If you're looking for the normal Rusty Hub content, you can find it over at Hooniverse:
Eric's introduction at Hooniverse
A sweet video post
VIR 24 ChumpCar preview
LeMons NJMP preview
Fret not, The Rusty Hub will be around so you can peruse archived stuff. We'll see what else may come this way.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
LeMons Pacific Northworst: The Rusty Hub's Preview
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| (Murilee Martin) |
We've written about the uniqueness of the Pacific Northwest in crapcan racing before with 24 Hours of LeMons races producing inexplicable results and with ChumpCar World Series producing a nail-biting battle at the end of a 36-hour race.
That said, the entry list for this weekend's Pacific Northworst LeMons race at The Ridge Motorsports Park has simultaneously floored and stumped us here at The Rusty Hub HQ. Why? In short:
- It has more variety than we've ever seen before. The entry list has 52 teams, but there are no more than two of any type. The doubles include expected types like Integras, Mustangs, Camaros, Escorts, RX-7s, Supras, Jettas and Saturns. But it also includes pairs of BMW 2002s, Austin Minis and--somehow--BMC ADO17s (both Austin-badged).
- Only one previous winner is registered and there are no clear-cut contenders after that. Basically, half of the field is in play.
- Even the team we might predict as a Class B favorite has had a problematic racing season.
Early-week weather forecasts call for mild temperatures and a dry track, meaning that weather shouldn't be a factor, so we'll be interested to see how the race shakes out over the weekend. As always, you can make your own predictions based on the unofficial entry list, which you can find here.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Sharknado actor has driven in LeMons? Of course he has
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| (Jim Stewart photo) |
Thanks to a note in The Rusty Hub's Totally-Used-All-The-Time Tip Line, we've learned that the 24 Hours of LeMons can boast that they have Possibly Actual Hollywood Celebrities among their driving ranks.
Pictured above-center is Ian Ziering--in the news of late for his role in the campy SyFy movie/Internet sensation Sharknado--whose LeMons resume includes past appearances in the Faster Farms Plymouth Belvedere and more recent stints in the Mazdarachis Mazda RX-7.
Ziering also appeared on something called "Dancing With the Stars," which is not a Carl Sagan-narrated program about spacewalking but rather some kind of "reality television show." He also spent most of the 1990s as a cast member from "Beverly Hills 90210," which is not a show about mail carriers.
This has been the inaugural version of Possibly Actual Hollywood Celebrities.
Monday, July 15, 2013
ChumpCar Nelson Ledges: Results
We missed live updates on ChumpCar World Series' Shortest Longest Day at Nelson Ledges Road Course last Saturday, but it appears to have been yet another very competitive long-form (14 hours) race with a trio of experienced teams outlasting the competition to stand on the podium.
The super-fast V6-swapped Toyota MR2 from MR2 Biohazard took the overall lead early on Lap 88 and never looked back, remaining in P1 for the race's final 460 laps, giving the fast MR2 its second win of all time and second podium of the season.
Maybe the biggest story of the race, however, was the appearance of the Will Race for Beer Saab 9-5, perhaps better known as the team that ran almost perfectly for 35 hours and 55 minutes of the previous weekend's 36 hours race in Spokane. Yes, the RBank Racing squad came back for more and finished P2 for the second week in a row.
The super-fast V6-swapped Toyota MR2 from MR2 Biohazard took the overall lead early on Lap 88 and never looked back, remaining in P1 for the race's final 460 laps, giving the fast MR2 its second win of all time and second podium of the season.
Maybe the biggest story of the race, however, was the appearance of the Will Race for Beer Saab 9-5, perhaps better known as the team that ran almost perfectly for 35 hours and 55 minutes of the previous weekend's 36 hours race in Spokane. Yes, the RBank Racing squad came back for more and finished P2 for the second week in a row.
Monday, July 8, 2013
ChumpCar's The 36: The Results
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| Few could have predicted that the final hour of a 36-hour race would see six lead changes and one team setting its fastest lap as the driver tried to chase down the car that had led more than 85 percent of the race, but ChumpCar World Series' "The 36" delivered as much excitement as any previous crapcan race, if not far more. |
In a far-flung corner of the United States, 49 race cars gridded up last Friday night, nerves jangled and jaws set in anticipation of a weekend-long meatgrinder of an endurance race.
Thirty-six hours.
Most teams knew they'd face unforeseen challenges, both of man and machine, over an endurance race the length of which none could fully prepare for.
Thirty-six hours.
The green flag dropped in the dark of night around 10 p.m. at Spokane County Raceway; the odyssey that had just begun would seen two sunrises before the starter held the checkered flag aloft before the Last Car Standing crossed the start finish line.
Thirty-six hours of racing, of exhaustion, of fun, of long lulls, of frenzied bursts, of camaraderie, of teamwork, of failure, of heartbreak and of triumph.
When the dust settled, only one team managed to avoid any serious mechanical maladies to take the checkered flag: Squirrels of Fury in their Volkswagen Rabbit earned their keep as the winners of America's Longest Endurance race, ChumpCar World Series' "The 36."
None will dispute that they earned it, quietly running what amounts to a perfect race for 35 hours before trading blows with crapcan heavyweights Will Race for Beer in their Saab 9-5 in a final-hour sprint that would have given Tom Kristensen ulcers. The title of Conqueror of 36 Hours hung in the balance for that hour until Will Race for Beer--who had towed their two-Saab team from the New York--broke their second CV joint with just four minutes remaining while they held a slim three-second advantage over the Squirrels.
It was a moment of pure heartbreak for the Saab squad, who received a sportsmanlike push around the track from the Rusty Igloo Racing Honda Civic to complete their final circuit. The final results show a two-lap margin of victory for Squirrels of Fury, but few will forget how close the race really was.
Will Race for Beer led an astonishing 918 of the race's 1,055 laps (87 percent of the race), including 902 consecutive laps after taking P1 on lap 116. They led by as many as 15 laps over the Squirrels of Fury, who themselves sat in P2 for more than half of the race.
With about three hours remaining and eight laps in hand, the Saab broke its first CV joint--the same issue that knocked them from the lead at ChumpCar Daytona in May--but the car turned laps about 20 seconds off the race pace while the team prepared to swap in a new axle in the hot pit. Will Race for Beer managed the fix and came out still in first place, but their lead had evaporated to just 30 seconds. The Saab driver responded by turning the car's fastest lap and their lead extended to well over a minute for the next hour.
However, a full-course caution with an hour remaining bunched up the field. The shootout for the win loomed with both drivers prepared to wail on their machines. With the nearest competitors some 20 laps arrears, the Squirrels driver flogged the Rabbit mercilessly to close the gap from 7.3 seconds down to a nose-to-tail fight for mega-endurance supremacy.
On lap 1018, the Rabbit wrestled the lead away from Will Race for Beer for the first time in something like 30 hours. Two laps later, the Saab squeezed past for the lead again; the Squirrels took it back two laps after that and held it for five more laps.
Will Race for Beer had something left, it appeared, and roared back again to P1 on circuit number 1028. The driver pulled out nearly five seconds of lead before the Squirrels' driver threw down a race-best lap and the Saab found itself with a mirror full of Volkswagen for another six laps.
With five minutes left and the battle for the win looking to be decided by which car used traffic better, the Saab slowed off the pace and came to a stop with its second broken CV joint.
It would be easy to suggest that the win was ceded to Squirrels of Fury, but that sells short their incredible accomplishment. The biggest part of winning an endurance race is being there at the end; the Squirrels got to that point by running a perfect race and leaving just enough in the car for a sprint to the checkered flag.
The biggest story in the rest of the field was the amazing success of Volkswagens, four of which finished in the Top 10 with two more just outside of it in P12 and P15.
The early hours of the race saw almost all of the first 100 laps led by either NNM Motorsports' Dodge Neon or Martini Racers' Volkswagen Golf. Martini Racers would go on to finish fourth in the race.
Attrition rates remained high, but most teams endeavored to fix their crapcans and get them back on the track. This included three cars that were rolled but were repaired enough to take the checkered flag, if not continue racing for a few hours.
Of the race's 49 entries, well more than half took the checkered flag and nearly half (21 teams) ran more than 2,000 race miles.
There were almost certainly hundreds of fixes made during the race and tens of thousands of exciting moments for the hundreds of drivers in the race. Come the checkered flag Sunday at 10 a.m., most participants found jubilation in knowing that they'd made it.
Thirty-six hours.
###
- Read the Squirrels of Fury's recap. Really. Do it. It's an amazing view on teamwork behind pit wall and on the track.
- Get the full standings here. Compare it with our predictions from earlier in the week.
- Read the race discussion and live updates from Race Control during The 36 from the ChumpCar Forum topic here.
