Jalopies make their way through Roanoke Valley for road rally challenge

The Lemons Rally tests drivers skills in cars that are hardly road-worthy

ROANOKE, Va. – If you’re in and around the Roanoke Valley Wednesday morning, you may see some cars that look better suited for a junkyard than the open road.

Drivers in the Lemons Rally are spending the night in Roanoke on Tuesday.

It’s a play on the name “lemon” for cars, usually used for beat up, broken down ones. Instead of fancy car races, these drivers take their jalopies 1,100 miles down the road hoping for the best.

The drivers said it’s all about the challenge of keeping a car running, although some drivers have already had their fair share of problems just on day one.

“I was almost a victim today, I overheated twice, we ran low on power steering fluid, and just generally just scraped the car on a bunch of different bumps and ran on ice and all sorts of other things," driver Tom Linkin said. "So I’m hoping to make it all the way down, I know a few cars that I already am not betting to see on the other end.”

There is no first place winner like we think of in races, but drivers can build up points along the way.

The group plans to make it to their finish line in Leeds, Alabama by the end of the week.