Racing Anxiety Looms with the Lemons 25 Hours and 1 Minute Thunderhill

I typically don’t get nervous before we start a race. Our team runs in the 24 Hours of Lemons series, and we’re usually good for two races on the calendar per year. I’m familiar with both of our vehicles and the tracks at which we race. There’s usually a moment of brief mental calibration during my first stint in the car, but it typically fades before I even finish the first lap. This next race, however, will be different.

For those unaware, the Thunderhill racing circuit in northern California will no longer host the 25 Hours of Thunderhill race. This is a bummer, as that was a pretty fascinating event, pitting a wide range of racing vehicles against each other in an incredibly long endurance race. It had been run at Thunderhill since 2003. Now, however, it will take place at the Ozark International Raceway in Missouri.

Sensing an opportunity, the 24 Hours of Lemons crew decided to update this years event at Thunderhill. Instead of two days with about 8 hours of hot track and a break in between, we are running the whole time. The race will last 25 hours and 1 minute, which is both hilarious and terrifying.

We’ve never run at night. Our car has headlights, but that’s just so it’s street legal for when Tim (car owner) needs to test it at home. Trying to keep the car together over the course of two separate race days is a challenge in its own right. Now we have to do that for a full day, nonstop.

The good news is that we’re just a one-car team for this race, which means less to worry about. Also, instead of running the mega 5-mile Thunderhill loop, the race will just be on the main 3-mile track. That’s a slightly easier mental load. Plus, if the car does have a mechanical issue, it will be easier to spot and get the car back to the pits.

This is the first race since I’ve started racing at Lemons where my anxiety is a bit high. But I’m also excited. I’ve actually always wanted to compete in the real-deal 25 Hours of Thunderhill. That is now a missed opportunity. Instead, I get to compete in the longest endurance race in the country.

Wish us luck.