This year's race takes place a month earlier than its predecessors, so perhaps we'll get pleasant, sunny weather instead of the customary freezing winds and stinging horizontal rain.

    Not only do we get to see how the most complicated motor vehicle that $245 will buy performs on a race track, the freaks at Evil Genius Racing have converted it into a 928 Shooting Brake! Here's a photo shot at a track day on Thursday, showing the rear body structure; by race day it will be covered with sheet metal.

    The 928SB did pretty well on its first visit to a race track. Well, it did puke all its transmission fluid on the track after 4.3 laps (precisely the number predicted by LeMons Supreme Court Justice Lieberman) and the chopped springs turned out to be a bad idea, but after some tinkering it managed to run a very impressive 2:14 lap time... with a certain Über Spec Miata God behind the wheel. Go here for some in-car video.

    Then we've got the F-ING Renault Fromage1 Racing Team and their Renault Alliance. Words cannot adequately describe how much everyone at LeMons HQ has yearned for a Renault in a LeMons race, and now it's really going to happen! The brilliant theme speaks for itself, and the team captain happens to be Phil Frank, CCO of a company known for slightly pricier vehicles (Mr. Frank wants us to know that his employer is neither funding or condoning the team's efforts, but we suspect that stance will change if the Alliance takes the win). Will this Car Of The Year-winning Franco-Kenosha machine be able to withstand the overpowering EMP shock waves emanating from the Porsche's absurdly complicated electrical system? But wait, there's more!

    You know what endurance road racing has been missing all these years? Jeep Cherokees duking it out with RX-7s and E30s! Some people- bad people- will try to tell you that a Cherokee doesn't belong on a demanding track such as Thunderhill, but Petty Cash Racing disagrees. Will the Cherokee be able to use that AMC inline six power to beat its natural rival, the Mysteries Inc Voyager Turbo minivan?

    How about a Daihatsu Charade endurance racer? Yes, my neighbors with the '69 Morris Traveller have formed Team Dai Hard, and they'll be relying on that legendary Daihatsu racing heritage to carry them to victory.

    We'll also have a Malaise Era Datsun 200SX, an air-cooled Beetle, a Mitsubishi Starion, Ford Capri, a '97 Nissan Maxima, and an alleged '95 Mercedes-Benz S Class. Not enough for you? The spectacle of the Magna V65-powered Honda Z600 taking on the Arse Freeze-winning Geo Metro Gnome (now upgraded with rear-wheel drive and a Honda CBR1000RR engine) ought to be worth the price of admission alone. In order to fit all 160 cars, the race will be using the full course at Thunderhill this time. That's right, you heard me right- the entire course, with all its hills and challenging turns! It'll be utter madness! So, here's the official team list as of a few days ago; last-second changes always happen, so be ready for surprises:


