Congrats Jay! Great job! BTW, unless they've changed it since the last time I was there, Toledo is a 1/2 mile Winchester clone.

I've never been, but I've heard Winchester is a great track. Not that I'm seriously planning on the LeMons...lol. The more I looked at it, the more expensive it became. Sure...$500 car. Then add on the mandatory safety equipment (roll cage, 6 point harness, seat (recommended), fire supression, tires and brakes) and you just added at the very least $2000. Then, $500 entry fee plus driver's entries at about $100 a pop. Oh, they hold a vote every race and pick a car to destroy...probably mine.

Nah, I'm hanging up the road course stuff for the rest of this year. I'm heading to Grissom ARB this Sunday for an Autocross event...mainly because we still have two sets of sticker tires we need to heat cycle...lol.

Good man! Paved, high banked ovals can get expensive in a hurry!

Great write up Weasel.

I just had a look at the LeMons site. Even the rules and conditions are hilarious!

1.1: Organizer Decisions: Organizer's decisions are final. If you don't like it, tough. Get your own race.

1.3: Refunds and Compensation for Loss: There are none. Forget it. It ain't gonna happen. You get zip. Squat. Nada. Can't get your act together? Tough nuts. T-boned on Lap One? Listen to the crickets. Abducted by space aliens? Boo-hoo, L. Ron. Jay ran you over in his RV? Then you shouldn't have been...wait a minute...okay, that actually might be our fault.

1.4: Claiming Race: At the end of the competition, organizer may elect to purchase any vehicle from its owner(s) for $500. In other words, don't spend a lot on a cheater—cause if you do, you ain't gonna own it much longer.

Although I'm very late to the party, I just wanted to add my thanks for a great story and photos. Way to go Jay and company. You guys are getting a great experience for minimal outlay. Congratulations on your P2 in class. Well done.

The experience is great! I have enough races to get my National Competition license, and then I'd have to do 4 National races (I think) to get a Pro Competition license. With a Pro license I could drive in almost any type of race if invited to do so...I can't afford a big league car...lol. It would be cool to be asked to drive say in the 24 Hours of Daytona or something.

With money getting tight (I just bought a new house) I'll most likely stick with my regional license and hope to make a race or two next season. I might go ahead and grab the National license just to say I have one...lol. The Neons would never be competitive enough to drive with the big boys in Nationals.

Jay, do you ever see any Legends cars on track? The reason that I ask is that I see on YouTube some videos of those things eating up spec Miatas at VIR. I met a guy here in Atlanta that runs them and picked his brain a bit on the Legends cars. He's a 50-something like me and said that he moved to them after he had "outgrown" his cart, after getting very high nationally ranked. He said that although a new top of the line Legends is around $12-13K, you can find a competitive one all day long for around $6K. Unfortunately, around here they run them mostly on short ovals, which I don't find that compelling. Then again, like you said the Mazda is supported well.

Just thinking about your future, and by the way, do you need an agent?

I saw a couple Legends AT the Nelson 24 but they didn't run in it. They were just there for show for fans I guess. I've never seen one on course though. I'm game for anything that can eat up a Miata though...hate those little buggers! I can eat up ITA Miatas, but the Spec Miatas have a bit more umph.

I'd really like to get a little CRX or something. Those things can stop on a dime, and they're pretty quick. I have fun driving against them in the Neon.

There's an IT (Improved Touring) "league" that runs 4 races I think. You have to compete in any 2 regional events in an IT class, then there's a big IT only race at Mid Ohio, and then the IT championshship at Road Atlanta. Too bad Atlanta's too far. I might try to run in the Mid Ohio race though. Mixed classes are fun, but I want to see what a course full of fairly equal cars can do.

Awesome story Weasel, keep up the good work bud