- Only four cars led the race, we think. The Squirrels of Fury actually led the fewest of those four cars with just 10 (!) laps in P1. In descending order of laps led: Will Race for Beer (919), NNM Motorsports (63), Martini Racers (48), Squirrels of Fury (10). [Editor's Note: If you're wondering why that doesn't add up to 1,045 laps, that's because we couldn't find out through the records who led laps 1, 2, 56 and 97. So it's possible that four other cars led a single lap each. Anybody help us out with this?]
TOP TEN
1. #25 Squirrels of Fury II (Volkswagen Rabbit) - 1045 Laps
2. #184 Will Race for Beer (Saab 9-5) - 1043 Laps
3. #39 Socket Monkeys (Honda Civic) - 1024 Laps
4. #10 Martini Racers (Volkswagen Golf) - 1022 Laps
5. #58 BSD Racing (Acura Integra) - 1012 Laps
6. #16 Son of Andre (Ford Mustang) - 989 Laps
7. #48 Mediocre Motoring (Volkswagen Golf) - 988 Laps
8. #26 Team Titleist (Volkswagen Golf) - 968 Laps
9. #960 Crapst Blue Ribbon Racing (Toyota MR2) - 960 Laps
10. #17 Cone Damage (BMW E28) - 956 Laps
Tell us your story from the race in the Comments section below, on our Facebook page, via Twitter (160 characters at a time...we like haiku) or through email to eric@therustyhub.com and we'll throw it up on the website. As always, we love pictures of stuff that broke along with a good story on how it happened and how you overcame it.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
ChumpCar 'The 36:' The Rusty Hub's Preview
"ChumpCar World Series makes its annual trip to Spokane County Raceway this weekend."
Sounds kind of blasé, we suppose, until we mention that this race lasts virtually the whole weekend: Thirty-six hours of continuous racing from 10 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Sunday (local times), making it the world's longest continuous road race.
And it starts in the dark.
If that's not a daunting challenge and the makings of an awesome weekend, we don't know what is.
Sounds kind of blasé, we suppose, until we mention that this race lasts virtually the whole weekend: Thirty-six hours of continuous racing from 10 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Sunday (local times), making it the world's longest continuous road race.
And it starts in the dark.
If that's not a daunting challenge and the makings of an awesome weekend, we don't know what is.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
LeMons Button Terrible '13: The Rusty Hub's Preview
This weekend, the 24 Hours of LeMons makes the (relatively) short trek to the middle of the California desert for "Button Terrible" at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.
With early-week forecasts calling for triple-digit highs all weekend, Button Terrible will be a grueling affair for both car and team. Like the typical California LeMons race, this one will feature the requisite 150 entries, of which probably about 100 will be running by the weekend's end while the rest sit in varying states of disrepair. Which isn't to suggest that cars on the track won't also be in varying states of disrepair.
As usual, all three classes should see repeat offenders and terrific depth, making it hard to pick a winner, but we're going to highlight some of the teams we think have a shot. If you want the full scoop, check out the unofficial entry list and let us know where we've erred.
With early-week forecasts calling for triple-digit highs all weekend, Button Terrible will be a grueling affair for both car and team. Like the typical California LeMons race, this one will feature the requisite 150 entries, of which probably about 100 will be running by the weekend's end while the rest sit in varying states of disrepair. Which isn't to suggest that cars on the track won't also be in varying states of disrepair.
As usual, all three classes should see repeat offenders and terrific depth, making it hard to pick a winner, but we're going to highlight some of the teams we think have a shot. If you want the full scoop, check out the unofficial entry list and let us know where we've erred.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Spotted: LeMons driver on Le Mans TV
This Porsche 944 driver from the 24 Hours of LeMons' race at Road America is being interviewed on Le Mans TV. We don't have the audio for this video feed at the moment, but there's no doubt he's discussing his heroic push-starting abilities.
I can't imagine what else he'd be talking about.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
24 Hours of Le Mans: Useful Information
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| This photo has no real relevance to the text below other than to say that Le Mans has a disappointing lack of K-Cars. |
We here at The Rusty Hub love low-buck endurance racing. We love the camaraderie, the triumphs, the defeats, the creativity, the garage ingenuity and the blat of unmuffled hooptie exhaust.
The racing usually isn't too bad either.
But we also love the glitz and glamour of crapcan's professional pregenitures, not least of all the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which has been the full-day playground of so many of the world's greatest drivers and greatest manufacturers.
Our initial plans called for an irrelevant and irreverent rundown of the competitors at Le Mans (with awful, hastily handsketched illustrations), but we soon realized how comprehensive that task is. So we'll instead point out some recommended reading and handy reference items for this upcoming weekend's 90th anniversary running of the event.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Video: A Tour of LeMons' first 90 minutes at Autobahn
Let's take a look at the first stint from the #333 We're Not Really From Iran Ford Festiva at the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Autobahn Country Club in June 2013. The Festiva--with a swapped-in 1.8L Mazda BP engine from a Ford Escort GT--gets through the field pretty quickly and gives a solid tour through the oft-chaotic opening minutes of a LeMons race.
0:10 - The green flag comes out. Cars with varying levels of pit-to-driver communication effectiveness get the jump at different times. The camera car passes the flag stand at about 0:30
2:02 - Race On the back straight, the race-winning (and also fastest-lap-setting) Save the Ta-Tas Chevy Camaro pulls every other car like they're standing still. Within about 30 seconds, it's just a dot on the horizon.
2:45 - The Festiva looms upon the #87 Wonderment Consortium Volkswagen Quantum Wagon. This Volkswagen debuted with the Wonderment Consortium after winning Class B twice and an Index of Effluency as the Chicken and Waffles team. It would compete in Class B for much of the first day before suffering terminal engine failure.
4:15 - Here is a look at the #23 Boost4 Lexus ES300 in its brief appearance for the weekend. More on this car in a bit.
4:40 The Festiva passes the fantastic NoPro SHO-powered Geo Metro in the braking zone for Turn 1 and finds itself on the back bumper of Full Tilt Boogie's Honda Civic Si and within sight of LemonAid Racing's BMW E30. These three cars battle for your entertainment for the next 10 minutes with some great, clean racing.
5:51 - Team Orca's Chevy Caprice has a spring-mounted tail that bounds gloriously when the former prowler hits some patches in the racing surface.
7:25 - The Boost4 Lexus slows to a halt after seizing its V6 on lap 4. The team was raising money for charity and unfortunately never finished a fourth lap. The mechanics on the team packed it in for the weekend.
9:20 - The Full Tilt Boogie, LemonAid Racing and We're Not Really From Iran trio race hard to the yellow flag covering the disabled Lexus.
12:15 - The #22 RX-7 gets super loose heading onto the main straight.
15:39 - Here's some top-notch traffic navigation. Early in the race before attrition sets in, traffic can get brutal. As we'll see later, this can also mean long stretches of open track, too.
17:15 - The camera car gets a good run out of Million Dollar Corner (first left turn on the circuit) and carries that speed through the next left hander to just squeak past the more powerful Full Tilt Boogie Civic. The LemonAid E30 balks the Festiva just a bit, but the Festiva driver takes the long way around the consecutive right-handers to take the position.
20:38 - The fur-covered Porsche 924 is run by a University of Colorado alumnus and is a buffalo, although this was lost on the Big Ten audience. It's fantastic to watch the wind ruffle the buffalo fur at speed. This team was likely glad it didn't rain, since it would have doubled the car's curb weight.
23:30 - The #108 Solo Cup Escort gets held up in traffic a bit, prompting a long and spirited dice between the two cars, which share the same engine type. Also notable is both cars passing the white #111 Blue Shells Neon, which shows up a bit later.
24:41 - The green BMW E36 of Futility Motorsports (formerly the Pool Shark) limps onto pit lane. We expected this car to compete for the win, but they had rotten luck all weekend and were trailered with mechanical issues by Sunday's green flag.
32:20 - Like the NoPro Metro, the Knoxvegas Lowballers are still sorting their mid-engined, V6 Metro. With gobs of power and some homebrewed suspension solutions, the handling can be a bit twitchy, as the Lowballers' driver--on the grass facing the wrong way--found out.
33:00 - How does four-wide on a short straight rate on the Pucker-Factor-O-Meter? We're not sure, but it's abundantly clear that the #92 Pentastar Plymouth Duster's V6 is not lacking in power.
38:20 - The NoPro Metro looks great at speed, doesn't it?
40:00 - The green Class C Volkswagen GTI of Kelly's Heros [sic] struggled all weekend, which is evident when you see the speed at which the Festiva closes on it.
41:10 - Starting here, the Festiva gets several minutes of virtually-open track to run clean laps.
51:55 - The leading Camaro passes again.
58:00 - Just coming into view in the distance is the #555 Sideways to Victory Ford Focus, which the Festiva chases.
