Formation of the Team
From the first time I heard about 24 Hours of LeMons, I realized that this was the kind of activity that I would appreciate to its fullest. The problem was that in ‘06 and ‘07 the only events were in California…a 24 hour tow from Missouri. I was lacking resources of a tow rig, ample vacation time, and financial backing.
I did make some feeble attempts to get interest from my racing friends in the area. However, it seems that my friends who were actually racers were too busy to be able to spend much time or money for such a one-time event.
When the 2008 Schedule came out and showed events as close to my location as 10 hours, I was determined. The current effort started with a conversation with my colleague, friend, and fellow Back 40 racer Zac. I had mentioned the race to him many times before. Now, however, with the new schedule, he was very interested in partaking in the fun. Shortly thereafter, I contacted my good friend Chris, who mentioned that he was quite excited about being a part of the team, as was his friend Todd. The 4 of us met for drinks that evening, and we made a decision: We are going to build a car for 24 Hours of LeMons!
Chris has a great tow rig: a retired Missouri Department of Transportation, one-ton, powerstroke diesel Van. He also has our choice of enclosed or open trailers for use during the trip. This will certainly make for a comfortable cruise to and from the event(s).
The teams must consist of 4 to 6 drivers. So, we’ve met the minumum requirements, and are all in concensus that 4 drivers, as opposed to 6, will maximize our seat time and thus learning potential and FUN! We will certainly employ the help of anybody who would like to help with the effort, both locally, and on the actual race trip(s). Of course, we may have more drivers too…who knows?
We decided on a team name based on our common tie of participating in the ridiculousness that is Back 40 Racing (local field racing for fun). With the similarity between Back 40 Racing and 24 Hours of LeMons racing, we found ”Back 40 Racing” to be an appropriate team name. As a side note, I like “Captain Clem and the Back 40 Bruisers”…but that would really be best if we were going to form a rockabilly band or the like. Still, it’s got a good ring to it. But I digress.
Or early plans were to compete in the event that is closest to us, the Toledo, Ohio, event. We have unanimously decided, however, that the course layout at Ohio is less than desirable, and therefore we will plan to attend the event at Carolina Motorsports Park near Kershaw, South Carolina (http://www.carolinamotorsportspark.com/), and/or MSR near Houston, Texas (http://www.na-motorsports.com/Tracks/TX/MSR.html). Either of these events is about 14 hours from us, and should be able to be managed in a long day of driving. These are both true roadcourse circuits and we feel that they will be more conducive to learning and racecar longevity.