Actually, this is pretty old news; the GT$500 Celica blew up at about 10:30 last night, shortly before I went back to the motel for some sleep while Judges Scott and Kent took over for the LeMons Supreme Court graveyard shift.

The GT$500, which won the ’09 Laissez Les Crapheaps Roulez race, had a two-lap edge over the second-place Turbo Poop Thunderbird when disaster happened: two rods right through the side of the block. Because the engine is– or, rather, was a rugged Toyota 20R, however, the car kept running well enough to finish the lap and drive back through the paddock in a cloud of oil smoke.
Update: According to graveyard-shift honcho Lamm, the race leader is now the Race Hard Race Ugly E30, followed by the Warthog Racing E30 and the Austin No Power Impreza. They’ve been on a several-hour break due to dangerous fog conditions (98% humidity in Belle Rose tonight) but should be back in action shortly. Stay tuned!