1:03:20 - Almost without warning, there's a huge cluster of traffic on the long back straight. Watch at 1:04:00 where the #20 black Chevette Diesel flies around the outside of the final corner to pass a handful of cars, only to get pulled by most of the pack.
1:05:00 - The Festiva gets a point-by from the Schnitzelwagen and then struggles a bit to get past the Duratec-powered Triumph TR7 from James Bondo (#700).
1:06:19 - The car takes a slightly wide line into Turn 1 and takes a short ride on the curbing.
1:07:35 - The #555 Focus reappears after getting passed in traffic a bit earlier. It brings with it the #111 Blue Shells that was passed about 45 minutes earlier. The Blue Shells car was much slower when it was passed, but the driver clearly found his groove sometime in the interim.
1:20:00 - The Festiva comes up on and passes the Team Frag Alfa Romeo Milano, whose roof bears a football field full of plastic soldiers.
1:21:00 - With the fuel tank just about empty, the Festiva limps the last half lap to get back to the pits.
1:22:14 - As the car enters the pits, the red, white and blue White Trash Neon can be seen with its hood up after a brake fire nuked several crucial front-end components.
0:10 - The green flag comes out. Cars with varying levels of pit-to-driver communication effectiveness get the jump at different times. The camera car passes the flag stand at about 0:30
2:02 - Race On the back straight, the race-winning (and also fastest-lap-setting) Save the Ta-Tas Chevy Camaro pulls every other car like they're standing still. Within about 30 seconds, it's just a dot on the horizon.
2:45 - The Festiva looms upon the #87 Wonderment Consortium Volkswagen Quantum Wagon. This Volkswagen debuted with the Wonderment Consortium after winning Class B twice and an Index of Effluency as the Chicken and Waffles team. It would compete in Class B for much of the first day before suffering terminal engine failure.
4:15 - Here is a look at the #23 Boost4 Lexus ES300 in its brief appearance for the weekend. More on this car in a bit.
4:40 The Festiva passes the fantastic NoPro SHO-powered Geo Metro in the braking zone for Turn 1 and finds itself on the back bumper of Full Tilt Boogie's Honda Civic Si and within sight of LemonAid Racing's BMW E30. These three cars battle for your entertainment for the next 10 minutes with some great, clean racing.
5:51 - Team Orca's Chevy Caprice has a spring-mounted tail that bounds gloriously when the former prowler hits some patches in the racing surface.
7:25 - The Boost4 Lexus slows to a halt after seizing its V6 on lap 4. The team was raising money for charity and unfortunately never finished a fourth lap. The mechanics on the team packed it in for the weekend.
9:20 - The Full Tilt Boogie, LemonAid Racing and We're Not Really From Iran trio race hard to the yellow flag covering the disabled Lexus.
12:15 - The #22 RX-7 gets super loose heading onto the main straight.
15:39 - Here's some top-notch traffic navigation. Early in the race before attrition sets in, traffic can get brutal. As we'll see later, this can also mean long stretches of open track, too.
17:15 - The camera car gets a good run out of Million Dollar Corner (first left turn on the circuit) and carries that speed through the next left hander to just squeak past the more powerful Full Tilt Boogie Civic. The LemonAid E30 balks the Festiva just a bit, but the Festiva driver takes the long way around the consecutive right-handers to take the position.
20:38 - The fur-covered Porsche 924 is run by a University of Colorado alumnus and is a buffalo, although this was lost on the Big Ten audience. It's fantastic to watch the wind ruffle the buffalo fur at speed. This team was likely glad it didn't rain, since it would have doubled the car's curb weight.
23:30 - The #108 Solo Cup Escort gets held up in traffic a bit, prompting a long and spirited dice between the two cars, which share the same engine type. Also notable is both cars passing the white #111 Blue Shells Neon, which shows up a bit later.
24:41 - The green BMW E36 of Futility Motorsports (formerly the Pool Shark) limps onto pit lane. We expected this car to compete for the win, but they had rotten luck all weekend and were trailered with mechanical issues by Sunday's green flag.
32:20 - Like the NoPro Metro, the Knoxvegas Lowballers are still sorting their mid-engined, V6 Metro. With gobs of power and some homebrewed suspension solutions, the handling can be a bit twitchy, as the Lowballers' driver--on the grass facing the wrong way--found out.
33:00 - How does four-wide on a short straight rate on the Pucker-Factor-O-Meter? We're not sure, but it's abundantly clear that the #92 Pentastar Plymouth Duster's V6 is not lacking in power.
38:20 - The NoPro Metro looks great at speed, doesn't it?
40:00 - The green Class C Volkswagen GTI of Kelly's Heros [sic] struggled all weekend, which is evident when you see the speed at which the Festiva closes on it.
41:10 - Starting here, the Festiva gets several minutes of virtually-open track to run clean laps.
51:55 - The leading Camaro passes again.
58:00 - Just coming into view in the distance is the #555 Sideways to Victory Ford Focus, which the Festiva chases.
1:03:20 - Almost without warning, there's a huge cluster of traffic on the long back straight. Watch at 1:04:00 where the #20 black Chevette Diesel flies around the outside of the final corner to pass a handful of cars, only to get pulled by most of the pack.
1:05:00 - The Festiva gets a point-by from the Schnitzelwagen and then struggles a bit to get past the Duratec-powered Triumph TR7 from James Bondo (#700).
1:06:19 - The car takes a slightly wide line into Turn 1 and takes a short ride on the curbing.
1:07:35 - The #555 Focus reappears after getting passed in traffic a bit earlier. It brings with it the #111 Blue Shells that was passed about 45 minutes earlier. The Blue Shells car was much slower when it was passed, but the driver clearly found his groove sometime in the interim.
1:20:00 - The Festiva comes up on and passes the Team Frag Alfa Romeo Milano, whose roof bears a football field full of plastic soldiers.
1:21:00 - With the fuel tank just about empty, the Festiva limps the last half lap to get back to the pits.
1:22:14 - As the car enters the pits, the red, white and blue White Trash Neon can be seen with its hood up after a brake fire nuked several crucial front-end components.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Capitol Offense: Final Standings
We'll let Murilee Martin say it better than us when his Winners post goes up on the Car and Driver 24 Hours of LeMons page, but suffice it to say that our predictions were fairly accurate and the Class B race ended in a tight three-car race with heartbreak for a fourth team.
In addition, the story of Capitol Offense will not be complete without telling of Pro Crash Duh Nation's race for the overall win essentially ended when Bambi pranced across their Alfa Romeo Milano's windshield on Saturday, finishing 35th at the end of Sunday.
In addition, the story of Capitol Offense will not be complete without telling of Pro Crash Duh Nation's race for the overall win essentially ended when Bambi pranced across their Alfa Romeo Milano's windshield on Saturday, finishing 35th at the end of Sunday.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Capitol Offense: Venison and Day 1 Standings
Day one of Capitol Offense is over and you can expect the usual awesome recap from Murilee Martin on the 24 Hours of LeMons' Car and Driver page following yesterday's BS Inspection post.
And you can compare our predictions with today's standings below.
But we'll tell you this: Three-time runners-up Pro Crash Duh Nation have the worst luck in the crapcan world. While leading the race this morning, Mother Nature turned on them. Their Alfa Romeo Milano clipped a wild deer that had strayed onto the Summit Point Raceway surface, knocking them from P1 and giving the driver the brownest moment of his or her life.
Luckily, Three Pedal Mafia's Boat was running just behind and had in-car video recording. Video after the jump.
And you can compare our predictions with today's standings below.
But we'll tell you this: Three-time runners-up Pro Crash Duh Nation have the worst luck in the crapcan world. While leading the race this morning, Mother Nature turned on them. Their Alfa Romeo Milano clipped a wild deer that had strayed onto the Summit Point Raceway surface, knocking them from P1 and giving the driver the brownest moment of his or her life.
Luckily, Three Pedal Mafia's Boat was running just behind and had in-car video recording. Video after the jump.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Capitol Offense 2013: The Rusty Hub's preview
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| Murilee Martin Photo |
The 24 Hours of LeMons will head to Summit Point to wrap up a stretch of three consecutive race weekends, having already hit High Plains Raceway in Colorado and Autobahn Country Club in Illinois in June. Both of those produced first-time winners and guess what? No previous winner is registered for Capitol Offense either. New winners for everyone!
Part of the draw for LeMons at Summit Point is, of course, the shared event with HyperFest. We're still not sure what it entails, but it's supposed to be a good time and LeMons' spectator tickets are good for HyperFest, as are participant wristbands.
