The numbers of Volvos and Saabs seem to be on the decline at LeMons races, though we're still hoping somebody will show up with a 262C Bertone coupe.
We see Saabs Gone Wild at just about every single LeMons race; apparently SGW is a global conspiracy of some sort. Even though Saabs nearly always break down at LeMons races, the teams show true Scandinavian stoicism- if that's the word- and keep coming back for more! This car managed 131 laps, good for an 84th-place finish… but check out that 1:38.682 best lap. Turbo, baby!
We're disappointed that the Bernal Dads still haven't done anything with the B23 we pulled from the Black Metal V8olvo and sold to them, but their '84 245 wagon still looked good in its 4th LeMons race. Looks like a few penalties- including the dreaded Max Mosley- slowed them down a bit, but they still came in a respectable 56th.
This really is a Volvo 244! The Flakes, obviously a bunch of bodywork wizards, have created a 1957 Chevolvo using junk parts around the shop. They didn't put much work into adding performance to their slushbox-equipped Swede- which is apparent from their placid 1:47.750 best lap time- but they stayed out of trouble and stayed on the track, and they get a staggeringly good 15th-place finish to show for it!
After teammate Court Summerfield passed away after having a heart attack behind the wheel at the SF '08 race, the Alameda-based Cant Am guys were initially too heartbroken to contemplate returning to LeMons in another Gulf-paint-scheme Volvo 242. Then they realized that Court probably wouldn't have wanted to give up on the turbocharged Volvo dream, and they built a recreation of the old car, this time with a turbo motor out of a 740. It was quick, with a best time of 1:38.566, but seemed to have some fuel-delivery problems on the track.
This car finished 10th at the SF '08 race, and the Box Wrench 900 Turbo came in 5th. There you have it- proof that Saabs don't always break at LeMons races! Unfortunately, that fine Swedish machinery wasn't working up to its full potential this time around, and Team 60 came in 89th.
You're all familiar with the car I helped build by now, so I won't go into tedious detail about its innards. The Black Metal V8olvo came in 29th this time, the lack of a top-5 spot almost entirely due to a nearly-hour-long penalty I earned when I took the exit to the forbidden, closed-off part of Thunderhill instead of the pit road exit. I'll write up the details of that little bonehead move later on, when I finally get around to my long-postponed "What's It Like To Race In LeMons?" piece; for now, you other Swedish-car racers can envy our Detroit-assisted 1:38.299 best lap time.