While there was no shortage of underdog cars to root for at the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Altamont, cold reality made it clear that none of the Detroit battleships, Tercel wagons, or even the Jag XJ had any chance in hell of beating the BMWs and CRXs. But there was one underdog that was consistently among the race leaders during the first day and much of the second. An underdog painted in the colors of the Italian flag and making some beautiful engine sounds as it clung tenaciously to a spot in the top ten. The California Mille '78 Alfetta was fast, handled well, and had some mighty skilled drivers, but a blown head gasket knocked it down to 35th place by the time the dust had settled.
We'll be looking for this car next year... looking to blow it into the weeds with the Team Jalopnik bacon-grease-powered Econoline diesel, that is!