Early-week forecasts indicate it could be a wet and crazy weekend on Summit Point's challenging Shenandoah Circuit and we eagerly await the results. Let's see who we can expect to compete in the 101-car field (Get the unofficial entry list here):
Monday, June 10, 2013
LeMons Doing Time in Joliet: Our coverage on Car and Driver
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| (The Rusty Hub photo) |
[Editor's Note: Eric Rood receives literally dozens of dollars for working as a LeMons Guest Judge. He is not employed by the 24 Hours of LeMons and works and writes independently of the organization.]
We filled in for regular 24 Hours of LeMons correspondent Murilee Martin while he got a weekend off. Here are the posts from this weekend:
BS Inspection
Saturday Recap
Winners! Post
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Doing Time in Joliet: BS Inspections
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| Seriously, how awesome is this? (The Rusty Hub photo) |
[Editor's Note: Eric Rood receives literally dozens of dollars for working as a LeMons Guest Judge. He is not employed by the 24 Hours of LeMons and works and writes independently of the organization.]
Our coverage of the 24 Hours of LeMons' Doing Time in Joliet can be found on Car and Driver's LeMons this weekend.
Click here for a recap of BS Inspections.
Click here for 115 more photos on The Rusty Hub's Facebook page.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
LeMons Doing Time in Joliet: The Rusty Hub's Preview featuring Special Guest Alan Cesar and T-Pain
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| (The Rusty Hub photo) |
Alan Cesar
Guest Speculator
Since The Rusty Hub’s main man Eric Rood--who, it should be noted, has absolutely no issue with taking bribes and enjoys quite a variety of fancy microbrew beer--is actually judging the upcoming Doing Time in Joliet race at Autobahn Country Club, he has recused himself from giving a preemptive judgment of the competitors in order to impart some sense of impartiality. This race’s guest previewer is the hopelessly unqualified Alan Cesar, who is by day a writer, photographer, editor, web weasel and social media hack at Grassroots Motorsports.
Alright, let’s take a stab at this. LeMons races at Autobahn have historically been in mid-fall, which usually meant unpredictable weather. Torrential rain, heavy winds, that bone-biting fall chill, or 70 degrees and sunny. This year’s is in June (obviously), so it’ll be... well, about the same, apparently.
You can find the full unofficial entry list with 80 entries right here.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
LeMons B.F.E. GP: The Rusty Hub's Preview
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| (Murilee Martin photo) |
The 24 Hours of LeMons returns to Colorado's High Plains Raceway for the fourth annual B.F.E. GP. Early-week weather forecasts call for a pleasant, sunny weekend.
The event has typically featured some terrific machinery and a refreshing lack of BMWs (Last year's race had one E30 and two E28s). However, this year finds an odd assortment of machinery that includes a suddenly inflated amount of Bimmers, namely four E28s, five E30s and one E36. Bavarian machines are in demand, what can we say?
That's not the only quirk of the 58 cars on the unofficial entry list (which you can get here), but we'll get to that in due time. Here's what we expect to see.
Monday, May 27, 2013
ChumpCar Daytona: Results
On Friday, we gave you our predictions for ChumpCar World Series' 14-hour race at Daytona Interational Speedway and 119 Chump teams put our hypotheses to the test.
The two favorites we pointed out--BoomPowSurprise's Ford Probe and Tired Iron Repair's Saab 9-5--did, in fact, lead much of the race, but Tiger's Wood PGA Racing took P1 with a little more than two hours remaining and brought their V8 Mercury Cougar to the checkered flag with five laps over the BimmerWorld/Red Line Oil BMW E36.
The win at Daytona is the Cougar's second win in one of ChumpCar's most grueling events, having dominated last year's 25-hour race at Nelson Ledges Road Course. Tiger's Wood PGA Racing all set the fastest lap of the race with a 2:16.637.
The two favorites we pointed out--BoomPowSurprise's Ford Probe and Tired Iron Repair's Saab 9-5--did, in fact, lead much of the race, but Tiger's Wood PGA Racing took P1 with a little more than two hours remaining and brought their V8 Mercury Cougar to the checkered flag with five laps over the BimmerWorld/Red Line Oil BMW E36.
The win at Daytona is the Cougar's second win in one of ChumpCar's most grueling events, having dominated last year's 25-hour race at Nelson Ledges Road Course. Tiger's Wood PGA Racing all set the fastest lap of the race with a 2:16.637.
Friday, May 24, 2013
ChumpCar Daytona: The Rusty Hub's Preview
This Memorial Day weekend finds ChumpCar World Series invading Florida's most famous race track while some other race goes on in the Midwest. The 14-hour race runs all day and into the night at Daytona International Speedway.
It marks the second year for Chump at Daytona and the 3.81-mile "roval" circuit will host 123 entries, many of whom will undoubtedly leave a wake of debris around the prestigious track. Unlike last year when a squall from Tropical Storm Beryl dumped several inches of rain on the Daytona circuit, weather forecasts indicate that the track should stay nice and dry all weekend.
While the layout will use the infield course, a substantial part of the oval will also come into play, meaning that ability to achieve high speeds on the banking and the front straight will likely make the difference. We wouldn't expect a car with a fastest lap slower than about 2:28 to have a chance at winning, but we love when teams to prove us wrong.
It marks the second year for Chump at Daytona and the 3.81-mile "roval" circuit will host 123 entries, many of whom will undoubtedly leave a wake of debris around the prestigious track. Unlike last year when a squall from Tropical Storm Beryl dumped several inches of rain on the Daytona circuit, weather forecasts indicate that the track should stay nice and dry all weekend.
While the layout will use the infield course, a substantial part of the oval will also come into play, meaning that ability to achieve high speeds on the banking and the front straight will likely make the difference. We wouldn't expect a car with a fastest lap slower than about 2:28 to have a chance at winning, but we love when teams to prove us wrong.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Crapcanalysis: Does fast matter? Part 3
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| The Freewheelin' Pikers' Saab 96 was the slowest car at The Ridge, but they still beat 11 other teams and won the Index of Effluency. (Murilee Martin photo) |
Here is the Overall Top 10 and where they ranked in fastest laps (out of 45 total entries):
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Crapcanalysis: Does fast matter? Part 2
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| Catching fire on the parade laps is not the best way to win or set fastest lap, but it's terrifically photogenic. (Murilee Martin photo) |
Here's the brief recap:
Monday, May 20, 2013
Crapcanalysis: Does fast matter? Part 1
A few weeks ago, an email exchange with the esteemed Murilee Martin (aka Judge Phil of the 24 Hours of LeMons Supreme Court) presented us with an interesting question: How many overall LeMons winners have also set the fastest lap going back to, say, the beginning of 2012?
I found the answer quickly enough: Five out of 25 (Through Gingerman 2013).
And here they are:
I found the answer quickly enough: Five out of 25 (Through Gingerman 2013).
And here they are:
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Loudon Annoying: Results
Bill Danger wins their second consecutive 24 Hours of LeMons Spring race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway by a single lap from the Keystone Kops' V8-swapped Volvo 240. The second place is the Kops' best finish of all time and they narrowly missed victory.
Here are the top finishers overall and in each of the three classes:
Here are the top finishers overall and in each of the three classes:
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Loudon Annoying: Day 1 Standings
After a soggy day of 24 Hours of LeMons racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, last year's Loudon Annoying winner Bill Danger leads the race by three laps over the Keystone Kops' V8-swapped Volvo 240 coupe.
Here is the unofficial Top 10 after eight hours of racing:
Here is the unofficial Top 10 after eight hours of racing:
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Loudon Annoying: The Rusty Hub's Preview
The 24 Hours of LeMons visits Loudon, New Hampshire, this weekend for the first of two races this year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
While we may never have been there, but we absolutely love the layout of this circuit, being one of those great "roval" courses that takes the racing outside of the typical NASCAR oval outline into an almost-pastoral trip before returning to the infield and then cutting back to the oval's front straight (It's a variant of this track map).
You can get a full entry list here, but we'll give you the rundown on what we'd expect from the 88 teams registered for the race.
While we may never have been there, but we absolutely love the layout of this circuit, being one of those great "roval" courses that takes the racing outside of the typical NASCAR oval outline into an almost-pastoral trip before returning to the infield and then cutting back to the oval's front straight (It's a variant of this track map).
You can get a full entry list here, but we'll give you the rundown on what we'd expect from the 88 teams registered for the race.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Eagles Canyon Wrap-Up
The race is long over and Judge Phil has written about the winners here, so give them a round of applause for not blowing up. Or for blowing up, whichever the case may be.
Let's take a slightly deeper look at the field.
Let's take a slightly deeper look at the field.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Eagles Canyon: Day 2 Preview
As we predicted, one team would be competing for the win in two classes. However, it is neither the Tetanus Racing nor Lost in the Dark squads that we'd anticipated. Rather, TGTW Offroad Racing leads Class B with their solidly prepared Cherokee and the team's first-timer Comanche pickup tops Class C despite having only one functioning forward gear in its transmission.
