Last week I dropped by Thunderhill Raceway to check out the 24 Hours of LeMons and walked around and took some photos but I didn’t stay for the entire race. Even though I was there for a while I was able to read comments made by teams and see enough photos taken during the race to know it’s the last place in the world I would wish be been caught in a car. Just take a moment to think about it… First of all you are required to have a “piece” of who knows what that is worth less than $500 and the cheaper the better. How many race cars worth $500 can possibly be considered safe all things considered. Drivers are not required to have any track experience and all they have to do is “purchase” a license. I talked to one team driver who had his girlfriend for a teammate and she has never driven on a track in her life. For those of us that have had many hours of seat time we have a very good understanding of what “not” to do and when “not” to do it which was taught to us on tracks by licensed instructors when there was “not” any other cars on the track for us to hit or lives to endanger. However, in this case anyone with fifty bucks can take the first turn as fast as they want with other untrained drivers as well. To make things worse, even if there are some who choose to drive within their known abilities, they are still on a track with other drivers who may either be seasoned race car drivers going at full speed or worse yet they are out there with the ones who don’t realize how unsafe what they are doing truly is and they too are going as fast as they can.
I saw photos of one car that rolled and it was clear to see that what roll bar that car had it had not held up very well. I know for a fact that two cars that raced in this particular race in fact were using old roll bars that I had personally thrown away simply because they were both illegal and unsafe. I even saw drivers out of their cars walking around and across the track with no helmets on not to mention objects or should I say “projectiles” fastened to all parts of cars that could in fact mane or kill. I also saw in person some fuel cells bolted on with hardware that wouldn’t hold a picture frame on the wall. I saw loose objects, sharp edges, some very poor equipment and many dangerous components, for example a radiator poorly mounted right behind a driver’s head where it could cause severe bodily harm should the car be hit or roll or simply shake loose.
Having seen and read what I did I am amazed that nobody has been seriously injured or killed. Furthermore I am surprised that track management or their insurance companies allow any of this to take place. Having raced for years I have seen the great pains that both the tracks and national racing organizations alike take to go above and beyond in an attempt to make the sport of auto racing as safe as it is. In light of this painstaking effort by all concerned to make our sport as safe as it is which in the long run makes sure we all go home to our loved ones at the end of the day, I must say that in my opinion the 24 Hours of LeMons is a travesty not to mention a slap in the face for all auto racing.
I will say there were a few cars that could be considered safe at least from what I saw but if you have ever seen a car hit in the driver’s door (even with bars) and then take into consideration many of these drivers have little or zero skill you stand a better chance of taking a shower in gasoline and having a smoke. At first I had to laugh when I saw what I recognized as very competitive race cars that had suffered some damage in other sanctioned events but that had been disguised so as to not attract attention.
I have no doubt there will be many that will have lots to say about my observations and each is welcome to his or her opinion but when you take on average un-trained/un-skilled/un-licensed drivers running around a track at speed in what has to be called “dangerous” tech inspections or safety regulation at minimum, you are asking for trouble.
There are many rookies who sign up for this event that “assume” that because they are obeying the rules that what they are doing is probably safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. In theory I think the whole idea of the 24 Hours of LeMons is a great idea but on the other hand what it turned out to be is was a far cry from safe. The owners of the 24 Hours of LeMons not to mention track owners who allow them to run need to realize it is their responsibility to make sure that STRICT safety codes are enforced and there is a big need for much stricter tech inspections.
Click here for article I posted with photos and for those of you who have raced for years count how many jack stands you see in the photos that have “NO” protective bottoms that almost all tracks require. Hey, if they don’t even have a clue for such a basic rule what else is missing?
3 comments ↓
Hi Gary!
You know I had a feeling you or Will would be there with an old beater. Now I know not to tell you if I invite Will onto my team next time around
I’ll try to respond to your 2 posts as best as I can.
Nets: I can confirm the cars aren’t required to have window nets, but many people do use them anyway. We’ll be using them plus a hans device if we’re allowed back in,(big If).
