Lemons take over the 1.6-mile road course at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a signature fall event October 19-20 that supports children in need. The weekend is full of family fun and unique entertainment during the 24 Hours of Lemons Halloween Hooptiefest, which benefits Speedway Children's Charities New Hampshire Chapter.
"This is easily the funniest racing event and fundraiser that we are involved in each year," said Hillarie Scott, director of Speedway Children's Charities New Hampshire Chapter. "Families laugh and have a blast watching the silliest looking cars race on 'The Magic Mile' and the drivers perform the craziest tasks to get out of the penalty box. It's always lots of fun, and it's all for a great cause, helping children in need throughout New England."
The 24 Hours of Lemons is the world's first endurance race series for cars that cost $500 or less. With 10,000 participants spread across dozens of races at tracks coast-to-coast, no other event creates bigger, weirder, more hilariously irrational challenges than this weekend-long blowout of bumper-to-bumper competition between cars that are due for the scrapheap.
This year's event has more than 125 teams from all over the country including nearly 20 teams from New Hampshire and teams from as far away as Illinois and Michigan competing with vehicles of all ages including ERM Racing's 1952 Chrysler New Yorker, 3 Pedal Mafia's 1986 Toyota Cressida and Lemon's Appliance Repair's 2009 Chevy HHR.
During the two-day 14.5-hour endurance race, infractions may send teams to the penalty box for a time out. SCCNH sells passes that require the team to perform a wacky task, such as publicly announcing their remorse for the infraction while strapped to the roof of their car with saran wrap or pulling their keys out of a jar of mayonnaise, in order to get the team out of the humiliating and time consuming penalty box. The teams, which consist of two drivers each plus as many crew members as they want, are encouraged to decorate the lemons and wear costumes to the event.
Tickets are $30 for the weekend, include infield access and a portion of the proceeds benefit SCCNH.
Each December, SCCNH distributes grants to nonprofit organizations in the region. In 2018, 55 grants were distributed totaling $75,190, and since its inception in 2009, NHMS and SCCNH have distributed more than $1.7 million supporting more than 749,000 children across New England.
For more information about upcoming events for Speedway Children's Charities New Hampshire Chapter, call Hillarie Scott at (603) 513-5738 or visit SpeedwayCharities.org/NewHampshire.
For ticket information for all events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the November 28, 2019-January 5, 2020 Gift of Lights presented by Eastern Propane & Oil, the June 13-21, 2020 Motorcycle Week at NHMS and the July 17-19, 2020 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend, visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.
About Speedway Children's Charities (SCC)
The mission of Speedway Children's Charities is to care for children with educational, financial, social and medical needs to help them lead productive lives. Founded by Bruton Smith in 1982, Speedway Children's Charities is a non-profit 501c (3) organization providing funding for hundreds of non-profit organizations that meet the direct needs of children. The New Hampshire Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities was officially established in 2009. Since then, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway Chapter of Speedway Children's Charities has raised more than $1.7 million. The goal is to ensure that every child in need be given the tools to build a better, brighter and healthier future.
The New Hampshire Chapter is one of eight chapters around the country, and combined, Speedway Children's Charities raised more than $3 million nationally in 2018, bringing the total distributed to $55,300,000 since it was founded in 1982. The money raised comes in large part thanks to the fundraising efforts of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.'s eight facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.