The winners from this round face the #1 seeds in each region on March 27. The losers will be buried alive. Or they won't get to move on. I can't remember which.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: If you notice any issues with the polls, send an email to eric@therustyhub.com or notify us via Facebook and we'll get it taken care of. Thanks!]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
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[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
TRASHED TRANNY REGION - PLAY-IN:
Looney Tunes (16) vs. POS Racing (17)
Looney Tunes/Formula M for Mullet - Ford Mustang
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| Formula M for Mullet captured the first V8 win in the 24 Hours of LeMons at MSR Houston in 2009 with their Fox Mustang. They would later rename the team Looney Tunes and become a staple of Texas ChumpCar races. (Murilee Martin photo) |
Before taking to the track, organizers in both ChumpCar and LeMons told Looney Tunes that a V8-powered Mustang possessed no prayer of winning an endurance race. In response, the Looney Tunes crew simply became the first V8 car to win in each series. Looney Tunes' V8 Mustang remains the most successful 'stang in the rustbucket racing world, grinding out four wins ChumpCar wins over the mounds of Miatas in the tough Texas heat (including a Double 7 sweep at Eagles Canyon Raceway) and a win in LeMons.
Resume: ChumpCar - 4 Overall Wins, 6 Top Tens. LeMons - 1 Overall Win, 2 Top Tens
POS Racing - BMW E30
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| POS Racing hold the distinction of winning the largest race every by car count, besting 171 other entries at Sears Point in 2011 in the 24 Hours of LeMons. (Murilee Martin photo) |
POS Racing has run successfully in the top-heavy California races for a very long time, campaigning their E30 all over California (and Mexico, when the opportunity arises). They're always a shoe-in for the pointy end of the field, having missed the Top 10 only one time at the team's first race way back in 2009. They bring smart strategy and tireless preparation to every race and throw in a couple hotshoes--most notably DIY rally builder/driver Bill Caswell--to hold it all together. Of note: In-N-Out Burger also sent POS Racing a cease-and-desist letter in April 2012 regarding their livery.
Resume: ChumpCar - Third Place Overall in 2012 Ensenada sprint races. LeMons - 2 Overall Wins, 11 Top Tens
VOTING CLOSED
WRECKED ROD REGION - PLAY-IN:
Exhibition of Slow (16) vs. Eyesore Racing (17)
Exhibition of Slow - Toyota Tercel
Exhibition of Slow is one of three teams to have ever won Class C three times. Their name is no lie; they campaigned a painfully slow, fleet-grade Toyota Tercel EZ (notable for having a passenger sunvisor-delete to cut sticker price). Even in LeMons' slowest class, they are considered slow, but as the adage goes: "Slow and somethingorother is good." The Tercel took home an Index of Effluency trophy and somehow trucked their tortoise to the Top Ten twice.
Eyesore Racing - Mazda Miata, Honda CRX, Honda Prelude
What's not to love about a ghettocharged, Frankenstein'd, ugly-as-an-Aztek Mazda Miata in the hands of competent drivers? Eyesore Racing has been the most consistent team for a very long time in the toughest crapcan region, thanks to oodles of garage-engineering know-how and some terrific drivers. And they keep a sense of humor through it all. If you know about crapcan racing, you know about Eyesore.
VOTING CLOSED
SHEARED SHAFT REGION - PLAY-IN:
TSR (16) vs. Sputnik (17)
TSR - Pontiac Firebird
GM F-Bodies are well-known for many things, not least of which are impressive burnouts. But when it comes to endurance racing, the car is built almost entirely of weak points. TSR's two-Firemarobird squad endured several races of teething troubles and near misses before eventually take both races of a ChumpCar Double-7 weekend at Portland International Raceway. To the layperson, this sounds like no big deal, but to the hundreds (thousands?) of crapcan F-Body racers, TSR's feat is nothing short of a miracle.
Sputnik - Nissan Stanza Wagon
The Sputnik Nissan Stanza wagon is currently heading to the crusher due its banishment at the 2013 LeMons season opener for being mostly held together by welds, but it captured three Class C wins in consecutive races within a mere four months of 2011 while competing in the East Region, a hotbed of Class C competition. Somehow, the Stanza never grabbed Index of Effluency. With the Stanza heading to the crusher, the crew will be taking part in NSF Racing's fantastic "K-It-FWD" Share-A-Dodge Aries program.
VOTING CLOSED
CRACKED CRANK REGION - PLAY-IN:
Krider Racing (16) vs. Mid-Drive Crisis (17)
Krider Racing/Big Sausage Pizza Delivery - Acura Integra/Nissan Sentra SE-R
Rob Krider's crew was one of the heavyweight contenders in early LeMons and ChumpCar races, first in an Acura Integra and later with a Nissan Sentra SE-R. The Big Sausage car holds the heartbreaking distinction of rolling over during the last lap of a 24 Hours of LeMond race while in first place, allowing the V8-powered Volvo 240 to take the win. They've managed a few wins and have always been competitive with a couple of different cars. Like POS Racing, they rarely miss the Top 10, having done so only twice in 16 races.
Mid-Drive Crisis - Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishis have perhaps the worst track record of any make in crapcan racing, but Mid-Drive Crisis pulled off five overall wins in their Mirage, converted to make the driver's position in the middle of the car. We're not really sure how one goes about engineering a center-drive position, but we're glad someone did it, they did it to a Mitsubishi and that Mirage slew its rivals repeatedly.
