From Urban Dictionary:
hoonage
1. Aggressively flogging a car, but in a manner that stops just short of reckless.
2. Ownage and overkill combined with a little bit of annihilation"
First, a shout out to the snarky, auto-centric blog Jalopnik [1], without which I would never have know about the 24 Hours of LeMons [2] amateur auto extravaganza. This annual nation-wide race included a local event at Angleton's Motor Sports Ranch Houston [3].
The Bad:
A partner in crime who accompanied me concluded if you don't have a horse in the race, it didn't have a lot to offer the casual spectator. The less-than-grand grandstands offered limited visibility and much of the track was opposite the seating areas, hidden by garages and other buildings. A lack of color commentary and leader board also made race watching a bit dull after the 4th hour. Solution? A guy on a microphone saying things.
The Good:
Long hours and a wide range of driving styles made for lots of penalties and their creative enforcement. Spinning out, passing on yellows and other racing no-nos forced cars off the track for LeMons-style justice.
If every bad driver on Allen parkway was forced to bolt a tire to the top their car, they would be much easier to see and avoid.
Photo by Robert Kimberly
Crappy drivers? Forced to make their presence known.
 - 24 Hours of LeMons - Angleton, TX.jpg "Photo by Robert Kimberly")
Photo by Robert Kimberly
I don't know what this guy did, but shrink-wrap was deemed a suitable punishment.
Photo by Robert Kimberly
A nearby nudist resort [4] sponsored a team.
Photo by Robert Kimberly
Official results of previous races are listed here [5]. Jalopnik was in Angleton long before we arrived and stayed long after we left, posting winners [6], losers [7] and everything in between. Texas will see 2 more events in 2010, the North Dallas Hooptie [8] and a return to Angleton [9] in September.
If you've got a crappy beater in the driveway and the Art Car parade is too slow, grab a wrench, some friends and a supply of Lone Star. There's a racing league just made for you.
Links:
[1] http://jalopnik.com/
[2] http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/
[3] http://msrhouston.com/
[4] http://liveoakresort.com/home1.htm
[5] http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/results/
[6] http://jalopnik.com/5476716/and-the-real-winner-is
[7] http://jalopnik.com/5476490/heartbreak-index-of-effluency+dominating-le-car-gets-upside-down
[8] http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/dallas10/
[9] http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/houstonyeehaw10/
[10] http://www.flickr.com/photos/rkimberly/sets/72157623364771639/
[11] http://www.flickr.com/photos/47787494@N04/