    Unsafe at Any Speed, 1965 Chevrolet Corvair
    Faster Farms II: Non Rotisserie Chickens, 1966 Plymouth Belvedere
    Size Does Matter, 1967 Plymouth Fury III
    Purple Lemon Racing, 1969 Volkswagen Beetle
    Ecurie Ecrappe Autodenta, 1971 Alfa Romeo Spider
    Angry Hamster Racing, 1971 Honda Z600
    Family Truckster, 1972 Ford Pinto Wagon
    The Big EASY, 1973 Porsche 914
    Starsky and the Bandit, 1974 Ford Capri
    Team California Mille #2, 1976 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT
    Autobahn Society Racing, 1976 BMW 2002
    Team Hurling Moss, 1976 BMW 2002
    Frak This Racing/ Lime Tigers, 1976 Datsun 280Z
    Wedginator iii, 1976 Triumph TR7
    Skid Row Racing, 1977 Chevrolet Camaro
    Motoring J Style, 1977 Datsun
    Killer Bees, 1977 MG MGB
    Blood Drive/Arcane Racing, 1978 BMW 530i
    Team California Mille, 1979 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT
    Squadra Volante, 1979 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
    Rooster Juice Racing, 1979 Porsche 924
    Italian Stallions aka "The Fiat", 1980 Fiat X1/9
    Pearl Harbor Racing, 1981 Datsun 200sx
    Unknown Fluids, 1982 BMW 633CSi
    Hit & Run, 1983 BMW 320i
    The Sharks, 1983 BMW 528e
    Group of Foolz, 1983 BMW 533i
    team power, 1983 BMW 633csi
    Rice Rocket Racing (the sequel) or RQubed, 1983 Datsun Nissan 280ZX
    LOOSE NUTS CALIFORNIA, 1983 Mazda RX7
    Leftover Parts Racing, 1983 Mazda RX-7
    Punk Racing, 1983 Mazda RX-7
    Rockin Rollers, 1983 Mazda RX-7
    Team Barbie, 1983 Mazda RX-7
    Junk Yard Kats, 1983 Nissan 280 ZX Turbo
    The Black Flags, 1983 Toyota Celica Supra
    Bunny With A Pancake On Its Head, 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit
    Chim Chim Racing, 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit
    Team InternationOLVO (aka Damn Foreigners), 1983 Volvo 240 Turbo
    Team Cant Am, 1983 Volvo 242T
    TSP - Drivers In Training, 1984 Honda Civic
    Team Ken, 1984 Mazda Rx7
    A+ Trailor Trash, 1984 Mazda RX-7
    Hit & Run II, 1984 Mitsubishi Starion
    Members Only, 1984 Porsche 928
    Fish out of Water, 1984 Porsche 944
    F-ING Renault Fromage1 Racing Team, 1984 Renault Alliance
    ZZ Uber Das Driver: Uncle Uber is Back!, 1984 Volkswagen GTI
    Mustard Yellow Volvo Doing 45 in the Fast Lane, 1984 Volvo 244
    Bernal Dads Racing, 1984 Volvo 245
    Bavarian Beer Wagon, 1985 BMW 325e
    Wienerschmoker II: Electric Boogaloo, 1985 BMW 325e
    Huey Newis and the Lose, 1985 Ford Mustang
    Carpet Pissers, 1985 Honda CRX
    Mazdarachis, 1985 Mazda RX7
    Stars & Stripes Racing, 1985 Mazda RX-7
    Sin City SCAR Wars, 1985 Pontiac Fiero
    Snowspeeder Pilots Association, 1985 Toyota MR2
    B-Team, 1986 BMW 325e
    Formula BMW, 1986 BMW 325E
    Barbarian Motorworks, 1986 BMW 325es
    Faulknor Auto Racing Team (FART), 1986 BMW 535i
    Festiva Royale, 1986 Ford Kia Festiva Pride
    XDOG's, 1986 Honda CRX
    LITTLE WOODY, 1986 Honda CRX Si
    1320 Turners, 1986 Nissan 300ZX
    Clunkers Refuge Racing, 1986 Nissan 300ZX
    Project FATE, 1986 Nissan 300zx
    Planet Hell Racing, 1986 Porsche 944
    The Faustest Team, 1986 BMW 325
    Red Rocket Racing, 1986 Toyota Celica GT
    Knights of the round track, 1986 Toyota MR2
    Nerd Herd, 1986 Toyota MR2
    The Flakes, 1986 Volvo 244
    Driving For Donations!, 1987 Acura Legend Coupe
    Absolute Lemon Motorsports, 1987 BMW 325
    E=MC HAMMERED, 1987 BMW 325e
    Flamin' Rods, 1987 BMW 325is
    Caffeine Unlimited, 1987 BMW E30