VOTING CLOSED
VOTING CLOSED
WRECKED ROD REGION - PLAY-IN:
Exhibition of Slow (16) vs. Eyesore Racing (17)
Exhibition of Slow - Toyota Tercel
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| Exhibition of Slow put on a clinic on how to win Class C in 2010 and 2011, taking the bottom class' top spot three times at MSR Houston in their Toyota Tercel EZ. (Murilee Martin photo) |
Exhibition of Slow is one of three teams to have ever won Class C three times. Their name is no lie; they campaigned a painfully slow, fleet-grade Toyota Tercel EZ (notable for having a passenger sunvisor-delete to cut sticker price). Even in LeMons' slowest class, they are considered slow, but as the adage goes: "Slow and somethingorother is good." The Tercel took home an Index of Effluency trophy and somehow trucked their tortoise to the Top Ten twice.
Resume: LeMons: 3 Class C Wins, 1 Index of Effluency, 2 Top Tens
Eyesore Racing - Mazda Miata, Honda CRX, Honda Prelude
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| Eyesore racing's Miata barely resembles a car at times, but appearances can deceive. The car has won more races than any other crapcan. (Murilee Martin photo) |
What's not to love about a ghettocharged, Frankenstein'd, ugly-as-an-Aztek Mazda Miata in the hands of competent drivers? Eyesore Racing has been the most consistent team for a very long time in the toughest crapcan region, thanks to oodles of garage-engineering know-how and some terrific drivers. And they keep a sense of humor through it all. If you know about crapcan racing, you know about Eyesore.
Resume: LeMons: 6 Overall Wins, 21 Top Tens, 2010 National Champions. ChumpCar: 1 Overall Win, 2 Top Tens
VOTING CLOSED
SHEARED SHAFT REGION - PLAY-IN:
TSR (16) vs. Sputnik (17)
TSR - Pontiac Firebird
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| TSR's Firebird has long been one of the fastest ChumpCars in the Pacific Northwest, but fuel leakage issues prevented the car from living up to its potential until the team swept a Double 7 weekend at Portland. (Dennis Healy photo) |
GM F-Bodies are well-known for many things, not least of which are impressive burnouts. But when it comes to endurance racing, the car is built almost entirely of weak points. TSR's two-Firemarobird squad endured several races of teething troubles and near misses before eventually take both races of a ChumpCar Double-7 weekend at Portland International Raceway. To the layperson, this sounds like no big deal, but to the hundreds (thousands?) of crapcan F-Body racers, TSR's feat is nothing short of a miracle.
Resume: ChumpCar - 2 Overall Wins; 5 Top Tens
Sputnik - Nissan Stanza Wagon
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| The crew who campaign the Sputnik Nissan Stanza are an interesting crew who periodically grant some terrific interviews. On the track, the car leans precariously through turns to the point where rollovers seem inevitable. Yet, the Stanza has always stayed on its wheels and churned out laps. (Murilee Martin photo) |
The Sputnik Nissan Stanza wagon is currently heading to the crusher due its banishment at the 2013 LeMons season opener for being mostly held together by welds, but it captured three Class C wins in consecutive races within a mere four months of 2011 while competing in the East Region, a hotbed of Class C competition. Somehow, the Stanza never grabbed Index of Effluency. With the Stanza heading to the crusher, the crew will be taking part in NSF Racing's fantastic "K-It-FWD" Share-A-Dodge Aries program.
Resume: LeMons - 3 Class C Wins
VOTING CLOSED
CRACKED CRANK REGION - PLAY-IN:
Krider Racing (16) vs. Mid-Drive Crisis (17)
Krider Racing/Big Sausage Pizza Delivery - Acura Integra/Nissan Sentra SE-R
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| The Krider Racing Integra was a tough competitor in the early few years of LeMons and ChumpCar. Rob Krider also covered ChumpCar for various blogs and made a great video of the enormous Sears Point LeMons race in 2011 for GoRacingtv.com. (Murilee Martin photo) |
Rob Krider's crew was one of the heavyweight contenders in early LeMons and ChumpCar races, first in an Acura Integra and later with a Nissan Sentra SE-R. The Big Sausage car holds the heartbreaking distinction of rolling over during the last lap of a 24 Hours of LeMond race while in first place, allowing the V8-powered Volvo 240 to take the win. They've managed a few wins and have always been competitive with a couple of different cars. Like POS Racing, they rarely miss the Top 10, having done so only twice in 16 races.
Resume: ChumpCar - 2 Overall Wins, 7 Top Tens; LeMons - 1 Overall Win, 8 Top Tens
Mid-Drive Crisis - Mitsubishi Mirage
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| We can't recall the last time we saw a Mirage on the street, but Mid-Drive Crisis found one that ran, then hacked it up to drive like an LMP car...well, the driver sits in the center anyway. If Mitsubishi ever starts a factory sportscar program, they should probably look up the Mid-Drive Crisis crew. (Murilee Martin photo) |
Mitsubishis have perhaps the worst track record of any make in crapcan racing, but Mid-Drive Crisis pulled off five overall wins in their Mirage, converted to make the driver's position in the middle of the car. We're not really sure how one goes about engineering a center-drive position, but we're glad someone did it, they did it to a Mitsubishi and that Mirage slew its rivals repeatedly.
Resume: ChumpCar - 4 Overall Wins, 4 Top Tens; LeMons - 1 Overall Win, 2 Top Tens, 1 Class C Win
VOTING CLOSED
Vote early, vote often.
ReplyDeleteI'm sad that Idiotarod's Balto isn't in the mix... But that could be because it's my car....
ReplyDelete