Dennis C

Has anyone here ever competed in this prestigious event? We’ve got a group of drivers together and we’ve begun the search for a vehicle for the 2024 campaign when it comes to Denver. I’d love to hear any stories (good or bad) or other tips for competing in this event. I think it’s going to be a hoot.

RossP

Did it a while back (At HPR no less). Its a fun event but borders on focusing less on the racing and more on the "experience". For example, there are judges who are responsible for inspecting each car and making sure its within the "spirit" of Lemons. To an extent that's good, the idea is to have a cheap racer, but the process is highly subjective, and bribery can/is involved (case of nice beer, homemade cookies, etc all help turn judges in your favor). They also come up with very "creative" punishments for on-track issues/incidents. For example, I dropped two wheels off the track on the inside of a turn while making a pass. The judges penalized us and made us push the car around the paddock while also dancing to the Village People. Its one of those things where it was fun to do, but you definitely need to go into it with the right mindset.

M13S

I've done a few events and I wouldn't do another one. Like the previous poster said it's more of an experience and racing is just part of the show. (I hesitate to say racing because it is every man woman and child for themselves when on track) Think of the racetrack that meets Mardi Gras. The driving is 'interesting' and many of the folks that do this type of driving like it. It definitely fills a niche as they do many events.

Good luck.

ldamelio

I'm someone who would like to stick a toe into racing after a few seasons of HPDE but I'm not ready to commit to Club Racing at the moment. Lemons sounds a little jokey to me - the stewards could bite my *** if they expected me to dance to the Village People. Taking the thread in another direction - does anyone here have experience buying a seat in AER?

LuigiVampa

I've driven in both AER and Champ, but never LeMons. Someone who has driven in all three explained it like this to me:

With AER it might be a driver's first time in a race.
With Champ it might be a diver's first time on track.
With LeMons it might be the first time the driver has ever driven a car.

I've actually had really good experiences in both AER and Champ.

Buying a seat or renting a car requires research into what you are getting. What is the team's history? What is the condition of the car? What is the responsibility of the team or crew you hire? Cheap seats are many times cheap for a reason.

analogmike

Lemons allows late model cars that are way too new, reliable, and fast, for some people.
Takes the fun out of it for people who really want to have a chance to win.

txhokie4life

I have not raced Lemons in 13 years -- but I race often in Champcar -- and at the pointy end. I race SPB in PCA, usually chasing the pack.

Back in the day it felt like Lemons was Monty Python decides to goto a race track. I haven't revisited Lemons as I prefer the racing side of things.

ChampCar is often a bunch of folks like to hang out whom met through racing/track days, but the focus is on racing, lately the front 1/2 of the pack it can be pretty competitive with strategy and racing clean usually dictating the winners.
The better racers in ChampCar often have 5-10 years of wheel to wheel. But there will be moving chicanes out there -- and the occasional newbie. It becomes pretty obvious and generally well behaved.
Sometimes the closing speeds can feel like mixed-class racing.

Spec Boxster club racing is intense. It's literally 20-60min sprint at the best laps I can drive, and I'm still slow :-)

I'm a decent 8/10's racer and can do that for 2 hours. I'm not a 9.5-10+/10's racer that SPB requires me to be.

Nowanker

I ran a couple... it's been a few years, but at the time the grid seemed to be split into 2 groups:
Those out for a lark, just wanting to have fun and do wacky sh*t with a car, and those who were actually serious about racing, while trying to keep costs down.
It was entertaining, to say the least!
Huge fields, with a mix of stupidly slow cars/drivers, and a mix of reasonably fast and competently driven ones.
Sometimes it's the same car...
Your outright speed in the car is less important than your ability and luck managing the traffic.
If your car will run reliably, you're pretty much guaranteed to be in the top half of the finishing order.
Practice your pitstops and run full stints to minimize lost time.
We had a 20 gallon cell...

Steve113

racing is racing and its all fun . Serious racing all the way down to Lemons Now whos inviting me

dgmark

Raced in Lemons, It teaches you is how to pass cars and stay out of trouble.

dan212

Racing in Lemons was the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. (well one of them)
Sometimes in racing you find people with more money than brains.
Lemons requires neither.
Go with the intention of having fun and you will have a lot of it.

Be sure to bring a suitable bribe for the marshals. They will give you a sticker showing their appreciation.
Whatever you do. Don't tell them you are an instructor or something like that. The hubris will be rewarded with an emergency bail out test 20 times.

/Dan

Nowanker

Document the money you spend on the car!
Pictures of the progress, recipients, printouts of Craigslist ads, etc.
The judging line can be brutal, and the judges do their best to make sport out of everyone.
Especially first timers.