High Plains Drifter 2025: High Plains Raceway w/ 24 Hours of Lemons

Event: High Plains Drifter 2025 (Full 24 Hrs)

Location: High Plains Raceway, Deer Trail CO

Date: 09/13/25 - 09/14/25

Team: Car #: 32

2 hours of penalty time, 75 mins for mechanical issues, 1073 miles raced, 421 laps, 105 gallons of gas

TeamWattson set the record for an EV during an 24 hour race.  The Datsun truck was converted to all electric, using "off the shelf" motor and controllers.  The battery packs came from a Jaguar.  They had three?  batteries on rotation and would swap them about once an hour during pit stops.  The charging station was from three RV stalls, and the cooling loop to keep the batteries cool was set to extra cold during charging.

Subaru BRAT with some sort of powertrain swap

Twin engine Ford Focus....so two four cylinder motors, two transmissions, all wheel drive, both with manual transmission using the same linkage!

random carnage shot from another team

LOL "Loosier Tire"

Ford Festiva with a turbo!

LOL!  Spinning!

MKIII Volkswagen

Race a NASH?   Why not, I guess....

Last minute fabrication to the miata.....and air damn to direct airflow into the radiator, using a discarded VP racing fuel can. 

I got a few laps in Keith's NASA spec-Z Nissan 370z

THE RUST-OLEUM SPRAY & SLAY: 24 Hours of Lemons @ Road America 9/7&8

We brought a knife to a gun fight, again.   Lemons uses three classes and the biggest factor in deciding class placement is how the judges like your "theme" aka car decoration, costumes, etc.   Ours was considered weak and they seem to hate spec Miata's so even though we a basically stock battle hardened Spec Miata with a 1.6l they put us in A class.   Most A classed cars are 15+ seconds faster than us.   In fact many B class cars were 10+ seconds faster.   After 14 hours of racing, we finished something like 40th over all out of 140, and 16th in class.  

This is the driver side rear hub failure that happened a few hours into the race Saturday.  Fortunately I had a rear spindle with a bearing and hub already pressed in.  In and out in under 15 minutes.  This also meant we lost the rear brake pads somewhere outside of the track, the spares we had were retired Hawk Blues from Spec Miata racing, a completely different bite and wear characteristics.  This forced us to do three pad changes, two of them HOT.  The rear caliper also took some damage from the accident, but we made it work.  A front hub/bearing also decided to give up.  Fortunately the only thing that happened is the driver spun, and when he came in the wheel had a 3/8" of play in that wheel!  We also warped not, one but three sets of rotors!  

Video of the hub failure!

Approximately 140 lining up for the start of the race Saturday. 

Friday night, all race cars are paraded into Elk Hart Lake for a car-show, here are pics of cars I thought were interesting. Of coarse it was obligatory to visit Sebkins. 

One of the "art works" on the wall at Sebkins.

Ranchero! 

Audi B5 A4 with a 4.2l v8 swap, using the 2.8l V^ clutch and transmission.

MK1 Rabbit with an third generation ABA 2.0l 8-valve swap

Ambassador with a carb-ed LS swap

Bad things can happen racing!  :'( 

Moments before....

View from race control.

One of the Lemons judges took my head set and was having a conversation with our driver while out racing! :)

View from the roof of the control tower.

At the beach!

I love the chain-saw carving, I wonder if it has a name.

https://24hoursoflemons.smugmug.com/Race/Doing-Time-in-Joliet-Autobahn-CC-July-2024

Jack Pine Sprints w/ SCCA-LOL @ BIR

My race weekend ended pre-maturely.   I am not sure how a 119hp motor brakes an exhaust cam shaft...but here we are!  So much for a "pro-built" motor.  <sigh>  Thanks for my racing family Land O' Lakes Region   SCCA-racing.com especially the other Spec Miata drivers.   There is still compression on those two cylinders, so we will install a used cam, do a compression & leak down test, and see how it is.....praying the cylinder head or the whole motor doesn't have to come out AGAIN!

Here is a photo collection from one of our photographers:

https://www.johnruschmeyer.pictures/John-Ruschmeyer-photography/Auto-Racing/Road-Racing/Jack-Pines-Sprints-double-divisional-2024?fbclid=IwY2xjawFMB01leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSrLEG4lkOzPjpUQLsqf3W7_-7fQP_qiWcs2t6eBJX_pBncimEJGgxdu6g_aem_pqyOOiYDi1DeRhyRwrlATg

Doing Time in Joliet: 24 Hours of Lemons @ AutoBahn Country Club South; 7/13&14/24

 I joined Dog Days Racing for this race.  The weapon of choice, is their "semi-retired from SCCA" '91 1.6l Spec Miata.  No real changes where made from it's SM days, right down to the now superseded Bilstein shocks. Saturday is 8 hours and Sunday is 7 hours of racing.  Racing was cut roughly 30 minutes early due to rain (lightning).  Sunday the race started almost 45 minutes late due to a freaking monsoon coming through!   The rain also REALLY slowed our team down.  Blame it on the tires....car setup, driver skill (or lack there of)...whatever...two, three spins?  

Mazda RX7

Saturn SL2

Our car with a fender bender....another Miata spun and our driver smacked him.

Getting in trouble with the judges....AGAIN!!!

'48 with a Buick 3800 super charger motor.  Crown Vic front subframe, Ranger rear end

Super fast....in the straights...not all that fast in the corners; there drivers are really aggressive, one time I choose to put two wheels in the dirt to avoid them coming into my passenger seat; which caused them to black flag me...we lost 5 minutes and several places because of this.

Corvette with a junkyard truck 350ci motor.

Fresh set of rotors and pad for Sunday.

This is a new one for me: No assigned pit boxes!   Due to the limited pit row, and the 80 teams there simply isn't enough space.  The team has to haul all the stuff needed for a pitstop, (fuel, driver, cool suit ONLY) and haul it back.  This makes pit boards/signs and car-to-crew communications critical.

321 laps, 21st position over all, 19th in class. Best lap 1.48.6.  100 gallons of fuel, and five trips to the black flag station!

Advanced AutoSport (the mid-west's premier Spec Miata shop) has a location right on track.  I went to visit them and buy some extended lower ball joints.

Early in the race Sunday.