A Pre-Party

So Russ wanted to have a "Christening" party for the Colt E. Kind of like smashing that cheap bottle of champagne against the hull of a new ship. It was a way for everybody at work to come see the car before we go crash, I mean race, it next weekend. Actually it was probably just a good excuse to party. Again. But we had a good turnout and a lot of positive comments about the car, so that means all of you who are reading this, and were there, just didn't tell us what you really thought. That's OK because the poll has spoken. Only half of you think the Colt E will finish the race! Good thing we don't care what you think. Ha! Seriously, thanks to all for coming out last night. I think everyone had a great time. Chris and Mike will be at the next monthly meeting too. I promise.



Well, we're packed and ready to go. The Colt E is about as ready as she'll ever be. We checked everything off our tech inspection sheet. Before Thursday I need to make sure the camera's and camcorder's have fresh batteries and plenty of tape. I also need to get some software on the laptop if I want to post videos to this blog from the track. We'll see about that one. You'll notice in the included photos that we have sold out and are now marketing all sorts of junk for the team. If you'd like a custom mug with our logo, just send me an email and I'll place you an order with Todd (great job on the mug Todd!) We have a few extra items that we will be selling from our pit at the track.


I leave you with a few specs on our beloved Colt E. Kind of puts into perspective (or not) what we are attempting to work with.

Make: Dodge (liars, it's a Mitsubishi)
Model: Colt E (again with the lying, try Mirage)
Year: 1988
Engine: 1.5L 4 cylinder fed by an 2 bbl "carburetor like device" (the '80's sucked)
HP: 68 @ 5600rpm (I kid you not folks - sixty eight)
Transmission: 4 speed manual with counterbalanced shift knob
Weight: approx 1500 lbs without driver
0-60mph: 4.3 tries
Unique features: manual steering (yes that does exist), optional high idle package, aftermarket piston return springs (yes, I'm kidding)
Cost: I'm not quite sure, but I'm pretty sure I could have sent my wife on a weekend shopping spree and it would have cost me less.

See you at the track!

We have a driver!

The polls have closed and while we had much less activity than our "Duck" poll, we have a winner. Chris will be leading off the team in the Colt E! Considering the poor sap who starts the race has to deal with 95 other amateur driven, junk cars all smashing for position, I say "Congratulations Chris!". If ever our roll cage is going to serve it's purpose and save our life, it will probably be in the first few laps. Of course, the flipside is that if Chris wrecks the car, then none of the rest of us get to drive the race car that we just spent 8 weeks building. Oh well, let's hope for the best.

For our next poll, I want to see what kind of confidence our supporters have in the car. Vote for how many laps the Colt E will complete. Keep in mind that last years winner completed a little over 500 laps. Also, taking the checkered flag doesn't mean that we win. It just would mean that we finished the race without chucking a rod out the side of the block. Personally I think it would look pretty cool to have fire pouring out from under the hood as I blow the engine to kingdom come. Whatever, just vote.

T-Shirts

So yesterday Jeff shows up with the t-shirts we ordered. Wow, these things look great! They were designed and printed by Steve Greb over at Omega Graphics in Kannapolis. It's Steve's design that graces the top of this web page. Steve got us a great price and even threw in a few can coolers as well. For all you who ordered a t-shirt, you're going to look good hanging out in the pits! If you're ever in the market for some graphic design work, give Steve a call or visit www.omegaart.net. Thanks Steve!

Be Warned

So I felt like making a post this weekend. We didn't work on the car or anything (it's done, remember?) but there is always relevant Lemons info to be had. We spend much of our time following the sites Jalopnik and Speed:Sport:Life because the Lemons judges write for these sites and offer up all sorts of great Lemons info and coverage. So it was today that I was scanning the recent stories on Jalopnik and found one of the new devious driver penalties to be unveiled at Lemons South Spring. It is called the TNA penalty for Taiwanese National Anthem. In short, this involves a car alarm perpetually playing in the car until the next pit stop. You can read about it in detail here. Oh the diabolical evilness!! While you're there be sure to follow the links to some of the other penalties.

There have also been few posts on some of the other teams. Judge Lieberman just did an interview with TAJracing, another entrant in Lemons South Spring. I love reading about the other teams! While you can't really gather any competitve intel from the team sites or website interviews (launch the UAV!!), it is still fun to see other guys working just as frantically as we are. Plus, in many cases, we are relieved to know that we will not be the only ones out there with a piece of crap!

Well that's all for now. Be sure to cast your vote in the poll to the right. Which reminds me, I never announced the results from our first poll. After much interest and rampant cheating (y'all know who you are!) the Duck will be welded on the roof. Specifically, between the brakelights. Stay tuned this week as I'm going to try to post a feature on "Get to Know Your Rats". Oh the excitement.....

Official Lab Rats Gear

The topic of Lab Rats Motorsports branded gear has come up quite a bit recently. We have ordered custom lab coats, T-shirts and decals for ourselves already. We have even talked about hats and coozi's (can insulator thing). So I'm going to put out an offer to those of you following us. If anyone is interested in purchasing a T-shirt, decal or any other items send me an email at mchisek@gmail.com. I'd like to have all orders in by next Friday, 3/27 so that I can bring all of the items to the race for delivery. I think it would be great if the pits were flooded with fans sporting Lab Rats gear!

Another Thank You

On the heels of today's earlier message, I wanted to extend a personal thank you to Rob Hall. Rob has been providing us with free racing gear from the beginning of this project. He has hooked us up with two full sets of tires and wheels, our Butler racing seat and a full set of radios for driver/pit communications. Seeing as how most of us are married with kids (read: broke), these expensive items have been a real boost to the team. And for all of this stuff what does Rob want in return? Nothing (well maybe our beer). Thanks Rob, see you at the race!

A Big Thank You

I just wanted to make a quick mid-week post to send out a thank you to Chris Rogers Motorsports of Concord, NC. Chris hooked us up with a full set of tires and wheels for the race. CRM deals in Legends and Bandolero cars and provides a wide range of services to the newbie racer all the way up to the veteran racer. If you're looking to get started in racing, give Chris a call!