Do you dream about becoming a weekend auto-racer but lack the funds? Then 24 Hours of Lemons might be the answer. It’s a gateway to an alternate automotive reality—and everybody is invited.
24 Hours of Lemons is an endurance race in super cheap cars. A Lemons race car cannot cost more than $500 to acquire and prep. If that sounds impossible, here’s the wrinkle: Teams can purchase vehicles for more than $500—and then sell unneeded parts for cash to buy pieces they need.
Lemons is more than a race. It’s a rolling art show packed with low-brow know-how. eBay Motors is proud to sponsor the Concours d’Lemons that accompanies many races. These events run next to the major fancy concourses like Pebble Beach and Amelia Island. Think Pintos and Pacers, not Delahayes and Duesenbergs.
A Mini Moke dressed as a racing backhoe
Jay Lamm, the founder of Lemons, described the ethos of good-spirited fun over one-upmanship:
The point of Lemons is that you can participate. It’s okay if you don’t turn out to be Lewis Hamilton. It doesn’t matter how you finish. And it doesn’t matter if you are the fastest driver.
The winner of each event gets a big bag of nickels, worth about $400.
The series kicked off in 2006 at Altamont Motorsports Park in Tracy, Calif. Fifteen years later, it’s a nationwide motorsports institution. The 2021 schedule includes stops in nearly every region of the US. The size and scope are impressive. More than 7,000 drivers participate per year. The total number of Lemons alum is approaching six figures.
eBay Motors Greases the Gears
Custom Honda N600
Building a Lemons race car is a fun and challenging task. Lamm explained that a lot of the cars and safety equipment come from eBay Motors. Finding obscure parts on a tight budget and timeframe is a huge part of the battle. Lamm said:
eBay Motors enables the world of low-budget racing. If you need a head gasket for a 1984 Chevy Celebrity, where are you gonna get it? eBay Motors.
But it’s more than just finding the car and the parts. It’s about financing the build. eBay Motors completes the trifecta with a fluid marketplace not just to buy needed parts but also to sell spare parts.
Why is Sonoma Unique?
The next race in the 2021 Lemons schedule is coming up on April 3 and 4 at the Sears Point Sonoma raceway. Lemons humorously renamed the weekend as “Sears Pointless 2021.”
Due to Covid, no spectators are allowed. Late registration and substitutions are curtailed, as well. Only pre-registered team members can attend. Common sense Covid rules apply, including masks and social distancing.
Lemons uses the entire course at Sonoma Raceway. The layout includes the 9a Bus Stop and a short 11a hairpin. The series first took place at the track in 2010, when it was known as Infineon Raceway.
Safety Is Paramount
Racing Vanagon (one of several, amazingly enough)
The $500 racing budget is sacred, but the limit doesn’t apply to the cost of safety equipment, wheels, tires, and brakes. Teams can easily spend ten times more money on safety equipment than they do on the car. A Snell SA2015 racing helmet is the minimum requirement. All vehicles must be properly caged.
Lemons takes great care in selecting racetracks. Lemons doesn’t do ovals. Lamm explains:
There are tracks where we won’t go because they are not within our safety zone. A big modern road course is the most controllable venue for racing.
Every station is staffed with double-track marshals. Unsafe driving is not tolerated.
Shop now for auto racing safety gear
A Motorsports Parallel Universe
Racing camper
As Tony Swan expressed in a 2010 Car and Driver article, Lemons “provides a fantasy forum, a motorsports parallel universe, where sluggish lap times don’t really matter. And it’s okay to participate in kid’s stuff, like costumes. Encouraged, in fact.”
Most of all, 24 Hours of Lemons is about automotive camaraderie. You hang out for the weekend with your buddies at the racetrack and scheme how to win those $400 of nickels. Lamm describes the experience as “a party where a race breaks out.”