If TGTW hangs on to win B and C, they would be the first team to win two classes at the same race.
In one of our more lucid moments, we also predicted the Model T GT could run away with the race. The Model T GT ended Saturday's long race session in first place, although the Miagra squad gave them a good dice for most of the day until they lost a motor with just a few minutes left in the day. After 10 minutes of green flag racing Sunday, the Miagra has yet to take to the track.
While no lead can really be considered "comfortable" in crapcan racing, the T GT begins the day with an 11-lap advantage over longshot second-placers Rolling Chicane Racing in their veteran Civic.
If TGTW hangs on to win B and C, they would be the first team to win two classes at the same race.
In one of our more lucid moments, we also predicted the Model T GT could run away with the race. The Model T GT ended Saturday's long race session in first place, although the Miagra squad gave them a good dice for most of the day until they lost a motor with just a few minutes left in the day. After 10 minutes of green flag racing Sunday, the Miagra has yet to take to the track.
While no lead can really be considered "comfortable" in crapcan racing, the T GT begins the day with an 11-lap advantage over longshot second-placers Rolling Chicane Racing in their veteran Civic.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
North Dallas Hooptie: The Rusty Hub's Preview
We're trying something new where--based on past results and some dead reckoning--we give a rundown of who on the upcoming 24 Hours of LeMons race's unofficial entry list we think could compete in the classes.
This weekend, LeMons tackles Eagles Canyon Raceway near Decatur, Texas. LeMons has typically hosted ECR races toward the end of May, when temperatures begin soaring. However, mid-week forecasts call for pleasant temps in the mid-70s and no rain this weekend.
Eagles Canyon maintains a reputation for consuming not only brake pads, but occasionally entire brake setups with overheating. For heavier cars that are hard on brakes at any track, this can make ECR a daunting challenge. Naturally, Texas racers love their heavy Ford Fox bodies, which comprise 10 of this race's 67 entries.
This weekend, LeMons tackles Eagles Canyon Raceway near Decatur, Texas. LeMons has typically hosted ECR races toward the end of May, when temperatures begin soaring. However, mid-week forecasts call for pleasant temps in the mid-70s and no rain this weekend.
Eagles Canyon maintains a reputation for consuming not only brake pads, but occasionally entire brake setups with overheating. For heavier cars that are hard on brakes at any track, this can make ECR a daunting challenge. Naturally, Texas racers love their heavy Ford Fox bodies, which comprise 10 of this race's 67 entries.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Crapcan weekend at a glance: May 3-5
NORTH DALLAS HOOPTIE
24 Hours of LeMons - Eagles Canyon Raceway (Decatur, TX)
Bring your extra brakes and a coolsuit.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, MAY 3
7 a.m. - Gates open
8:30 a.m. - Test Day Drivers' Meeting
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - LeMons Test Day. $150 per car. Click here for details
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Tech, BS and Gear Inspections
SATURDAY, MAY 4
7 a.m. - Gates open
9 a.m. - Drivers' Meeting
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. - Race Session I
SUNDAY, MAY 5
7 a.m. - Gates open
8:15 a.m. - Drivers' Meeting
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. - Race Session II
3 p.m. - Awards Ceremony
24 Hours of LeMons - Eagles Canyon Raceway (Decatur, TX)
Bring your extra brakes and a coolsuit.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, MAY 3
7 a.m. - Gates open
8:30 a.m. - Test Day Drivers' Meeting
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - LeMons Test Day. $150 per car. Click here for details
1 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Tech, BS and Gear Inspections
SATURDAY, MAY 4
7 a.m. - Gates open
9 a.m. - Drivers' Meeting
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. - Race Session I
SUNDAY, MAY 5
7 a.m. - Gates open
8:15 a.m. - Drivers' Meeting
9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. - Race Session II
3 p.m. - Awards Ceremony
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Cure for Gingervitis: A Rusty Wrap-Up
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| The K-It-Fwd Plymouth Reliant had a spare 2.2L motor, which NMF Racing surprisingly did not have to utilize. (The Rusty Hub photo) |
[Editor's Note: Eric Rood receives literally dozens of dollars for working as a LeMons Guest Judge. He is not employed by the 24 Hours of LeMons and works and writes independently of the organization.]
[Another Editor's Note: We apologize that most of the photos were taken in the paddock with the cars stationary. Our camera crapped out early on Saturday.]
We survived a blustery and occasionally flurry-filled 24 Hours of LeMons weekend at Southwest Michigan's Gingerman Raceway, where we worked the Penalty Box as a guest judge.
By and large, the racers were a pleasant bunch and the racing itself was mostly clean. Well, clean in the sense of no contact; pieces of broken car, freedom-seeking fluids and at least one transponder (or pieces of it anyway) littered the racing surface, but that's par for this hooptie course.
At the end of the weekend, Bucksnort Racing stood atop the heap of heaps with their second race win by just three laps over the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers. Judge Phil has already written about the winners here, so we'll just highlight some of the additional things we noticed throughout the weekend.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Cure for Gingervitis: Day One
Not only did our poor judgely butts last a 9-1/2 day of racing,'but some on the awful cars also made it.
And many more didn't. At one point in the day, no fewer than 10 cars on jackstands could be seen from the penalty box with LeMons wrenches poised underneath and shouting orders to teammates.
Yet some cars state together. Here's our rundown:
As we predicted, Bucksnort Racing's very quick, well-driven E30 leads.This is essentially their race to win or lose, since their car has the pace to match just about anyone.
In second place are the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and their naturally aspirated Volvo 245. The team barely made the race after some weather-related drama, but Sunday's green flag will find them just two laps down after Bucksnort gained a lap back with a last-lap pass.
The battle for third already looks solid, though the teams fighting for it remain a good distance behind the first two teams. The Blue Shells remain full of surprises; their super-B-Class Accord lunched their rare motor early, but the team's 16-valve Dodge Neon has been very strong and cleanly driven and resides on the podium's final spot.
They're threatened by the Don't Mess With Lexas Lexus LS400, which struggled through some black flags or they could be challenging for the top slot. We look for a solid rebound Sunday from their formidable driver roster, which includes LeMons legend Jeff Bloch (aka Speedycop).
The top B Class car is Team Gutty's Honda CRX, a car renowned for two things. First, the car has a number of super-hooptie home-brewed "upgrades" that we laugh at every time in BS Inspection. But more importantly, the damn thing is super-clean on racetrack and somehow holds together. Their lead in B is more than 10 laps, which is about 17 or 18 minutes at Gingerman.
B Class had never been this competitive in the Midwest before. At one time, at least four B cars resided in the overall Top 10, including the Bad Mojo Opel GT, which somehow got as high as 2nd overall before mechanical issues kicked it down in the class. Still, the formerly butt-terrible Toyota Celica of Apocalypse Racing and the Honda Accord of Marc Labranche's newly christened Frankenstein Motorworks are capable of making B interesting if Team Gutty cannot hold on.
Class C was a two-car battle between the rookie Loose Lugnuts Chevy S10--who had at least a 15-lap lead--and the Red Shirt Racing Nissan Pulsar. However, penalties ultimately cost the Lugnuts, who had to sit the last 90 minutes of the day and watch the Pulsar crawl past them in the standings.
In a distant third for Class C is the hopelessly awful Back to the Future-themed Ford Tempo of the Flux Decapacitators, who somehow miraculously ran a fastest lap of 1:50 in their automatic, 90-HP heap, which is ONLY 10 seconds off the race's fastest lap of 1:40, set by the fast-and-fragile Save the Ta-Tas Chevy Camaro.
In the only-competing-for-honor category, here are three teams of note:
- The Flying Pigs 5.0L Mustang lost their transponder while running 5th overall I must their second outing. They nabbed a replacement and only lost a few laps, but that was enough to punt them from the Top 10.
- The Red Wagon super-cheaty CRX had yet to turn a single lap but had had at least one engine change. We have literally one seen that car only on jack stands this weekend.
- The Supra Troopers' supra-cheaty Trubo motor ate itself after just a couple hours. In a blistering three hours, they swapped in a backup NA motor, which promptly chewed up and spat out a head gasket. Last we saw, the team were desperately swapping out the bearings from the NA motor to the turbo motor.
And many more didn't. At one point in the day, no fewer than 10 cars on jackstands could be seen from the penalty box with LeMons wrenches poised underneath and shouting orders to teammates.
Yet some cars state together. Here's our rundown:
As we predicted, Bucksnort Racing's very quick, well-driven E30 leads.This is essentially their race to win or lose, since their car has the pace to match just about anyone.
In second place are the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and their naturally aspirated Volvo 245. The team barely made the race after some weather-related drama, but Sunday's green flag will find them just two laps down after Bucksnort gained a lap back with a last-lap pass.
