When we showed up at the race track for the Yeehaw It's Texas 24 Hours Of LeMons last weekend, the LeMons Supreme Court spotted an Orion II with TARC markings in the paddock. We knew right away: Pace Bus!
An endurance race doesn't really need a pace car, but we've found it helps to keep the hoons under control as they circulate for transponder testing prior to the green flag a-droppin'. This ex-Louisville transit bus (complete with CHURCHILL DOWNS in the destination sign) hauled the members of the Tetanus Neon to the track, and the team was kind enough to let us borrow it for Pace Bus duty.
Naturally, everyone wanted to ride in it, and that made for some interesting handling on the tighter turns. The driver- wearing a helmet, as required by track regs- took to calling out "LEAN RIGHT!" or "LEAN LEFT" as he approached turns at much higher speeds than TARC drivers ever contemplated (we hope), and the passengers would all dash to the appropriate side of the bus and hang on for dear life.
Thanks to MSR corner-worker Wayne Hill for the top photo!
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