The everyday media cycle often fuels the debate for or against electric vehicles, but in reality, it’s not as polarizing as it might seem. Many people who embrace electric vehicles (EVs) understand that these cars don’t sacrifice driving enjoyment—and many are eager to share that excitement with others.
Jay Lamm, the founder of the 24 Hours of LeMons, sees this as part of a cultural divide—one that can easily dissolve when people from seemingly different backgrounds come together at the racetrack, rolling up their sleeves and getting into the nuts and bolts of the cars.
“Car enthusiasts, once they realize it’s not ‘us vs. them,’ that this isn’t about tree-huggers trying to take away their Camaro, but a whole new set of opportunities and challenges, they’ll get on board,” says Lamm, who after 13 years running the race, has decided to introduce an electric vehicle class to LeMons.
LeMons has attracted 7,500 participants annually, with many drivers taking part in multiple races. Lamm jokes that it’s “the world’s largest racing series by drivers and the world’s smallest by fans.”
“There are seas of empty stands because, for reasons I don’t understand, no one wants to watch a hearse, a chicken car, and an Oscar Meyer Weinermobile battle for points and placement—which would seem like a spectator goldmine to me.”
Clearing Misconceptions
When Lamm first started LeMons, he noticed a strange divide between how people thought of racing and what it actually is—and he sees some parallels to how electric cars are perceived today.
To dispel these misconceptions, Lamm saw it as an obvious next step to add a new Electric Vehicle Class to LeMons, joining the existing A, B, and C categories (the good, the bad, and the ugly). The new EV class requires a different tech assessment system and evolving rule sets—but it’s definitely not represented by the Duff Beer Jet Electrica 007, a Plymouth TC3 from last year’s race.
What sets the EV class apart is that the batteries, electric motors, and power systems are exempt from the $500 (plus safety systems) cap on vehicles. Battery swapping is also allowed, though Lamm notes that it presents a major engineering and safety challenge: “You have to get them in, and then once they’re in, they stay in.”
“Before you start building one of these cars, call us,” says Lamm. The rules are still being worked out, with the organization figuring out a base level of safety and understanding failure modes. The team is exploring a centralized battery leasing model, which makes sense from both a tech and safety standpoint. They’re also collaborating with the FIA and crediting Pikes Peak for their strong work with their own electric class.
Lamm expects the first car in the EV class to pass safety certification within six months, certainly by the end of next season. “So far, it’s a small world, but within that world, you’re seeing some very smart and talented people.”
He anticipates some spectacular failures along the way and predicts there will be a clash of strategies. “But when one driver in a 4,000-pound, 450-hp electric car blows past you because they have to swap batteries every hour, and another driver in a gas car can go three and a half hours on a tank, that’s when it might be time to spin off the electric vehicles into their own category.”
Altthusiast EV Mille
If all of this sounds a little too “nuts and bolts” for you, Lamm is also the host and organizer of a luxury event this June called the Altthusiast EV Mille. The event, based at Monterey Peninsula’s Quail Lodge and including time at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, will run from June 25-29 and is “marque agnostic.” The cost for a vehicle and a couple is a hefty $6,400. Lamm hopes to make it a recurring event, potentially touring from San Francisco to Yellowstone and back, to celebrate green vehicles in areas where the infrastructure isn’t quite up to speed yet.
When asked about what connects these two new EV events, Lamm responds quickly: “There’s a world of car people who are into something that the rest of the world isn’t quite into yet… Whether it’s super-luxury cars or bringing your Pinto dressed in tin foil armor, it’s about ‘finding your people.’”
And that, he hopes, will help people see that a future with fun-to-drive electric vehicles doesn’t have to be another thing that divides us.