Winner, winner, lemon dinner. (Photos courtesy Jerry Helm)
If you build it, they can drive it.
Coupeville grads Ben Russell, Jerry Helm, and Dan Russell were part of a team which hauled a 1978 Datsun pickup truck, otherwise known as “Rando the Unicorn,” to the 24 Hours of Lemons Race at Pacific Raceways in Kent this past weekend.
The calm before the storm.
While there the trio, aided by fellow drivers Sam Stanton and Dave Phillips, finished 7th in their class while piloting the only truck in the race, and brought home the highest honored award.
That would be the IOE Award, for “Index of Effluency,” which uses “a proprietary calculation of how bad a Lemons entry is versus how high it finished.”
Race organizers bestow the award on “only the most worthy teams. Winners of the I.O.E. enjoy the highest honors (a low bar, we know) of any Lemons trophy.”
Helm described “Rando the Unicorn” as a “tiny truck with an angry motor stuffed/swapped in,” and he and his fellow drivers thanked “a bunch of gasoline driven pit crew/support staff that helped build, maintain, and keep the car on the track.”
The 24 Hours of Lemons, described by organizers as “racing for real people,” includes track testing and tech hours and is known for its relaxed atmosphere.
Lookin’ smooth.
“I saw this on Dukes of Hazzard…”
Lookin’ not so smooth.
Coupeville Sports 