24 Hours of Le Mons - Awards

Awards

There are four main awards with one given midway through the race.

The midway award is aptly named People's Curse. One car is voted People's Curse, for being driven by the biggest jerks of the day as judged by the crowd. The offending car is crushed and destroyed typically by heavy equipment, but when none can be found, an angry mob with wire cutters and wrenches has been used. If there are not enough votes to destroy a car, it may instead receive a nasty but non-fatal injury, or it may be sent to the Penalty Box with a black flag.

The counterpoint to the People's Curse, Organizers Choice (originally People's Choice) is awarded to the team that best represents the friendly spirit of the race. A trophy and $500 prize is given.

The car that completes the most laps net of pre-race "BS" penalties is awarded the Win on Laps, and the team receives a trophy. Through 2011, the winner on laps also received a $1500 cash prize, typically in the form of nickels.

The grand prize (and considered by some to be the "true" winner) is the Index of Effluency award, presented to a car considered unlikely to finish the race at all, let alone finish with a respectable number of laps completed. The team that wins the Index of Effluency is given a larger trophy and a cash prize. The prize was $1501 through 2011, and was reduced to $501 beginning in 2012; in each case, the prize is $1 more than the team could win by winning the race or their class.

Prior to the race, every entry is assigned into a class, A, B, C, or X. The car in each class that completes the most laps net of pre-race "BS" penalties (with the exception of the winner on laps, which was previously recognized) is awarded the class win, and the team receives a trophy. Beginning in 2012, the winners of classes A, B, and C each also receive a $500 cash prize, typically in nickels.

Several other trophies are given, typically: Most Heroic Fix, I Got Screwed, Grassroots Motorsports Magazine's Most from the Least, Least (or Most) Horrible Yank Tank, and trophies to the fastest cars of the three classes.

Occasionally, Judges' Choice or Dangerous Homemade Technology awards are given.

At the end of each season, the organizers also recognize a group of Legends of LeMons for especially noteworthy themes, fabrication work, or other contributions to the series. Forty-one teams earned such recognition in 2009, the first year teams were so honored. In 2010, the number of teams earning "Legend" status increased to 58, but this time, four were singled out for the exceptional honor of a Unununium Medal, the next twenty were awarded a Ununquadium Medal, while the remaining 34 received a Ununhexium Medal. In 2011, the list of awards was pared down from previous seasons, as nine racers and teams were awarded a Gluon Medal for their feats.