The battle for third already looks solid, though the teams fighting for it remain a good distance behind the first two teams. The Blue Shells remain full of surprises; their super-B-Class Accord lunched their rare motor early, but the team's 16-valve Dodge Neon has been very strong and cleanly driven and resides on the podium's final spot.
They're threatened by the Don't Mess With Lexas Lexus LS400, which struggled through some black flags or they could be challenging for the top slot. We look for a solid rebound Sunday from their formidable driver roster, which includes LeMons legend Jeff Bloch (aka Speedycop).
The top B Class car is Team Gutty's Honda CRX, a car renowned for two things. First, the car has a number of super-hooptie home-brewed "upgrades" that we laugh at every time in BS Inspection. But more importantly, the damn thing is super-clean on racetrack and somehow holds together. Their lead in B is more than 10 laps, which is about 17 or 18 minutes at Gingerman.
B Class had never been this competitive in the Midwest before. At one time, at least four B cars resided in the overall Top 10, including the Bad Mojo Opel GT, which somehow got as high as 2nd overall before mechanical issues kicked it down in the class. Still, the formerly butt-terrible Toyota Celica of Apocalypse Racing and the Honda Accord of Marc Labranche's newly christened Frankenstein Motorworks are capable of making B interesting if Team Gutty cannot hold on.
Class C was a two-car battle between the rookie Loose Lugnuts Chevy S10--who had at least a 15-lap lead--and the Red Shirt Racing Nissan Pulsar. However, penalties ultimately cost the Lugnuts, who had to sit the last 90 minutes of the day and watch the Pulsar crawl past them in the standings.
In a distant third for Class C is the hopelessly awful Back to the Future-themed Ford Tempo of the Flux Decapacitators, who somehow miraculously ran a fastest lap of 1:50 in their automatic, 90-HP heap, which is ONLY 10 seconds off the race's fastest lap of 1:40, set by the fast-and-fragile Save the Ta-Tas Chevy Camaro.
In the only-competing-for-honor category, here are three teams of note:
- The Flying Pigs 5.0L Mustang lost their transponder while running 5th overall I must their second outing. They nabbed a replacement and only lost a few laps, but that was enough to punt them from the Top 10.
- The Red Wagon super-cheaty CRX had yet to turn a single lap but had had at least one engine change. We have literally one seen that car only on jack stands this weekend.
- The Supra Troopers' supra-cheaty Trubo motor ate itself after just a couple hours. In a blistering three hours, they swapped in a backup NA motor, which promptly chewed up and spat out a head gasket. Last we saw, the team were desperately swapping out the bearings from the NA motor to the turbo motor.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Cure for Gingervitis: Preview update
The 24 Hours of LeMons race at Gingerman Raceway has already provided a handful of surprises before the race has even begun. We covered out preview of the race yesterday, but here are some additional teams to look for.
[Sorry for the despot formatting. We are working from a phone, which is also why Autocorrect changed 'crappy' to 'despot' in the previous sentence.]
CLASS A/OVERALL
We mentioned some of the contenders previously, namely Bucksnort Racing's BMW E30 with the Don't Mess With Lexas Lexus LS400 also possessing a good chance.
We pegged the Little Lebowski Urban Achivers' Volvo 240 as a contender, but some struggles with their tow vehicle have given them a delayed start to the track. They're still a contender but face an uphill battle.
A pair of E30 from veterans Shitbox Racing and Panzer Racing and the BMW E28 from One Percent Racing all possess outside chances because you can't deny that BMWs excel at crapcan racing.
Those in the Ford camp will find the PEAK sponsored 5.0L Mustang a fast but historically poorly driven entry. A clean race from them could produce a surprising result. The Lincoln Mark VIII of SS Car also looks fast in testing and could surprise.
One last note: The United DuckTape Racing Porsche 944 has three Top 10 finishes in its last three races. If they can avoid the 944 curse, they could shock the LeMons world with an overall win.
CLASS B
Class B could be the most competitive class with at least a dozen very solid Class B teams.
Stalwarts Byte Marks and the Blue Shells both took Class B with a handicap when presented with the choice between Class A with no laps and B with a handicap
Many Class B teams have the pace to win the class, but they have all struggled with either driver or mechanical errors.
We think We're Not Really From Iran's Ford Festiva and Team Gutty's Honda CRX (both with oodles of home-brewed, low-buck upgrades) are the favorites.
The SHO-powered Geo Metro of Charnal House could run away with the class, but they have struggled while developing both car and driver historically. A clean race isn't out of the question, but it will be an uphill battle.
We think four teams have terrific chances to play spoiler: Por Sport's NA four-cylinder Mustang, Smokey Saturn and the Bandits' Saturn SL2, Apocalyptic Racing's rear-drive Toyota Celica and the Usual Suspects' Chevy Monza. Have we mentioned how much we enjoy LeMons variety of entries?
Want some long shots? Bet on the Carbeque Saab or the Bad Mojo Opel Breadwagen.
CLASS C
The banner class of LeMons is pretty much as we described it yesterday, though we underestimated how glorious the diesel I-Mark truly is. The amount of rust is truly remarkable.
The only Class C entry we missed is the Loose Lugs Chevy S10, whose 2.8L power plant has as good a chance as any to take the win in the team's first outing.
INDEX OF EFFLUENCY
We'd have to guess that the odds-on favorites lie with the I-Mark or the Red Shirt Racing Nissan Pulsar, but it's entirely impossible to say who the contenders might be before the race plays out.
Certainly, the Class C teams are all IOE material, but we think Charnal House, Apocalyptic Racing, Bad Mojo and the Pentastar Plymouth Sundance could be in the discussion with a stunningly competent performance.
But enough of our gibberish. Who do you like in the categories and for IOE?
[Sorry for the despot formatting. We are working from a phone, which is also why Autocorrect changed 'crappy' to 'despot' in the previous sentence.]
CLASS A/OVERALL
We mentioned some of the contenders previously, namely Bucksnort Racing's BMW E30 with the Don't Mess With Lexas Lexus LS400 also possessing a good chance.
We pegged the Little Lebowski Urban Achivers' Volvo 240 as a contender, but some struggles with their tow vehicle have given them a delayed start to the track. They're still a contender but face an uphill battle.
A pair of E30 from veterans Shitbox Racing and Panzer Racing and the BMW E28 from One Percent Racing all possess outside chances because you can't deny that BMWs excel at crapcan racing.
Those in the Ford camp will find the PEAK sponsored 5.0L Mustang a fast but historically poorly driven entry. A clean race from them could produce a surprising result. The Lincoln Mark VIII of SS Car also looks fast in testing and could surprise.
One last note: The United DuckTape Racing Porsche 944 has three Top 10 finishes in its last three races. If they can avoid the 944 curse, they could shock the LeMons world with an overall win.
CLASS B
Class B could be the most competitive class with at least a dozen very solid Class B teams.
Stalwarts Byte Marks and the Blue Shells both took Class B with a handicap when presented with the choice between Class A with no laps and B with a handicap
Many Class B teams have the pace to win the class, but they have all struggled with either driver or mechanical errors.
We think We're Not Really From Iran's Ford Festiva and Team Gutty's Honda CRX (both with oodles of home-brewed, low-buck upgrades) are the favorites.
The SHO-powered Geo Metro of Charnal House could run away with the class, but they have struggled while developing both car and driver historically. A clean race isn't out of the question, but it will be an uphill battle.
We think four teams have terrific chances to play spoiler: Por Sport's NA four-cylinder Mustang, Smokey Saturn and the Bandits' Saturn SL2, Apocalyptic Racing's rear-drive Toyota Celica and the Usual Suspects' Chevy Monza. Have we mentioned how much we enjoy LeMons variety of entries?
Want some long shots? Bet on the Carbeque Saab or the Bad Mojo Opel Breadwagen.
CLASS C
The banner class of LeMons is pretty much as we described it yesterday, though we underestimated how glorious the diesel I-Mark truly is. The amount of rust is truly remarkable.
The only Class C entry we missed is the Loose Lugs Chevy S10, whose 2.8L power plant has as good a chance as any to take the win in the team's first outing.
INDEX OF EFFLUENCY
We'd have to guess that the odds-on favorites lie with the I-Mark or the Red Shirt Racing Nissan Pulsar, but it's entirely impossible to say who the contenders might be before the race plays out.
Certainly, the Class C teams are all IOE material, but we think Charnal House, Apocalyptic Racing, Bad Mojo and the Pentastar Plymouth Sundance could be in the discussion with a stunningly competent performance.
But enough of our gibberish. Who do you like in the categories and for IOE?
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Cure for Gingivitis: The Rusty Hub's Preview
Having been given a peak at this weekend's entry list, here are our two cents on what to look for at Gingerman for the 24 Hours of LeMons race.
[Editor's Note: Classing is of course not certain ahead of time and may be subject to change.]
