Jalopnik: south carolina lemons

The Beauty Of Night Wrenching

Mark Arnold — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Reflecting on the recent South Carolina round of the 24 Hours of LeMons, one of the best parts of the whole weekend was walking around the pits during the night break, when all the teams were wrenching away on their cars. It was a strangely beautiful mix of frantic frenzy and drunken stupor. The big American ex-cop cars were all replacing their brakes, the small high-strung foreign machines were all worried about their head gaskets, but everyone was still managing to thoroughly enjoy the agony. Per dollar, there just isn't any better way to soak in all the emotional and mechanical ups and downs of motor racing than participating in a LeMons race.

And The Winner Is...

Mark Arnold — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:15:00 EDT

As the checkered flag dropped at the 2008 24 Hours of LeMons race here in South Carolina, the #2 Mazda RX-7 finished in first place overall. The fastest lap of 1:10.268 around the 0.96-mile road course from the Team She Got It All entry proved to be not quite as fast as some of the Miatas and BMWs, but apparently the boys figured out a way to make the Wankel reliable. Congratulations to the team on a fine drive!

Destruction Action Of The Cursed BMW

Mark Arnold — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:45:00 EDT

Here it is, the moment of carnage for Team Salazar Racing's E30 BMW 3-Series. With an overwhelming display of hatred from the other LeMons racers, the people elected the blue and white Bimmer as "The People's Curse." Cheaters beware, this is the fate that awaits you!

Chemical Ali Mustang Spins, Takes Out Innocent 6er

Mark Arnold — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:00:00 EDT

If this on-board footage from Team Schumacher Taxi Service's Toyota is any indication, the "Chemical Ali" punishment of a certain black-flagged Mustang was certainly effective. Apparently the dizzying aroma causes you to lose control and spin into unsuspecting racers. In this case, the victim was one of my personal favorites on the track, a brown 'n dirty BMW 6-Series.

The Race Is On!

Mark Arnold — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:30:00 EDT

After the teams filed onto the track behind the Dodge Challenger SRT8 pace car (driven by our very own judges) the green flag waved and the race began! Early favorites are the E30 BMWs, as the Honorable Judge Murilee claims he was ~~well bribed~~ letting them all off too easy. Keep checking for more updates as the race progresses.

Paddle-Shifter Gearbox, LeMons Style

Mark Arnold — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EDT

As the inspection and judging continues for the 24 Hours of LeMons South, there's been plenty of unique modifications showing up. One of our favorites so far has been this ~~custom-fabricated paddle-shifter gearbox~~ badminton paddle taped to the column shift handle on the entry from Team Punisher.

As any cop car should, the team also has the Chevy Caprice 9C1 rigged up with a big ol' flashing light. Although this is certainly not standard-issue, and looks more like it's off the top of a cellphone tower, or maybe a small coastal lighthouse. But that's to be expected when your mission statement, "to enslave and torture," follows Barricade's "to punish and enslave."