Team Rice Rocket Racing is at it again this year running the 24hrs of LeMons race at Buttonwillow Raceway this weekend.

Last year’s event was a blast and you can read all about it HERE.

The BRE-tribute 240z is still alive and well! ZCarGarage is helping out again this year with returning drivers Scott S, David O and captain Wade W. Running pit are Scott A and Rob F.

The race started this morning and the picture above shows the participants staging for tech inspection.

Real Time Standings
The team started off 91/134 overall and 36/41 in B.
10:30am 32 overall and 12th in class

11:06am 26 overall and 9th

11:12am 23 overall and 7th

11:40am 16 overall and 3rd

12:04pm 24 overall and 7th

12:52pm 22 overall and 6th

1:35pm 19 overall and 4th

1:50pm DJO gets a Black flag penalty for driving too fast under a yellow flag(caution)
The penalty box only lasted 20min because ZCG bought the judges lunch:) Getting out early thanks to a quick solution from Wade!

Driver change: DJO in Scott S out on track

2:45pm 27 overall and 7th

At the end of Day 1, Scott S drove for 2.5 hrs and the team is 19th overall and 4th in class!

Day 2 begins!
9am DJO out, 19 overall and 4th in class

9:46am 17 overall and 3rd

10:50am 16 overall and 3rd

Keep it up team!!

2:50pm Transmission issues during Wade’s session and the Z came in for repair. Pulled it out and cleaned it to find that only 4th gear was good! Scott S went back out 30mins later and drove the entire course in 4th gear for the last 3hrs!

The team finished the race 31 overall and 12th in class
Full report to follow, congrats guys!

Allen B and Scott S drove their 350z cars at Infineon Raceway 11/19 with Trackmasters. Both were first timers at this very challenging track and they had a great time!

Here is some in-car footage from Scott in the Green Z:

These videos are HD, click to select high resolution!

closing in on a Ferrari 458 Italia:

passing a Lotus Exige:

An aerial view of the madness that is Infineon!

The guys at Inside Line have been known to conduct some pretty wild car comparisons. This time they run the new Nissan Juke against a rally-prepped Datsun 510. Check out the full article HERE
Who will win? What is the conclusion? Watch below:

It’s no secret to enthusiasts Nissan or not; importing a vehicle that is considered “gray market” or not older than the current 25 year old requirement make it nearly impossible to obtain the car of one’s dream.  There is hope for old-car lovers though, and we can try to change current restrictions through signing a petition created by the fellows over at 2009gtr.com.

For more information click on the following link: petition-for-25-year-old-to-15-year-old
If you want to go directly to the sign-in click HERE

Don’t delay! It takes literally 2 minutes. The goal is to get 1000 signatures/day and 25,000 total by 12/18/11!

What a spectacular day and amazing turnout! Big thanks to Ann of ZONC and Rob at ZCG for putting together this event. We had 40+ cars meet at ZCG this morning, it was incredible to see everyone line up before heading out to Canepa in Scotts Valley:

Here is a short video clip of 20+ Z’s, G’s and Datsuns taking off here
The drive to Canepa was fun and I had the pleasure of following Walt in his 2012 GT-R with recent upgrades from AMS…it sounds fantastic, check it out:

and another one here, I can’t get enough of it!
When we arrived at Canepa Design it was like a car show in the parking lot:

Even more cars joined us like this Mini and ’33 Ford:

Inside we were treated to a full guided tour through the showroom and facility, it was jaw-dropping with multi-million dollar exotic cars for sale and display. Here a few highlights:

The garage/shop was immaculate with Porsche 959s, Gullwing 300SL’s and vintage muscle cars being restored:

Vintage race cars from all eras and a stunning authentic Shelby Cobra being restored:

After the inspiring tour folks had lunch and enjoyed driving through the Santa Cruz mountains.

Check the gallery for more pictures and thank you to everyone for bringing out your cars to enjoy the ride!
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