Lemons advice

I have a chance to get on a highly ranked Lemons team for next year.

Any advice?

Any unexpected costs I should budget for?

Get a Geo Metro.

Make sure it's reliable.

Get 22 mpg on the track.

Profit.

These guys won Class C with a stock Metro just laying down lap after slow lap at LeMons Chicago (Autobahn) last year. 22 is their claimed mpg number.

Honestly though, Class A and Class C are highly contested. IOE is difficult to predict, though it's the prize that will earn you the most respect from the other racers. Heroic Fix is not a trophy you can really plan for, or would want to if you could--ask me how I know.

If you want the easiest shot at a trophy, don't get a CRX, E30, Miata or Neon. Don't get something truly slow and awful like a Tempo. Aim for a B class win.

That's my advice. Good luck.

Here. Want IOE? Find a Simca. Put any drivetrain in it that will last more than 50 laps. Profit.

But really, what's your aim? Overall winner on laps?

My best advice is to start with a car you're already intimately familiar with. That way, when something breaks, you can fix it more quickly.

FYI, that Metro ain't stock. I may have had my hands on it (or parts of it).

In reply to carguy123:

Make sure you have all your safety gear in order. Last minute track side helmet purchase can blow your budget! After all your fees remember the car still needs to get to the track, have disposables, and fuel. I have seen other teems send out for a replacement motor, driving hours to get it to keep racing the weekend. All costs absorbed by the team.

If the team already has the car built, it just comes down to consumables. We ran the Civic for the second time this year. The only thing it needed was tires, a transmission mount, and an oil change. Costs weren't too bad. Talk to the team, they should be able to give you a budget number for the car. Oh yeah, gas. If the car is a gas hog, the gas bill can be painful. The year we ran the Thunderbird, I think we burned around 60 gallons of gas.

Do your already have a suit? If not, you'll need one. That stuff can add up quick.

Other than that, entry fees, food, and lodging. You should be able to come up with a hard number for that.

As for winning, lots and lots of laps. Our best finish is 10th with one of the slowest cars out there. Keep it on the track. Drive clean, a couple of black flags can knock you way down the board. Save the car, save the car, save the car. Break the car, and no one is having fun. Most people you pass while they are in the pits. The dare devil pass that breaks the car isn't necessary.

That's all I got.

On the safety stuff, search "Nascar fire suit" on ebay. If you don't mind looking like a dork, (I don't) you can score a 3.2/5 suit for $100-$200.

Make sure everyone's on the same page regarding who owes what. "We'll figure it out later" is bad news.

Carguy, you didn't say what your duties will be. As a driver the previous posts will apply. If you are a pit crew member then things will be considerably less expensive.

I'll probably be a little of all things.

The car is a BMW 318.

I hate ebay with a passion, but I may have to try looking around for a fire suit.

I realize I've got to do a lot of Lemons research to see all the oddities specific to Lemons, it's not just racing.

All thoughts of being serious, turning in super fast lap times and winning should leave your head. Have fun. If you're not smiling, you're doing it wrong, not the judge that's making you paint on the hood while wearing a Bob Ross wig. He's doing it right.

Flagged Capitol Offense this year and I have a few tips and observations.

Keeping your nose clean will garner you MUCH more position then any go-fast widget on the car. The teams that did best were the ones who STAYED OUT ON TRACK. Frequent black flag calls will DOOM you. Calls that we made/saw all day long.... Passing under yellow, Driver wearing no gloves,(IIRC helmet visors on open cars too), loose exhaust systems, loose car decorations, FUEL LEAKING (under cornering, you may want to check this before putting the car on track), and other such obvious things.

Get in the groove for LONG, STEADY stints. Have a DURABLE car that isnt absolutely horrible to drive. Keep the driver comfortable (cool shirt?)

A whole lot of cars got black flagged a whole lot of times for some really easily avoidable stuff and it really hurt their ranking. The common theme of the leaders were that they kept their noses clean.

Gotta say that it wasnt like I expected, there was not much in the way of crashes and bent up cars. There was more in the way of smoking and leaking. Almost every incident we has was handled under a local yellow, the tow driver was having fun with almost keeping up with race pace. Looked like a whole lot of fun!

try ChumpCar

tuna55 wrote: All thoughts of being serious, turning in super fast lap times and winning should leave your head. Have fun. If you're not smiling, you're doing it wrong, not the judge that's making you paint on the hood while wearing a Bob Ross wig. He's doing it right.

And this guy knows what he's talkin about!!!