[kdracer73]

WHAT'S A $500 CAR, EXACTLY?
A car that reaches the starting line for a grand total investment of $500, including purchase and preparation. The only things not included in that figure are approved safety equipment, brakes, and wheels/tires.



WHY NOT CHEAT ON THE $500 LIMIT?
Because our BS-Factor judging panel will dock you one lap for every additional $10 it thinks you spent. It's also a claiming race, meaning the organizer can buy your car after the race for $500 if he thinks you've been cheating.


IS IT SAFE?
Safety equipment isn't included in the $500 car-purchase price, so you'll have kind of a fighting chance. But car racing just isn't a brilliant thing to be doing. Get used to it.

IS MY CAR GONNA GET HELLA MUNCHED UP?
Oh, almost definitely. LeMons is a non-contact event, but it's a crowded track with a whole lot of really hard driving. And even if your car survives out on the course, halfway through the race one entry will be chosen by popular ballot for immediate crushing. Could be yours. Heck, it probably WILL be yours. Be prepared.


Entry: $500 per car $100 per driver $75 for non-drivers. (Each team must have 4-6 drivers.) This fee covers registration, track time, paddock pass, track insurance, on-site ambulance crew, sweatshop-made commemorative crap, and anything else we come up with by then. Non-driving team members get all the same bennies except track time.

Not going to be working on a car or hanging out in any of the assigned pit spaces? If so, general-access paddock passes are $20/day or $30/weekend, available right at the gate. Grandstand-only seating is offered by the occasional track as well, but that's not something we have any involvement with--please contact the individual race courses to inquire. Each track also has its own policy on children under 16 in the grandstands or paddock; again, contact the course for more info.


2.3: Tire Eligibility: DOT-approved street tires only, minimum treadwear rating 190; no exceptions. BTW, don't call us to moan that there aren't any good tires sold in that range. That's the damn point.
2.4: Whiner Eligibility. Whiners are not eligible to compete. If you believe that you might be a whiner, please check with a domestic partner, guardian, or health-care professional before getting the rest of your team kicked the hell out of the race.


3.7: Fire-Retardant Clothing: Full SFI 3.2/A- or FIA 8856-2000-certified fire-retardant driving suits must be worn by all drivers at all times while inside the car. If using a single-layer SFI 3.2/A1 or 3.2/A3 suit, driver must also wear fire-retardant SFI- or FIA-certified long underwear. Multilayer suits rated SFI 3.2/A5 or higher are highly recommended and may be worn without long underwear. Fire-retardant FIA- or SFI-rated racing gloves and shoes are required. And yeah, while they may very well be superior, military-spec or firefighter suits are not FIA- or SFI-rated, so we can't accept them.
3.7.1: Socks and Other Undergarments: Socks, shirts, and other undergarments made of synthetic material (including nylon, orlon, Spandex, etc.) will melt to the skin in a fire and are strictly forbidden. Fire-retardant (Nomex, Carbon-X, or equivalent) racing socks are mandatory.

4.1.1: Lame-Ass Rationalizations: Cars that "should be" worth $500 don't count; cars that "were worth $500" before you spent another $2000 to fix them don't count; cars you've owned for 20 years and spent more than $500 on during that time don't count; "it would have been worth $500 if it didn't already have a cage" doesn't count. Five hundred dollars means five hundred frickin' dollars.


4.2: Safety Equipment DOES NOT Count Toward $500 Total: Safety equipment described in Section 3 DOES NOT count toward the $500 total. "Safety" refers to things that can save the driver--not things that can save the car.
4.2.1: Beside the items and processes listed in Section 3, the following are considered safety-related and therefore exempt:
Wheels, tires, wheel bearings, balljoints, and brake components
Exhaust systems downstream of the header/exhaust manifold (NOTE: Turbos and related components are NOT exempt from the $500 limit. Nice try.)
Windshields and wipers. (Stock windshields, true Lexan, or circle-track mesh are acceptable; non-Lexan plastic is not acceptable.)
Driver comfort & information (steering wheel, shifter, gauges, pedals, cool suits, vents, heaters, radio)
All fuel hoses, fuel fittings, fuel filters, and related mounts
All fuel-system components upstream of the fuel pump, including tanks/cells, mounts, fillers, vents, etc. (NOTE: Fuel pumps, carburetors, injection pumps, computers, and individual injectors are NOT exempt from the $500 limit.)

4.4: BS Factor: To prevent cheating, all cars will be inspected by a panel appointed by the Organizers. At that time, all teams will be given an opportunity to describe the car's purchase and prep. If the panel believes the limit set out in Rule 4.1 has been exceeded, it will assign a Bullshit Factor (BSF) equal to one BSF per $10 above the limit. The entry will be docked one lap for each BSF assigned. (Ten dollars = one BSF = one lap.) Entrants are very, very, exceedingly strongly encouraged to bring pre-race-prep photographs, verifiable receipts, notarized testimonials, plus any and all other supporting evidence to Tech/BS Inspection. Or at least make up plausible-sounding stories in advance.
4.4.1: Appeal of BSF Panel Decisions: Get real. There's no appealing this decision. You're boned.
4.5: Sponsorships: Conned some hardworking corp into giving you parts or cash? Nice work, but it still counts toward the $500 total. We recommend blowing that sponsorship dough on other stuff instead--hotel rooms, gasoline, entry fees, pedicures, driver suits, personal male enhancement medication, travel expenses, Freudian therapy for the Organizers...things like that