24 Hours of LeMons comes to Denver at High Plains Raceway

November 2, 2:45 PMDenver Motorsports ExaminerChristine Jerritts

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Started in 2006 in homage to Le Mans endurance racing, the 24 Hours of LeMons racing series embodies all the fun but none of the fuss of professional racing.  Unlike high tech gleaming carbon fiber pro cars, LeMons race cars must cost no more than $500 plus the cost of safety gear.  As you are probably imagining, this means incredible heaps of garbage with roll cages and fire systems attempt to stay running - at racing speeds - for the 24 hour endurance races.

As is the case with most racing, cheating is common. However, the LeMons methods of punishment are most uncommon.  Entrants vote midway through each race for the "most annoying" team - the associated car is awarded the People’s Curse and is ceremoniously destroyed!  Judges wearing white wigs and black robes traverse the paddock looking for evidence of rule breaking and those accused are penalized using a dart board to determine punishment.

The vehicle decorations, team names, and other track side antics are also off the charts.  Auto blog Jalopnik has published regular accounts of the entertaining LeMons scene across the country.

The LeMons coordinators just announced the 2010 racing schedule and Colorado has won a spot on the list!  July 10-11 will mark the inaugural "B.F.E. GP" event at High Plains Raceway in Byers, CO ("sixty miles from anything" according to the the coordinators). More details on registration and "rules" at the Lemons website.

Racers beware, although $500 seems like an easy hurdle for entry, some competitors have taken the labor and preparation component of their cars to the absolute extreme.  Case in point is this Geo Metro that has had it's engine relocated to the passenger seat with a custom machined gear box that reverses the direction of power for a rear wheel drive conversion.  Still sound intrigued? You've got all winter to exploit your nearest junkyard and apply some serious creative automotive genius.... see you in July!