24 Hours Of Lemons - Event Coverage

Sponsor Love: Nitto NT-01 Tires
www.nittotire.com
Thirteen continuous hours of non-stop understeer, off-road excursions and broken rumble strips at the 24 Hours of Lemons race showed why Nitto's NT-01 R-compound tire is quickly becoming one of our favorite choices for track flogging. The fact that we ran the entire race with two sets and still drove away with rubber to spare gives you an idea of its robustness. That's what really stands out with the NT-01-its tenacity in holding up to prolonged temperature and wear abuse from the near-oval track yet still providing huge grip (even in the dirt at times) and predictable behavior.

Like most R-compound tires, the NT-01 doesn't give much squeal or aural indication that it's at its limits. The tread blocks are so large there's almost no squirm. This turned out to be a good thing at the Lemons race. Instead of trying to discern how much our tires were squealing over the howls of 30 other cars on street tires, you feel the limits with a progressive and forgivable breakaway, making our Celica one of the easiest cars to drive at the limit and quite often beyond. -Jay Chen

Sponsor Love: Takata Five-Point Harness And HJC HX-11 Helmets
www.takata.com
www.hjchelmets.com
event like this. Ditto for the ultra-light, super-trick HJC carbon fiber HX-11 helmets we got on heavy discount. After all, we weren't racing the Dome NSX around Suzuka, we were running a $500 Celica ST around a barely-paved oval in NorCal.

We changed our minds when we saw the competition. Cheaping out on the door beams and fire suits suddenly seemed like a bad idea. No matter, the harness and helmets provided more than just peace of mind. Takata's cam-lock system made driver changes quick and easy, while the wide webbing and cushy padding made long stints more than bearable. Ditto for the light weight and all-day comfort of the HX-11. But the highest compliment we can pay to these two manufacturers is that nobody on our team was injured or even bruised-despite multiple collisions and impacts. -Ed.

Sponsor Love: Alpinestars Tech-1 racing shoes
www.alpinestars.com
The soles are oil and flame resistant. The uppers are made of perforated suede while the insides are lined with Nomex. They look and feel great and are FIA 8856-200 approved. But the best thing I can say about Alpinestars' Tech-1 racing shoes is that for my entire two hours and 45 minutes of racing, I didn't think about my feet once. -Ed.

Sponsor Love: The Tracy Inn
www.tracyinn.com
In a manner befitting such a parsimonious racing endeavor, we managed to find lodging for the race weekend at price you simply can't beat. Free. Through a friend of a friend, we managed to meet Dino Margaros, the proprietor of the Tracy Inn who generously offered us four double rooms during our competition. With quiet rooms, hot showers, and a parking lot big enough to park a race car trailer (not that we needed one), you now know where to stay if you're planning on running Lemons in 2007. Thanks again, Dino. -Ed.
Tracy Inn Inc.
24 W. 11th Street