Class A/Overall
The last five Midwest Region LeMons races have been won by five teams: Clueless Racing (Autobahn 11), Bucksnort Racing (Gingerman 12), Subliminal Racing (Autobahn 06/12), Launcha Splatos (Road America 12) and Skid Marks Racing (Autobahn 10/12).
[Editor's Note: Classing is of course not certain ahead of time and may be subject to change.]
Class A/Overall
The last five Midwest Region LeMons races have been won by five teams: Clueless Racing (Autobahn 11), Bucksnort Racing (Gingerman 12), Subliminal Racing (Autobahn 06/12), Launcha Splatos (Road America 12) and Skid Marks Racing (Autobahn 10/12).
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Layin' down the law, LeMons style
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| White Trash Racing's Fail Shark Neon is one of the 70 entries for this weekend's race at Gingerman, where our own Eric Rood will be busting cheaters and chastising miscreants. (The Rusty Hub photo) |
This weekend, we travel to Gingerman Raceway, where The Rusty Hub's Eric Rood will serve as a guest judge during the 24 Hours of LeMons' "The Cure for Gingervities" race.
After seeing the entry list, we know we'll see most of the Midwestern regulars, although three of the big teams in the region (Skid Marks Racing, Clueless Racing and Subliminal Racing) are conspicuously missing. We think there's an excellent chance this race will produce a first-time overall winner and probably at least one first-time class winner, too.
Like our Facebook page here and, starting Friday, we'll have updates and photos of BS Inspections, the paddock, the race, the punished and the weather (Because Southwest Michigan in April).
Monday, April 15, 2013
March Crapness: Wrap-up
Like any good crapcan race, we can't let March Crapness end without handing out some subjective awards to some of the competitors, in addition to crowning our tournament winners.
But before that, I'm going to pontificate for a short bit, so feel free to skip down a bit to where there are pretty pictures and bold text if you don't care what I have to say. I won't be offended.
March Crapness basically arose out of a monotonous mass transit commute I had for a few months. I spent a few weeks sketching it out and it soon grew into a monster of a (dumb) idea. In my mind, this was a March Madness for the non-sporting-inclined, where there would be as much randomness as that silly basketball tournament, whose victor I still do not know or care to know.
So I planned it all out, wrote the blurbs, hunted down photos from sources (though most of them came from the esteemed Murilee Martin) and--finally--found some HTML polls to embed. This last bit proved to be something I should have started with, as I inevitably found out. But these are the teething troubles we all discover our first times out, whether it's a silly blog project, an inconceivable engine swap or just trying to get that stupid $500 car to run long enough to get a photo of it passing the checkered flag.
But before that, I'm going to pontificate for a short bit, so feel free to skip down a bit to where there are pretty pictures and bold text if you don't care what I have to say. I won't be offended.
March Crapness basically arose out of a monotonous mass transit commute I had for a few months. I spent a few weeks sketching it out and it soon grew into a monster of a (dumb) idea. In my mind, this was a March Madness for the non-sporting-inclined, where there would be as much randomness as that silly basketball tournament, whose victor I still do not know or care to know.
So I planned it all out, wrote the blurbs, hunted down photos from sources (though most of them came from the esteemed Murilee Martin) and--finally--found some HTML polls to embed. This last bit proved to be something I should have started with, as I inevitably found out. But these are the teething troubles we all discover our first times out, whether it's a silly blog project, an inconceivable engine swap or just trying to get that stupid $500 car to run long enough to get a photo of it passing the checkered flag.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
March Crapness: Your Internet Crapcan Grandmaster Nonpareil
The dust has settled after a see-saw final that saw one team ahead by as many as 60 votes before the opposition rallied back to tie it. After such prolonged and determined efforts, it's difficult to crown just one team the Internet Crapcan Grandmaster Nonpareil.
But when time ran out on the poll, Three Pedal Mafia edged out NSF Racing by just a single vote, 276-275.
Congratulations, Three Pedal Mafia! You are the Internet Crapcan Grandmaster(s) Nonpareil. Relish your title and brag of it often.
Look for a more complete wrap-up Monday and we can't thank enough anyone who voted, posted a link or relentlessly hounded every person they knew to visit our silly blog and vote in this silly poll so that they could be awarded a silly title.
March Crapness has exceeded our expectations by several orders of magnitude and we couldn't be happier that it culminated with a fierce Internet battle between two great teams.
But when time ran out on the poll, Three Pedal Mafia edged out NSF Racing by just a single vote, 276-275.
Congratulations, Three Pedal Mafia! You are the Internet Crapcan Grandmaster(s) Nonpareil. Relish your title and brag of it often.
Look for a more complete wrap-up Monday and we can't thank enough anyone who voted, posted a link or relentlessly hounded every person they knew to visit our silly blog and vote in this silly poll so that they could be awarded a silly title.
March Crapness has exceeded our expectations by several orders of magnitude and we couldn't be happier that it culminated with a fierce Internet battle between two great teams.
Friday, April 12, 2013
March Crapness: Crap-ionship!!!
At last, we arrive at the finals, where Three Pedal Mafia and NSF Racing face off to see who will be named Internet Crapcan Grandmaster(s) Nonpareil and who will go home with a slightly less cool title.
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
[Editor's Note: If you run into any trouble with the polls, contact eric@therustyhub.com and I'll look into it ASAP.]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Thursday, April 11, 2013
March Crapness: Third Place (April 11)
Here's a quick turnaround for the consolation match, which will give a very special title that we will definitely not make up on the spot for the winner and be worth its weight in Internet gold.
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
Please note that there will be a short turnaround for the third-place matchup, during which we will bestow some other whimsical-but-not-quite-as-awesome title upon its winner.
[Editor's Note: If you run into any trouble with the polls, contact eric@therustyhub.com and I'll look into it ASAP.]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
March Crapness: Flailing Four (April 10)
Holy carp! March Crapness is reaching a fever pitch. Or it's at least almost over so we'll stop spamming you from the safety of our Facebook page.
But first, take a look at the matchups and pick the team(s) you think should face off to become Internet Crapcan Grandmaster Nonpareil, a title that can only The Rusty Hub can crown. (Not because of any copyright laws, really, but because no one else would ever think of such a silly title that every team left in the tournament would want, we're sure.) Enough of my ramblings...
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
Please note that there will be a short turnaround for the third-place matchup, during which we will bestow some other whimsical-but-not-quite-as-awesome title upon its winner.
[Editor's Note: If you run into any trouble with the polls, contact eric@therustyhub.com and I'll look into it ASAP.]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
But first, take a look at the matchups and pick the team(s) you think should face off to become Internet Crapcan Grandmaster Nonpareil, a title that can only The Rusty Hub can crown. (Not because of any copyright laws, really, but because no one else would ever think of such a silly title that every team left in the tournament would want, we're sure.) Enough of my ramblings...
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
Please note that there will be a short turnaround for the third-place matchup, during which we will bestow some other whimsical-but-not-quite-as-awesome title upon its winner.
[Editor's Note: If you run into any trouble with the polls, contact eric@therustyhub.com and I'll look into it ASAP.]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Monday, April 8, 2013
March Crapness: Effluent Eight/Regional Finals
Today sees the matchups that determine the March Crapness Regional Winners. Happy voting!
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
[Editor's Note: If you run into any trouble, contact eric@therustyhub.com and I'll look into it ASAP.]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
[Editor's Note: If you run into any trouble, contact eric@therustyhub.com and I'll look into it ASAP.]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Thursday, April 4, 2013
March Crapness: An Address
In light of some recently discovered shortcomings with our current polling system, we have unfortunately had to delay the final three rounds of March Crapness until next week while we retool and find a polling system that is harder to game and harder to hack. See the March Crapness tab for the revised schedule and note that we'll start the "Effluent Eight" round back up at 1 p.m. EST on Monday.
To be more specific, the April 2 matchup between Team Petty Cash and Duct Tape Motorsports unfortunately had its results tainted by a spam bot that autocompleted the Poll a couple thousand times with a mixture of votes for what appeared to be for both teams (oddly enough), intermixing the spamming with the votes garnered by huge campaigns from both teams and essentially rendering them uncountable. We don't know who wrote and implemented the bot, but we are 100 percent certain that neither team's members are responsible. It's possible that a voter from one side or the other could have written it, but it's more likely that it was just a random third-party attack.
To be more specific, the April 2 matchup between Team Petty Cash and Duct Tape Motorsports unfortunately had its results tainted by a spam bot that autocompleted the Poll a couple thousand times with a mixture of votes for what appeared to be for both teams (oddly enough), intermixing the spamming with the votes garnered by huge campaigns from both teams and essentially rendering them uncountable. We don't know who wrote and implemented the bot, but we are 100 percent certain that neither team's members are responsible. It's possible that a voter from one side or the other could have written it, but it's more likely that it was just a random third-party attack.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
March Crapness: Change of Plans
March Crapness fans and Rusty Hubbers-
Due to some technical challenges with one of last night's polls, we will be reviewing the April 2 results with some additional scrutiny before posting them. Please bear with us as we deal with these unforeseen issues.
