Our Greatest Hits

Couldn't let this amazing experience go without one more video to show you all the mayhem and, most importantly, to thank our sponsors. Here's how we wasted, I mean wisely invested, your money in What's That Smell Racing's Greatest Hits.

See you next year.

Things Got A Little Rough Out There

Sunday's racing was considerably rougher. The roof cam shows Vinny pulling a move a lot like a Formula One driver might make. Except that a Formula One driver is smart enough not to do this.

Victory Is Ours (kind of) 18th Place!

After three days of doing everything we could to destroy our little Protege, the car wound up running like a champ all weekend. We came in 18th place (out of 80 entries) and we finished 450 laps.

On Sunday, we pulled off the rear doors and the trunk lid to make it lighter and, well, it seemed like a fun idea.

Sunday brought much faster racing with a lot more speed and a bunch more contact. But the car hung in there, in fact, we drove it to the crusher.

Video (Finally): One Lap of LeMons

Here's some behind the wheel footage of the Accsmellerator 3000 passing a real, live racing car at the 24 Hours of Lemons.

If you prefer You Tube, you can click here.

Victims of Testosterone Poisoning

After day one we're in 32nd place with 217 laps. (Before you laugh, know that 79 cars started.) Mike, Gene and Vinny were all victims of testosterone poisoning (telethon coming soon) which resulted in subtle adjustments to the bodywork and about 45 minutes in penalties.

Despite our best efforts, the car is still running great.

Here are some photos. If the computers cooperate, video will follow.

The Accsmellerator Hits The Track

By some miracle, the Accsmellerator actually squeaked by tech inspection. (We think the fact that we actually had a CarFax report sealed the deal.)

The car performed valiantly throughout the first day of practice. The drivers? Well, you've seen us drive.


Here's the tally for the day:

5 black flags
1 near flip
3 cars passed
1 broken camera

Release the Hounds

The Accsmellerator 3000 is finally unveiled. Watch the unveiling and traditional malt liquor toast. Click on the video or if you prefer YouTube, click here.

The Team Hits The Airwaves (Hopefully, Nothing Else)

KRLD, the top all-news radio station in Dallas, ran a piece on What's That Smell racing this morning. It's what they like to call a "slow news day."

Click here to listen.

Let's Run For Pinks

The Accsmellerator 3000 is finished.

The car is race ready. The drivers? We still stink.

Here's a video of greatest hits from the build.

Click on the video below or watch it on You Tube by clicking here.

Sponsors, sponsors everywhere!

Thanks to everybody who stepped up to waste their money, I mean, sponsor What's That Smell Racing. The first wave of sponsor decals arrived and now we look almost competent. More sponsor stickers coming soon.

Cage Match!

The cage is in! With the help of our new friend, Alex, the kind of the wire welders, the cage is taking shape.

And the new front bumper is fierce.

If this thing runs for more than 5 minutes, we might have something here.

Baby Gets Some New Shoes

A fresh set of Sumitomos, a touch up on the paint and a little badge engineering.

Next stop: the roll cage.

Indiana Jones, Eat Your Heart Out

We did a little spelunking ourselves down at the Pick 'n Pull and came away with two wheelbarrows full of treasure. Crystal skull not included.

You Have Been Warned

In the world of racing, you have to understand your competition. Being the fine sportsmen that we are, we have added a helpful sign to help inform our fellow drivers.

Can You Handle The Power?

The Accsmellerator is really starting to look like a race car now.

The first official test drive resulting in some very useful telemetry data. And two sweet black peel-outs in front of Richard's house.

Carbon Fiber Is So Last Year

Keep your magnesium and titanium and unobtainium, the What's That Smell Racing team is sticking with green-friendly, renewable resources.

Like plywood.

Watch as our giant air freshener takes shape.

The Joy of Jackstands

"It's not a race car until it's been on jackstands." I heard A.J. Foyt say that once. Or maybe it was Dan Gurney. Or I dreamed it.

And here's a picture of a couple of guys with a can of lacquer thinner. What could possibly go wrong here?

Richard's Game Face

Okay, if I saw this in my rear view mirror I'd just move over.

On the mechanical front, we removed a bunch of stuff. The car started afterward, so everything must be okay.

As usual, injuries were sustained.

Message About The Tragedy at LeMons Altamont

The What's That Smell Racing team extends its condolences and prayers to the family of the race driver who lost his life yesterday at LeMons Altamont.

Godspeed, sir.

Power Steering vs. The Gym

Our car came without working power steering. We decided to just take it off and save the weight.

We're tough, we'll hit the gym.

Hit the gym. Hmm.

So, we decided to fix the power steering. Fortunately, we had a picture to help us.

The Plan Revealed

In lieu of a press conference, we've decided to reveal our secret plan on the internet. Here you go. (So get off our backs already, New York Times.)

Manual? We Don't Need No Stinking Manual!

After using a hacksaw to remove the heating system in bite-size pieces we decided to use the same method on the rear window.

It didn't work.

Got Two of My Best Guys On It

Day one of disassembly has resulted in:

- bloody knuckles

- a pick up full of slightly used Mazda parts

- the realization that the shop manual does not cover "How To Cut The Dashboard Out With A Hacksaw

Here are some photos. (It already looks faster don't you think?)

A Car Is Born

What's That Smell Racing is proud to announce the addition of a new vehicle to its fleet (which now numbers 1).

Behold the 1997 Mazda Protege with 1.5-liters of double overhead cam fury and a reasonably cooperative 5-speed transmission. 160,000 miles and the heart of a champion.

UPDATE: The former owners (pictured above) were happy when we told them what we were doing to their car. Who wouldn't want their treasured family friend to go out in a blaze of automotive glory? (Maybe I shouldn't say "blaze.")