Where The Elite Meet To Cheat Day One: MX-3 Leads, Monte Carlo Close Behind

by Murilee Martin

September 24th, 2011 9:28 PM

where the elite meet to cheat day one mx 3 leads monte carlo close behind

After a long, occasionally rain-soaked race session, it was no surprise to find that Hong Norrth, winner of the Cain’t Git Bayou race (and two others in ’11) held the lead at the end of the day.

The Hong Norrth MX-3 is quick and the team doesn’t spin out or commit cone-icide (though they did benefit from ownership of several Get Out of Penalty Box Free cards in escaping from pass-under-caution busts today). It looks like Mazda may end the season with the manufacturer’s trophy, which would be a huge upset over 2010-dominating BMW.

However, a lot can happen between now and tomorrow night’s checkered flag, especially with the Simon Says Integra menacing the MX-3 from just three laps back. The Acura is a bit quicker than the Mazda, so Hong Norrth can’t afford to make a single mistake on Sunday.

14 laps behind the Integra, we find the extremely rusty Team Molde Carlo Chevy. Yes, it should be impossible for this monster to hang with the nimble front-drive Japanese cars on CMS’s tight, twisty road course, but the Molde Carlo has threatened to win several LeMons races at similarly cramped Carolina Motosports Park in the past. A rash of black flags and/or minor mechanical problems for the Acura and Mazda would be the invitation the Monte Carlo has been waiting for.

Meanwhile, Unununium Legend of LeMons Speedycop has done it again, with this… this… well, I’m not sure quite what to call this car. It’s a rollover-victim BMW E36 with (if I recall correctly) ’42 Buick fenders, a ’50 Dodge roof and hood, and a ’51 Plymouth grille. Aside from an unnerving tendency to scrape the bodywork on turns, it’s looking pretty quick on the track.

The Tunachuckers managed to keep their ’75 LTD Landau on the track, in stark contrast to their bad-fuel-system nightmare at the last South Carolina race. The Landau is on the ponderous side, but reliability counts for a lot in LeMons racing.

We’re hoping the weather will be a bit nicer on Sunday, after being forced to throw the checkered flag 15 minutes early due to a massive rain shower that flooded the storm drains on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course. Life was hard for the teams that didn’t show up early enough to grab the covered garage spaces.

#24HoursOfLeMons #24HoursOfLeMonsCharlotte #Mazda #MazdaMX-3 #MX-3 #NorthCarolina #Racing #WhereTheEliteMeetToCheat

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 5 comments

CJinSD on Sep 25, 2011

Here is a potential racer for So Cal teams: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/2613992857.html It just needs a Toyota drivetrain, a cage, and a theme.

Like Reply
SexCpotatoes on Sep 25, 2011

The Mazda leading makes me remember... I think someone said something here on TTAC about the 323 being a great car, well I found one on CL for $850 near Buffalo, NY http://buffalo.craigslist.org/cto/2613378212.html Needs plenty of work, but maybe someone can make it their project car hell or something. Good luck.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Lou_BC " GMC Canyon sales during the second quarter of 2023 kept Big Red’s midsize pickup last in its segment when ranked by sales volume. The Toyota Tacoma continued to command the top spot, while also being the only model to be in the green with a 14 percent bump to 63,262 units year-over-year, representing nearly half of all segment deliveries. The  Chevy Colorado (see running  Chevy Colorado sales), the Canyon’s corporate cousin, placed second with a 12 percent dip to 19,909 units. The Nissan Frontier took third with a 17 percent slide to 17,213 units, followed by the Jeep Gladiator in fourth with a 34 percent drop to 13,751 units. The  Ford Ranger (see running  Ford Ranger sales) took fifth with a 22 percent decline to 12,618 units. The GMC Canyon (see running  GMC Canyon sales) finished out the short list with an 11 percent slip to 6,708 units"
2ACL If you weren't throwing away your Mercedes after the warranty expired, this will fix that. This is an overly complex answer to the AMG question I don't think will endure the test of time.
Kwik_Shift Looks like what a redesigned Nissan Murano would be. I believe Murano is done.
MaintenanceCosts This is a Volvo EX90 with swoopier styling and less interior room. I'm really not sure I understand the target audience.
Stuki Moi If government officials, and voters, could, like, read and, like, count and, like, stuff: They'd take the opportunity to replace fixed license numbers, with random publicly available keys derived from a non-public private key known only to them and the vehicle's owner. The plate's displayed number would be undecipherable to every slimeball out there with a plate reader who is selling people's whereabouts and movements, since it would change every day/hour/minute. Yet any cop with a proper warrant and a plate scanner, could decipher it just as easily as today.