Everything was going just fine for Der Wienerschmoker II, Electric Boogaloo (which somehow managed to get an M3 engine past the LeMons Supreme Court), but it turns out that more power doesn't necessarily result in a better race car. We're not quite sure what happened out there, but the result was one very bent-up E30. Note all the Bart Simpson Penalty writing under that Thunderhill dirt on the bodywork; perhaps we should have been harsher on the Wienerschmokers in the Penalty Box!

Wayne, aka Stratocastrator, was at the wheel and walked away from the wreck without a scratch. Being a veteran of decades of balls-to-the-wall dirt-track racing, he didn't consider this to be much of an impact.

Wayne's tough, but it turns out that the Volvo 240 is even tougher! You know all those ads Volvo used to run, touting the rollover protection of the 240? They weren't bullshitting- the roof wasn't even mashed down to the roll cage! According to team captain Hellhammer, all the car needs to run again is a new left front wheel.

But you don't care about all that stuff- you want to witness the carnage! OK, we're happy to oblige:

Thanks to Larisa Wolf for the photograph at top!

The video below, provided by the V8olvo team, tells the whole story. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the Volvo will be ready to race later this morning. It seems unlikely that the TR7 can be fixed, but you never know what miracles of duct-tape repair might happen at a 24 Hours Of LeMons race!

We've got some still photos of the action as well, thanks to Jesse of the Killer Bee MGB team.

Well, he wasn't hurt in the wreck, that is; his teammates (including 5-time DOTS honoree WhatWouldJesseDo) might end up inflicting some bodily harm due to unhappiness over the self-inflicted PIT Maneuver that takes place in the video below. Here you will see the view from the Team Stimulus Package Honda Civic as the incident unfolds.

This video is a perennial favorite at 24 Hours of LeMons HQ; those dudes are connoisseurs of crash videos, and it's quite rare to find one in the "slide on the roof for a great distance" genre in which the camera doesn't crap out right after impact. Bonus points for the engine that keeps running after the car slides to a halt.

That was pretty good, but it's more poignant to listen to the anguished howling of a driver who realizes that his Very Expensive Viper is seconds away from an instant 95% depreciation. Hmmm... those interlocking tire walls at Nelson Ledges don't seem to cushion impacts quite as much as advertised.

The incident took place Sunday morning in Parklea, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, and the good news is that nobody in the house was injured when the "late model Commodore sedan" got out of control, hit a light pole, jumped a dirt mound, and flew about 90 meters through the air to land on the roof of a nearby house. The driver and passenger of the Commodore ended up in the hospital, where they're reportedely in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. We're sure they're answering a lot of very pointed questions posed by members of Sydney's law enforcement community right about now. Thanks to Alf, In Pog Form for the tip!
[Herald Sun, full gallery]

Based on the paint scheme, our first impression was "A C6R ate the wall, Oh No!" then we got to sleuthing. This particular racing automobile is wearing the ZR1's giant ceramic brakes up front, sporting the hood window to show off the ZR1's intercooler, and was racing at Watkins Glen — all things the C6R GT2 cars for this year do not have or do. So we were stumped and resorted to asking for details. Asking a tipster for details on a race car is like asking for directions while your wife and her mother and her father are in the car. In any case, we found out the following:

The Car is owned by Greg Soebelski, and it's a Private car that
essentially mimics the Phoenix Racing C6R cars. The car itself has
been modded (bolt ons, and IIRC increased boost) and is supported by
Entropy Racing (http://www.entropyracing.net/)

He purchased this car in early spring, and has been taking it to track
days with PDA (www.pdadrivingschool.com) and received his comp
license this season with NASA (www.nasanortheast.com). This race (Thunder at the
Glen) was his first 'competitive' race with this car.

The accident occurred between turns 8 and 9 ('Heel of the boot") on
Watkins Glen Long course.

As of last knowledge, he's already looking for another ZR1 to replace
this one. Greg comes to the track with his 'East Coast Racing Team',
which is comprised of an E92 M3 (fully modded engine and suspension) a
Widebody 350z 'vert (Supercharged) and a CLK 63 Black Series...

To which our immediate response was:

This is very important. Do you know if Greg looking to get rid of that motor (or the one supplanted by the race built one in the wrecked car)? Because we know of at least one place it would end up in a very good home if the price is right.

(Thanks for the tip, pictures, and details Cody)

You can hear Tony Stewart over the radio saying "Wish I saw that coming. Don't know how to say sorry enough to Joey. I didn't anticipate it coming, and I drilled right through him." Nothing says you're sorry like a Whopper, right? [FOX via NECN.com]

Yes, everything was going just fine for this veteran LeMons team… until those pesky wheel studs decided they'd had enough. Fortunately, the driver walked away from the wreck, and the team was kind enough to donate their car as a substitute for the last-second-pardoned People's Curse winner. This is why LeMons racing requires those "overkill" roll cages and Snell SA2000 helmets.


