Heartbroken, We're Missing Thompson!

In this Wildcat 445 Episode, Mental points at the wrong part, Tim can’t identify smoke, Chrissy gushes about ice cream and tells you when to shower while Chris enjoys a tepid tub.

Really, we’re a little heartbroken. Because for the first time in Everyone Racers history, none of us will be at the 24 Hours of Lemons race at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, and naturally, the weather forecast looks fantastic.

You’re welcome.

Before the green flag drops in Thompson, Connecticut, we deliver the full race-weekend survival guide: arrival times, test day, BS and tech, the Saturday potluck, strict quiet hours, Sunday’s late start, crowded paddock logistics, trailer drop, fueling, pit vehicles, showers, and why you should leave before the golf course starts launching balls toward the paddock.

Then comes the famous Everyone Racers Virtual Track Walk.

We break down Thompson’s strange combination of road course, oval and changing pavement, including pit out, visual references, passing zones, flag stations, elevation, camber, bumps, surface transitions, traffic management and the corners most likely to punish overconfidence.

Whether you’re a Thompson rookie or have already collected trophies and broken parts there, this is the Thompson Speedway track guide to watch before the race.

More importantly, we provide critical navigation to Bogey’s Ice Cream and Snack Shop: leave the track through the parking lot, continue through the country club parking lot and go around to the back. Bring a bike, scooter or patient teammate, expect a line and respect the enormous portions.

Also, ask the rest of your team whether they want ice cream before returning alone and eating yours in front of them. That is how broken race cars become broken friendships, just ask Chrissy.

Elsewhere in Episode 445:

• Mental prepares a land-speed car with wheel smoothies, Lexan and a drag parachute he may eventually have to deploy himself.

• Tim hauls 2,100 pounds of drywall, prices $4,000 worth of insulation and welcomes his 1941 Lincoln Continental project.

• Chris rewires the Lotus, climbs Colorado fourteeners without enough water and returns to sailboat racing.

• We discuss Flock license-plate-reader failures, Waymo crash data and a Zoox robotaxi that drove into an active fire scene.

• “Show Us Your Junk” brings a BMW 6 Series race-car project, a sorted Saab 9-3 Lemons racer benefiting Ranger Road and charity seats in Paul Dolan’s 1941 Ford for Lemons of Love.

• Listener feedback proves this community can inspire rookie race teams—and turns four podcasters into spaghetti eaters using AI… err…”AL”

If you race 24 Hours of Lemons, ChampCar, Lucky Dog, SCCA, NASA or any other form of budget endurance racing, subscribe to Everyone Racers.

We’re closing in on 450 subscribers and chasing 1,000 by the end of the year. Help us get there—and send us your Thompson victories, failures, track-walk corrections, ice-cream photos and broken dreams in the comments.

Flock Cameras Still Suck (Joel felder @ The Drive)

https://www.thedrive.com/news/inside-the-flock-dragnet-how-systemic-errors-led-to-police-ambushing-me-for-no-reason?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-drive-newsletter&_bhlid=5847afc866a665f623bf7156cfb450bd51bb6527

Waymo Still Sucks, but Apparently You Suck Worse (Stephen Edelstein @ The Drive)

https://www.thedrive.com/news/waymos-self-driving-cars-crash-less-often-than-human-drivers-study

Zoox Suck So Bad They’re recalled (Sean O’Kane @ Tech Crunch)

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/17/zoox-issues-software-recall-after-a-robotaxi-got-confused-by-heavy-smoke/

BMW 6-Series Race Car - $4,800, Venice CA, with 16 pictures on Racing Junk

https://www.racingjunk.com/24-hours-of-lemons-cars-and-equipment-for-sale/184810123/6-series-race-car.html?category_id=4520&np_offset=1#10

🔍 KEYWORDS (Feedin that algorithm yo)

#24HoursOfLemons #ThompsonSpeedway #AmateurRacing #EnduranceRacing #EveryoneRacers

In this C&C-less Packard 443 Episode, Tim drops a turd… off so our buddy Matt can start his next project while Mental hides from the Vegas sun.

Really we talk to our buddy Paul, the creator of the Distilled Racing 41 Ford. What happens when a retired contractor decides that "good enough" isn't nearly crazy enough? Well, He Built the Ultimate LS-Swapped '41 Ford, and it became one of the most talked-about cars in the 24 Hours of Lemons paddock.

... Now he's selling time in the driver's seat, and donating the money.

This week on Everyone Racers, we're joined by Paul Dolan, builder of the legendary 1941 Ford Sedan that's become an icon of grassroots endurance racing. Powered by an LS V8 mounted an incredible 22.5 inches behind the front axle, this handcrafted machine has stunned racers, judges, and spectators everywhere it goes.

But this episode isn't just about horsepower.

Paul shares the incredible story of discovering endurance racing after retirement, designing and building this award-winning car from the ground up, learning the hard lessons of making an endurance racer survive, and finding the community that changed his life.

Even better...

For the 24 Hours of Lemons 20th Anniversary race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Paul is doing something almost unheard of.

Instead of keeping the driver's seat for himself, he's offering seat time in the car to raise money for Lemons of Love, helping families affected by cancer. Every lap supports a cause far bigger than racing. Wanna be a part of it? Reach out to us, we’ll put you in touch.

Along the way we also dive into:

🏁 Building one of the wildest LS-swapped endurance race cars in America

🏁 Why moving an engine behind the front axle completely changes a race car

🏁 Suspension, cooling, transmission and reliability lessons learned after thousands of race miles

🏁 Why the Lemons community keeps bringing racers back

🏁 Private equity buying automotive aftermarket companies

🏁 Waymo's Fourth of July robotaxi traffic disaster

🏁 Racing Junk finds

🏁 Upcoming Lucky Dog and 24 Hours of Lemons races

🏁 Why endurance racing is more about people than lap times

Whether you're into 24 Hours of Lemons, Lucky Dog Racing, ChampCar, NASA HPDE, SCCA, track days, LS swaps, hot rods, grassroots motorsports, race car fabrication, or simply love incredible automotive stories, this episode is for you.

If you've ever dreamed about building your own race car—or wondered why thousands of people willingly spend weekends fixing broken cars with their best friends—you've found your people.

👍 Like the video if you love grassroots racing.

💬 Tell us in the comments:

What's the coolest race car you've ever seen built in someone's garage?

🔔 Subscribe to Everyone Racers for weekly episodes covering amateur endurance racing, race prep, tech tips, hilarious paddock stories, automotive news, and the amazing people who make grassroots motorsports unlike anything else.

Thanks for riding along—we'll see you in the paddock.

Private Equity Might Ruin the Car Hobby (Andrew P Collins @ The Drive) https://www.thedrive.com/news/private-equity-is-eating-the-car-modding-industry?utm_source=beehiiv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-drive-newsletter&_bhlid=696456619279c92cc21b4c5cde89db3854ffc7c6

Waymo’s Jam up San Fran after 4th of July

https://abc7news.com/post/waymo-fleet-clogs-presidio-july-4-fireworks-leaving-vehicles-stranded-towed/19455862/

Lemonsworld on Paul’s Ford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVn4d6pCDu0

Paul’s Channel on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@buildanotherracecar8150

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3 Pedal Mafia Lemons World - https://youtu.be/wGfAxGX3vHk?si=YInVSrCTFgkXdCVF