As a result of these complications, we will be postponing the Effluent Eight matchups until April 8, with an abbreviated schedule (schedule revisions will be posted on the March Crapness tab as soon as we figure that out) allowing us to complete the tournament ASAP.
Thanks for your patience with this and I'll have results and more to write on this later today. Check back here and/or on our Facebook page for updates.
-Eric
Due to some technical challenges with one of last night's polls, we will be reviewing the April 2 results with some additional scrutiny before posting them. Please bear with us as we deal with these unforeseen issues.
As a result of these complications, we will be postponing the Effluent Eight matchups until April 8, with an abbreviated schedule (schedule revisions will be posted on the March Crapness tab as soon as we figure that out) allowing us to complete the tournament ASAP.
Thanks for your patience with this and I'll have results and more to write on this later today. Check back here and/or on our Facebook page for updates.
-Eric
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
March Crapness: Sweaty Sixteen (April 2)
We stop counting votes at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Monday, April 1, 2013
March Crapness: Sweaty Sixteen (April 1)
The field narrows and the rounds come quicker now that we've reached the third round. We expect some close results from these matchups so be sure to vote!
Voting ends at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Voting ends at 10 a.m. EST tomorrow.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Sunday, March 31, 2013
March Crapness: Second Round (March 31)
Happy Secular Spring Holiday Day! Enjoy it by filling out your votes for the last matchups of the Second Round!
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Saturday, March 30, 2013
March Crapness: Second Round (March 30)
The holiday weekend begins now, but feel free to use March Crapness voting as an excuse to steal away from the annual Family History Revisionist History rant at Easter. Your family does that, too, right? Anyway...
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Friday, March 29, 2013
March Crapness: Second Round (March 29)
The Second Round rolls on with some more great pairings.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Thursday, March 28, 2013
March Crapness: Second Round (March 28)
Thanks for sticking with us through the long slog of the First Round of March Crapness. Round Two of begins today and the pace should quicken a bit.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 1 vs. 16 (March 27)
The play-in round players return to face the top-ranked entries today. Of course, "top-ranked" in this case just means "lucky," since the seeds were drawn randomly. Still, this is a marquee day for Crapness.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 8 vs. 9 (March 26)
Some very veteran crew are included in the 8 vs. 9 seed matchups with heavy doses from the Gulf and Western regions.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Monday, March 25, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 2 vs. 15 (March 25)
Crapness takes a round full of fast cars...and one with a unique engine swap in the 2 vs. 15 seeds.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Sunday, March 24, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 7 vs. 10 (March 24)
Today brings the 7 vs. 10 seeds with a sprinkling of podium stalwarts and top-notch paddock rats.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Saturday, March 23, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 3 vs. 14 (March 23)
We soldier on through the first round with some more of the big guns in LeMons and ChumpCar in the 3 vs. 14 seeds.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We'll be using Google for the polls from now on. You may notice that you can vote multiple times. DON'T DO THIS. We get a log of all vote and WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES (even though we live near Chicago).]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Friday, March 22, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 6 vs. 11 (March 22)
EDITOR'S NOTE: WE'LL BE USING GOOGLE FOR THE POLLS FROM NOW ON. SOME OF YOU MAY NOTICE THAT YOU CAN VOTE MULTIPLE TIMES. DON'T DO THIS. WE GET A LOG OF ALL THE VOTES AND WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES, EVEN IF WE DO LIVE NEAR CHICAGO.
Still in the first round, we match the 6 vs. 11 seeds with some crazies and some super-competitive teams.
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Still in the first round, we match the 6 vs. 11 seeds with some crazies and some super-competitive teams.
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Thursday, March 21, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 4 vs. 13 (March 21)
EDITOR'S NOTE: THE POLLS HAVE BEEN FIXED. WE'LL BE USING GOOGLE FOR THE POLLS FROM NOW ON. SOME OF YOU MAY NOTICE THAT YOU CAN VOTE MULTIPLE TIMES. DON'T DO THIS. WE GET A LOG OF ALL THE VOTES AND WILL NOT COUNT ANY VOTES WHERE YOU'VE STUFFED THE BALLOT BOXES, EVEN IF WE DO LIVE NEAR CHICAGO.
Today sees the 4 vs. 13 seeds, which includes some great homebuilds and some aging iron.
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Today sees the 4 vs. 13 seeds, which includes some great homebuilds and some aging iron.
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special thanks to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
March Crapness: First Round, 5 vs. 12
We roll past the play-in rounds to the main bracket, starting with the 5 vs. 12 seeds. Find the poll after the jump.
[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. We're trying a different polling method that should be easier to track results and have less potential for error. Thanks!]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
[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. We're trying a different polling method that should be easier to track results and have less potential for error. Thanks!]
Go to the March Crapness tab for the full rundown, up-to-date bracket and schedule.
Read the introduction to March Crapness here.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
March Crapness: Play-In Round
...so it begins. Today commences March Crapness so get your vote on and let the world know which crapcans are best...or worst...or most likely to catch on fire. However you want to cast your vote is fine by us!
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.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
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.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates. Tweet about March Crapness using the hashtag #crapness.
[Extra-special help to Murilee Martin for assisting with many of the photos. All photos as credited.]
Sunday, March 17, 2013
March Crapness: Behold the Bracket!
Well, the 24 Hours of LeMons and ChumpCar World Series weekends are winding down at Carolina Motorsports Park and Hallett Motor Racing Circuit, respectively, so we feel it's a good time to bring you a shrubbery the MARCH CRAPNESS BRACKET!
Before we do, we just want to reiterate a couple of points:
- While we selected the teams in the tournament from throughout crapcan racing's short history, the seeds were all drawn randomly using random.org.
- The first matchups begin Tuesday with the play-in round. The posts will go live around 1 p.m. EST each day. Voting will conclude the next day around 10 a.m. EST, which gives you 21 hours to cast your votes each day.
- Voting results will be updated on the March Crapness tab at the top of our page as soon as we can post them. This tab will also contain the full schedule and a bracket that is updated as often as possible.
- We'll have links to all of this from our Facebook page and Twitter accounts. Use the hashtag #crapness to spread the word.
Before we do, we just want to reiterate a couple of points:
- While we selected the teams in the tournament from throughout crapcan racing's short history, the seeds were all drawn randomly using random.org.
- The first matchups begin Tuesday with the play-in round. The posts will go live around 1 p.m. EST each day. Voting will conclude the next day around 10 a.m. EST, which gives you 21 hours to cast your votes each day.
- Voting results will be updated on the March Crapness tab at the top of our page as soon as we can post them. This tab will also contain the full schedule and a bracket that is updated as often as possible.
- We'll have links to all of this from our Facebook page and Twitter accounts. Use the hashtag #crapness to spread the word.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
March Crapness: Welcome to the crap!
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| Which is your favorite crapcan? Check back later this week to see matchups and next week to vote for your favorite cars and teams. (The Rusty Hub photo) |
March Madness is a time for America's best unpaid athletes to raise the profiles of their respective universities in order to generate piles of revenue for the institutions' respective athletic war chest. And there's basketball, too, which is some kind of game, I'm told.
What fascinates me, though, is the tournament bracket. The collective "Oozinahs" reverberate through corporate America the day after the Selection Committee announces The Bracket when literally millions of peons waste a Monday scribbling down the names of universities they only know of through Wikipedia, scratching them out, conferring with ESPN's second-by-second coverage, reprinting the damn thing and then just outright guessing their way through it while they tell Frank in the next cubicle how they know every player in the tournament before handing the bracket over to the office bookie along with a crisp $10 bill.
Well, 2013 is different, my crapcan friends. In 2013, low-buck racing gets its own tournament: March Crapness. There's no money for entry and no winners really, because everyone in the sport is a winner...or everyone is a loser. I still haven't figured which.
Crapcan weekend at a glance: March 15-17
SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT
24 Hours of LeMons - Carolina Motorsports Park (kershaw, SC)
The 24 Hours of LeMons opens its 2013 campaign at Carolina Motorsports Park with Southern Discomfort this weekend on the track's full course.
Racing will be broken up into the following sessions:
Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with one hour mandatory quiet time from 11 a.m. to noon
Friday tech inspections (including driver gear inspection) take place from noon to 5 p.m.
Turn One Track Events hosts a track day Friday at CMP. Click here for more information.
The Rusty Hub looks forward to Speedycop's debut of the road-racing Cessna 310 at this event. Read and watch more on Speedycop's site.