SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The 24 Hours of Lemons is an endurance car race with a major tweak - the cars can't cost more than $500, but teams can decorate them any way they like. Think a black-and-yellow Beetle with a team dressed as bees. NPR's Bill Chappell spent the weekend at a 24 Hours of Lemons race to learn how and why the racers do what they do.
BILL CHAPPELL, BYLINE: Like a lot of good times, it starts with a block party.
(CHEERING)
CHAPPELL: Race cars are rolling into downtown Camden, South Carolina, like an old-fashioned circus. Once they park, kids run from car to car.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR ENGINE REVVING)
CHAPPELL: These are not your usual race cars. A Honda Civic has a lawnmower, squirrels and flamingo on its roof. A cream-colored Toyota Yaris has googly eyes, an homage to Gary Wilson Jr., the snail from "SpongeBob SquarePants." In the middle of the party, race judges in black robes sort cars into competition classes. One of the judges is Eric Rood. He tells me it's a back-and-forth process.
ERIC ROOD: It is a bit of a negotiation, yeah. And I'm not above reproach. This is a wagon full of bribery.
CHAPPELL: The graft in question is beer, food and novelty items. When a judge approves a car, the word bribed is spray painted on its hood. The 24 Hours of Lemons started more than 15 years ago in California. It's a take on France's famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. This weekend's race is shorter and spread over two days.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARS RACING)
CHAPPELL: On a sunny Saturday, cars tear around the track. Matthew Ramirez stands at a fence with his young son, who's a big fan of Gary the Snail. Ramirez is here to see a friend race. He says he isn't into NASCAR.
MATTHEW RAMIREZ: I think this is pretty cool, though. I like this a lot.
CHAPPELL: Yeah.
RAMIREZ: And especially the endurance aspect of just trying to race your garbage as long and fast as possible - I think it's awesome.
CHAPPELL: These cars cost less than $500 at first, but safety costs are exempt. Every car has a roll cage and fire suppression, and like big-time racing, drivers are protected by head and neck restraints.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARS RACING)
CHAPPELL: This track is more than 2 miles long. Built over an old airport, it's a mix of straightaways and sharp turns where some drivers spin out, but the biggest challenges are mechanical.
SHELLY MCKEE: I had apparently boiled the brake fluid.
CHAPPELL: That's Shelly McKee. She and her husband Justin are here racing a 1978 Datsun B210. It needs a new radiator and fan after rear-ending another car.
MCKEE: Half our team is at the parts store right now getting everything that we need, and we're here bleeding the brakes to try and save that.
CHAPPELL: It's not easy keeping a lemon rolling. After the first day, some crews are up past midnight helping each other. By Sunday afternoon, about 50 of more than 80 registered cars are still on the track, and that's the goal, McKee says.
MCKEE: We're trying to fight to keep the car out there and keep it running, and that's about it.
(SOUNDBITE OF CARS RACING)
CHAPPELL: Finally, after more than 13 hours of racing, the checkered flag waves. Spectators line up at the track exit, applauding every car.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR REVVING)
CHAPPELL: The McKees' Datsun didn't make it to the finish, but they did win an award for having the worst brakes. It's called Can't Stop, Won't Stop. And in a race where the loudest cheers are for teams that defy the odds, that seems about right.
Bill Chappell, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF GARY NUMAN SONG, "CARS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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