Though part of the appeal of Lemons is the relaxed atmosphere, the minimal eligibility requirements, and the ability to trade paint with a field of a hundred cars, those elements also impose a certain degree of risk. Yes, it’s wonderful to have a dense field of avid drivers looking to cut their teeth in a friendly category, but inexperience and the red mist mean some avoidable collisions are simply par for the course—even involving pro drivers, on occasion.

Lemons isn’t necessarily brimming with professional drivers, but a few pros do filter through the events for one specific reason: they get gobs of experience scything through slower traffic and have no shortage of opportunities to read backmarkers and plan ahead. This experience comes in handy when racing in multi-class categories like IMSA or Tudor, and for the meager costs that Lemons entails, most are apt to enlist—and some might even get paid for their participation.

One of those professionals is Tor McIlroy, a driving coach for Simraceway Performance Driving Center and former Ginetta GT5 Challenge racer. In preparation for next year’s racing, McIlroy grabbed a seat at the 2017 Arse-Freeze-Apalooza, where 178 cars packed onto Sonoma Raceway like sardines cramming into a can.

As these drivers run the abbreviated Indycar layout, the truncated Turn 11 is wide enough to let two drivers run alongside and make the occasional pass. However, it does require a little bit of braking and decent positioning mid-corner to make the pass stick—though some people forget little things like that in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, McIlory was caught in this melee.

In a demonstration of cosmic justice, the BMW sustained more damage in the impact. Photo credit: Tor McIlroy

Coming in hot to this corner, which is quite slippery since it’s so seldom used and little rubber is deposited, the man in the camera car—a Ford V8-swapped BMW E30— makes a laundry list of errors starting by slowing down way too late. He doesn’t downshift, transitions from gas to brakes very slowly, applies the brakes progressively, and adds massive steering lock into an understeer situation while maintaining brake pressure. The list of charges is lengthy, and you have to wonder why some people see road racing as an afternoon of bumper cars.

“Through Turn 10, I checked my mirrors, didn’t see anyone doing anything out of the ordinary so took my normal line into 11—and promptly did a 360°,” recalls McIlroy. Thankfully, he was alright, and so was the car. “The 300ZX I was driving managed to come away with just bolt-on damage; no frame twisting (entirely because the car owner/builder built a small tank), and I walked away after a quick check in the ambulance. It was a hell of a surprise, that’s for sure,” he chuckles.

The damage to McIlroy’s robust Nissan was only cosmetic. Photo credit: Toy McIlroy

This piece isn’t intended to denigrate this form of endurance racing as a whole, either. There are plenty of sensible drivers in these categories who avoid unnecessary contact, have plenty of fun, and develop their skills at a minimal cost. However, with the wide array of driving experience at these sorts of events, those pros looking for a lengthy career have to weigh the costs: they will occasionally expose themselves to needless risk.