    Tercelators' Totally Bitchen Camaro, 1987 Chevrolet Camaro
    ONSET/TWTM2, 1987 Chevrolet Cavalier Wagon
    Rockerz in Dockerz, 1987 Ford Mustang
    Uber Vogel: Hans-Am, 1987 Mercedes 190E
    Old Fast Auto Race Team and Sons, 1987 Porsche 924S
    Mark's Wife Won't Let Him Drive, 1987 Porsche 944
    The Cannonball Bandits, 1987 Toyota Corolla FX-16
    Lil Smokey and the Bandit Racing, 1987 Toyota MR2
    LowerGearEpisode2, 1988 BMW 325
    A Lemon Entry, 1988 Ford Escort
    Magnum P.O.S., 1988 Honda CRX
    Cajun Coonasses dba Speed Racer, 1988 Honda Prelude
    Hatfieldís and McCoy's, 1988 Nissan 300zx
    The Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys, 1988 Peugeot 505 Turbo S
    Dudes of Hazard, 1988 Toyota Celica
    Free Range Racing, 1988 Toyota MR2
    Yushin Maru Racing, 1988 Toyota Supra
    Rubber Chicken Piccata Racing, 1988 Volvo GLE740
    I Wanna Roc, 1989 Chevrolet Camaro
    Team Dai Hard, 1989 Daihatsu Charade CLS
    Clueless Party Vikings Vintage Racers, 1989 Ford Mustang
    THUNDER RACERS, 1989 Ford Mustang
    An Inconvenient Car, 1989 Ford Taurus SHO
    Deepest Valley Racing, 1989 GMC Caprice
    HomeTown Buffet / WOO WOOO!, 1989 Isuzu I-Mark RS
    Team Petty Cash, 1989 Jeep Cherokee
    Mysteries Inc. Racing, 1989 Plymouth Voyager Turbo
    Team Red Beer, 1989 Toyota Camry
    4 R's (aka 501k), 1989 Volkswagen Jetta
    Runs like a Raped Ape, 1990 Acura Integra
    Automatica, 1990 BMW 325i
    Pandamonium Racing, 1990 BMW 325i
    Team Pyrite, 1990 Eagle Talon
    Guud Humor Racing, 1990 Ford Ranger Extended Cab
    Las Vegas Magic, 1990 Honda CRX
    LEMON DEMOLITION, 1990 honda CRX
    Fast Times @ Placer High, 1990 Mazda Miata
    San Jose Scalawags, 1990 Mazda Mx 5
    Heisenberg Racing, 1991 BMW 318
    POS Delivery, 1991 BMW 325i
    Redneck Racing Team(RRT), 1991 Cadillac Eldorado
    Blanco Basura Racing, 1991 Honda Prelude
    NYPD ITB, 1991 Mazda 323
    Zoom-Zoom... BOOM, 1991 Mazda 323
    FartRari Racing, 1991 Mazda Miata
    The channel 4 news team, 1991 Nissan 240sx
    1UP Mother Cluckers - Well Connected Nissan Freaks, 1991 Nissan Sentra
    Lipstick on a Pig, 1991 Nissan Sentra
    Kamikaze Ninjas with Lasers, 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R
    Gift With Purchase, 1992 BMW 325is
    Carpocalypse NOW!, 1992 Eagle Talon TSI AWD
    Geo Metro-Gnome 2.0, 1992 Geo Metro
    Death Race 2000: Frankenstein's REVENGE!, 1992 Mazda MX-6
    Chicken Licken -Reburned, 1992 Nissan Stanza
    REDNECK RACERS, 1993 Acura Integra
    Beaver Domination, 1993 Honda Civic
    Socialist Dogsledders, 1993 Honda Civic Type
    Eyesore Racing, 1993 Mazda Miata
    Badagascar, 1994 Acura Integra
    Dust n Debris, 1994 Dodge Shadow
    Bachelor Boys & The Lost One, 1994 Honda Civic
    Magnum pig, 1994 Toyota Celica
    Audi in Wonderland, 1995 Audi 90
    Team King Crab, 1995 BMW 325i
    PIT CREW REVENGE, 1995 Honda Civic
    Diplomatic Immunity, 1995 Mercedes S Class
    Los Cerdos Voladores, 1995 Plymouth Neon
    $14 The Hard Way, 1995 Volkswagen Golf GL
    Gimp Pimp, 1996 Cadillac STS
    reversed darwinism II: brute force and ignorance, 1997 Ford Crown Victoria
    U.S. BureauCRAP, 1997 Nissan Maxima
    Frozen Assets, 1997 Plymouth Neon
    sierra auto recycling, 2000 Ford Crown Victoria
    Save The Whale, 2000 Ford Crown Victoria
    Filthy Faux Ford GT40, 2001 Ford Escort ZX2
    Team Lightning McQueen, 2004 Pontiac Sunfire
    DC&H Taxi Co
    Team Apathy: Blown Seal Racing
    Snobs on the Dole
    Team Red Bear


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