Speeds: LeMons shortened the track for us, so we weren’t using the entirety of Thunderhill in order to keep speeds down, and there were chicanes to lower speeds on the start/finish straight. That being said, it was freaky out there to be sure, especially while it was raining or dark and 3 deep in a turn.
Safety: In a break from tradition, organizers didn’t tolerate bumping, punting, blocking, spinning, or any number of shenanigans that are normally associated with LeMons this time, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Lots of black flags were flying, (and many for questionable reasons), lots of required driver swaps/penalty times, and I hear a few teams were shown the door. But, aside from the crushing of the People’s Curse car, not many penalties other than time delays were given. Surprisingly, there was no shock collars affixed to the driver’s wang, no fish emulsion balloons, no welding of inward-facing spikes to the radiators of aggressive cars. That stuff seemed to be all for laughs in the driver’s meeting.
Long story short: While LeMons is by no means safe, sane, or fair, it certainly is a hell of a good time. It’s kind of like 5-year-olds playing soccer; There’s no dazzling footwork, no discernible playbook, plenty of inexperienced referees with inaudible whistles, lots of players crying on both teams, occasional boo-boos, and yet everyone’s still having fun.
All the best,
Colin
Hey Colin Buddy, Glad to hear from you. I sure wish I had known you were there and I would have stopped by and chatted for a bit. Which car where you running? By the way, any time you want to invite Will to run with you feel free. As a matter of fact it’s funny you should mention Will. That’s part of what bothered me about the format I saw. As you know Will was the youngest licensed race car driver in the U.S. at the age of 13 when he began racing my Dodge Viper. Largely because of his advanced driving ability and maturity level I never hesitated allowing him to race against on any race track with any other drivers. But my choices were also enhanced because in the back of my brain was the facts that due to EXTREMLY enforced safety rules and regulations and very strict tech inspections along with nothing but the best equipment in whatever he drove, I KNEW he was protected. You and I both know that is absolutely not true with regards to the 24 Hours Of LeMons. Like you said, tech inspection was more for comedy than safety and it showed in a big way. For those who have not raced for years it’s understandable they will not have a true appreciation of how dangerous what they were involved in really was.
I got a chuckle when I read you comment, “no welding of inward-facing spikes to the radiators of aggressive cars” But I am sorry to report you are wrong. I took pictures of at least one car that had permanently affixed bolts sticking out at least an inch all along the front bumper. Keeping this in mind for those who don’t remember, I would ask them if they knew what the most common cause of vehicle explosions by fire were. I’ll give you a clue… Old school VW Bugs. The factory VW Bug had the front plates bolted onto the front bumper with two one inch bolts and often when a VW bug would rear-end a full-sized car this two bolts would puncture the fuel tank many times causing a fire.
I sure am glad you informed me about the way you were treated. Excuse my French but I have to say that really pisses me off. I ran a couple times with such an organization some years ago at Laguna Seca (no affiliation with LS) where I had a similar experience as yours. That kind of attitude is not becoming to auto racing and in most cases is not to be found. Boy would I love to mention their name right now but the less publicity they get the better. Favoritism seems to dictate the way they run their operation. What’s ironic about the whole thing is none of them are fast drivers that have ever accomplished anything and yet they are supposed to be “instructing”. It just proves one more facet of what type of operation we are dealing with.
I have no doubt that had we ran we would have had a great time but the bottom line is I sure would hate to learn someone got hurt due to the lack of enforced safety guidelines. No window nets? What’s bad is they just don’t have a clue but someone will pay the price unfortunately before they figure it all out.
Stay in touch and I want to hear more about the freeze plug incident after you left Mexico.
Yea man, real sorry I didn’t see you. We were team 100, Blanco Basura Racing and were way down by the caltrans team in the lot. Our ‘85 Honda Prelude crapped out on lap 166, when it’s 200k+miles motor blew. We hadn’t added oil once in 7 hours though. Just swapped drivers and added fuel. Rookies!
Actually had a cool view from our spot. Here’s a couple minute clip from what I filmed in front of our RV!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfrCRTiRfGo
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