The 2020 ‘Shine County Classic took place from February 1-2. This event kicks off the 2020 24 Hours of Lemons racing season. The first day of the race was plagued with rain but the second day was mild and sunny. This annual event is always held at the Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL. We have had so much fun at this annual event, that this was our 3rd year in a row to attend it.
To start a Lemons race team you begin by purchasing a car that is $500.00 or less. Safety is a big deal in this series, so your roll cage and other related equipment will have to pass tech inspections. Depending on the slowness of your car, your team will either race in class A, B or C. It is not unusual for a car to get penalized laps if the judges consider it “Super Cheaty”.
After each race, an awards ceremony takes places and a few triumphant cars experience true glory.
This gentleman was one of many Lemons track judges.
During the race, we saw a few novelty vehicles that were brought along. This lifted up 1930 Ford Model A was our favorite.
The Twisted Sister Racing We’re Not Gonna Make IT Acura RSX had a turn of bad luck. The car was running in second place in its class when the transmission went out on them. Hopefully, they are going to make it to the next race.
This C4 Corvette was at the event last year. It was the 4th slowest car during the 2019 race and won the Organizers Choice Award. Unfortunately, the D-Teams number 19 Corvette did not hold together to finish the race.
Rob Delhamer comes down from Handover, PA every year. It did not take long to notice that his 1984 Porsche 928 has a new theme.
The Duff Beer theme on the Volvo is an instant classic.
The Space Monkey team is from Huntsville, Al. Towards the end of the race, their BMW got in a nasty collision.
The crew from the Thin Blue Swine Racing Team had an extraordinary story leading up to the race. Bruce Jansen is the owner of the car and he transports it on an aluminum trailer. Days leading up to the race the trailer was stolen from his front yard. Word of the stolen trailer spread so fast that Jansen was even interviewed on the local news. The trailer thieves are either brave or stupid because this team is made up of mainly law enforcement officers.
Unfortunately, the trailer was never recovered and Bruce had no choice but to drive the T-Bird across town to the race. The car has legit registration and is completely street legal. Despite the early setback, the Thin Blue Swine Racing team completed the race and won the Organizer’s Choice award.
The “Old Dudes” and their 1965 Ford Ranchero came in first place in the C Class.
Paul Becker is the driver of the “Mustank” theme fox body Mustang.
The group that had the “save the ta tas” slant back Caddy is from Chicago. The car is actually a Cadillac on a Camaro chassis. It is powered by a 5.3L Chevy truck engine that performed very well.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RACE WINNERS AND RECIPIENTS