And here's what it looked like from outside the car:

Yeah, there's nothing like hearing a dude with his blood type embroidered on his racing suit telling the LeMons Supreme Court why he deserves a medal for spinning out and totally averting a deadly 50-car pile-up! Granted, the Spec Miata guys aren't as difficult as the Spec E30 guys, but it's still satisfying to see that they're hooning it up just as badly at SCCA events as they are with us. Thanks to TheEastBayKid for the tip!

When Ted Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962, it seemed the biggest tragedy in his life was being the Kennedy without prominent cheekbones. Before too many years had passed, however, his brothers John and Robert would be assassinated and he himself would barely survive an airplane accident. These experiences doubtless shattered him and left him with many personal demons, but they were at least matched by the ones he was about to bring upon himself and Mary Jo Kopechne.

On July 18, 1969, Kennedy gave Kopechne, a teacher, secretary and former political campaign specialist, a ride from a party of people who had worked on his brother Robert's presidential campaign. Although it's unclear why, Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile 88 down an unlit dirt road and off a bridge into a nearby tidal channel. Kennedy was able to swim free of the car; Kopechne was not. It was several hours before the overturned car was spotted by local fishermen, who alerted the police, while Kennedy himself only reported his involvement in the accident after Kopechne's body was discovered.

The actual circumstances of the accident and its aftermath are a confusing tangle that will be debated for years and has already been reduced to bumper-sticker commentary, but it undeniably put a stop to Senator Kennedy's Presidential political ambition. To his credit, Kennedy continued to work tirelessly for the causes he believed in, and was considered by many to be one of the most effective members of the Senate at the time of his death. Sadly, for many, his legacy will always be his role in the tragic death of Mary Jo Kopechne and the National Lampoon Volkswagen ad parody he inspired.

[via Wrecked Exotics]

After recent Camaro accidents, we wondered what the new crash test ratings would look like. Now we have an answer. The Camaro scored a five-star rating in both side impact and rollover tests but only a four in frontal passenger and driver crash tests.

Of course, it's not like anyone will drive a Camaro recklessly. (Hat tip to Frank!)

[Safercar.gov via Camaro5]

A quick recap on what's happened so far: Felipe Massa was four seconds behind Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn in his Ferrari when a spring came off his fellow Brazilian’s suspension and hit Massa in the head above his left eye. He lost consciousness, slammed into a tire wall and was immediately airlifted to hospital where he was operated on.

After being in sedation for two days, he is now awake with family, moving his extremities and is described by doctors as being in stable condition. The fine people of ÁEK—the Állami Egészségügyi Központ (“State Medical Center”), Hungary’s top medical institution—have taken great care of the young Brazilian.

As for his long-term prospects, one of his surgeons, Róbert Veres was quoted by the BBC as follows:

He has suffered some damage to the eye. We don’t know if he’ll be able to race again. It’s too early to say about his future.

Ferrari’s president Luca di Montezemolo is currently at his bedside. We’ll let you know more as details crop up but it appears that we can rest assured that he has survived the most critical phase of his accident.

Photo Credit: TAMAS KOVACS/AFP/Getty Images, STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

Note: videos from Formula One have a way of disappearing rapidly from the internet due to vigorous legal action. Massa's accident is already gone from YouTube. We've embedded this copy from Indavideó, a Hungarian video sharing site, which may also have to remove it at some future point, so watch it while you can.

The accident happened during an event for wealthy organized criminals bad drivers supercar enthusiasts in Moscow on what appears to be a closed road. Wait, are we suggesting that political favors can are exchanged for rubbles dollars in Russia? No, not us Mr. Putin. Sir.

Launched in 1991 to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Ettore Bugatti's birth, the EB110 is a mid-engined supercar powered by a quad-turbo, triple-differential 3.5-liter V12 with 542 HP and AWD. Back then, in the age of lightweight cars (the EB110 weighed 3,560 Lbs), that was enough for a 0-62 time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 213 MPH. Somehow, we don't think this one will ever see those kinds of speeds ever again. [via Fishki.net]

Thanks for the tip, Alex!

The 21 year old operator of the moving train was unfortunately killed in the accident while a second employee was transported to the hospital and six other guests were evaluated on scene. None of the seven others had injuries and were immediately released.

Disney officials have identified the train's operator as Austin Wuennenberg, a senior at Stetson University and a valued employee of the amusement park.

Disney's vice president for public affairs, Mike Griffin released this statement;

"It's a terrible day for us, our hearts go out to to Austin and his family."

It's a sad day when any young person loses their life, especially when it happens at the "happiest place on Earth."

[via CNN]