Sunday, May 10, 2009

We made it to the End




This years One Lap of America event is over and we successfully made it to the end. We completed and got points in every event and made it back to South Bend and from there back to Lancaster County. The mileage added up to 4861 in total and 3669 during the official event including transit distances and on track mileage.
We were able to place 15Th place overall and 9Th place in class, which we consider a very respectable finish. Obviously we would have liked to finish in 1st place, but with the level of talent and equipment we competed against we consider our finish a success.
Our last event was on Saturday and was the Dry Skid pad competition at the Tire Rack facility in South Bend, In. It was a very threatening sky and a brisk wind and it was trying to rain. The temperature on the car thermometer was 49 and it felt like less than 30 and you could see your breath. Scott was able to get a .902 g's and placed 27Th and then it was all over except for the group picture and the banquet.

We met a lot of nice people and had a very enjoyable if tiring week and my mind is already working on the consideration of doing it again in the future, maybe even next year. I had a great time and the title of this blog was correct as it was a real adventure.


The pictures above are the 1st place overall Nissan GT-R (orange/silver) and the black Porsche GT2, 2nd place overall. I also included another picture of our entry, just to remind everyone of the number 22 car.

That's all for today but check back, I will probably have some more musings to share.

Jim

Friday, May 8, 2009

Beaver Run Motorsports Park


Today was our last track day, after this it's down to the dry skid pad event in South Bend. Beaver Run is a 1.3 mile road course with some neat elevation changes in western Pennsylvania near Beaver Falls. Scott ran in the morning and was able to post a very good 9th place finish. While we were having lunch I felt a couple rain drops and was afraid I would get another wet run in the afternoon. Just a few drops and those rain clouds moved on and a little sun poked out and the rain held off. I went out and was able to get a 16th place finish, not quite what I was looking for but respectable. Now again pack up quickly and head off to a 6 hour run to South Bend, Indiana.
The picture above is the number 2 Nissan GT R which had engine problems and was unable to continue. The last event shows 10 vehicles that din't get points on that event which is a good indicator that they have had problems and were broke at least for the day or maybe even out of the event.


After the Dry Skid Pad event there will be an awards banquet and we will be on our way home. It might take a couple days to get a final update posted but keep checking back.


Jim

Great Scott-BMW Performance Center

Scott did an awesome job at the BMW Performance Center, finishing in 8th place overall. He actually caught the car in front of him and it was a drag race to the finish line. They space the cars out so that doesn't happen but this time it did. I think if Scott didn't have that car to deal with he might have been a bit faster and would have likely placed a few places higher. The course was like a road course and autocross combined and Scott really showed his autocross skills. This great run helped us move up in the points.

After his run was finished we quickly left for Beaver Falls, Pa. some 562 miles away. This would be one of our biggest trips and even with all the hustle we still didn't get there till 1:30 in the morming. As you can see, stamina and endurance of both participants and vehicle are very important.

Stay tuned for more.
Jim

Carolina Motorsports Park


I had a good run at Carolina Motorsports Park today. Unfortunately it rained this morning for Scott's run, but then it cleared up by my afternoon run. There were a couple of big spins and slides in the morning and that added some excitement to the viewing (also to the drivers who were in those cars). I was able to get some pointers from a fellow that I had as a student at VIR 2 years ago. He was there to watch the One Lap group since it is his home track. His advise was well appreciated. I ended up with a 15th place run which was very respectable. After my run was over we loaded the car quickly and headed about 140 miles to the BMW Performance Center

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Running the High Banks at Daytona


What a blast running on the high banks at Daytona. Today was quite a bit different from a normal track. We ran the Rolex 24 hour layout with the one mile International infield added to the high bank portion. This makes a 3.56 mile course which is very challenging which also includes the "Bus Stop" near the end of the back straight. You have to look out the top corner of your windshield to see any distance ahead of you when you are in turns 1 & 2 and especially in 3 & 4. There was a lot more speed to be had, but it would take a few more than 4 laps to build a comfort level at these speeds. It is amazing to realize the driving skills needed to handle a Nascar on the track with 43 other cars traveling as a pack.
The one picture is Scott coming down the front stretch and the other is him making a pass on the back straight. Scott was able to get a 15 place in evert #1 and I got a 27th place finish in the second event. At this point we are in 10th place in class and 19 place overall.
Jim

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Good Day at Sebring

Sebring went pretty good today, Scott got a 17th place finish in the morning event and I was able to get a 17 place finish in the afternoon. This moved us up a little bit in the standings. It was good to do an event in the dry. The top picture is me running down the front straight at Sebring and the one on the bottom is Scott in his run for low ET.
Scott did the duties at the drag strip in Gainesville, Fl. and was able to get a 12.571 in the ET challenge which was good for 10th place overall Unfortunately Scott was eliminated in the 1st round in the Bracket Drags but we don't know the points yet since they are not posted yet.
Tomorrow we get to run the Daytona 3.56 mile course that the 24 Hours of Rolex uses. This layout uses the high banks as well as the international infield that is just over a mile long. They use the Bus Stop near the end of the back straight that causes you to manuver into the "Bus Stop" to help keep speeds down when entering Nascar 3.
Check back for more updates.
Jim

Monday, May 4, 2009

Monday May 4th Talladega, Al.


We had a little rain in Talladega today (actually yesterday since I am writing this after midnight), then we had a 600 mile drive after finishing the event in the wet. The picture on the left is Scott holding an umbrella for a friend to check out a brake problem in the rain. The other picture is just to give you an idea of how much rain we had. It wasn't as bad as it might have been. The track was wet but the tremendous downpour had stopped while we were on track.
Not quite the results we were hoping for today. Scott had a 21 place finish in the first event and I had a 42 place overall in the afternoon event. We certainly create a disadvantage for ourselves by us both running the same day. Most teams will use the same driver for both events therefor getting "practice" in the first event to do better in the second event. We wanted to both experience all the tracks, but our competitiveness is suffering by seeing us slip in the points. If I would have had that same time in the first event I would have improved by about 12 positions, but most everyone got better on their second event. I guess I'm feeling a little frustrated not handling Scott's car the way I handle my own and the wet tracks certinly doesn't help. I am hoping for a dry day at Sebring tomorrow and maybe we can gain a few positions.
We have about 2400 miles on the car since we left home and expect to get near 5000 miles by the time we get home.
Jim

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Florence Ky. Sunday May 3rd.


Things are looking up. Scott did an great job on the autocross and finished 11th overall and 6th in class. We are now in 24th place in the accumulative standings and 7th in class out of 17 in our class. We put in about 550 miles to day first going to Highland Rim asphalt oval track then on to Talladega, Al. Unfortunately it rained at Highland Rim and they would not let us run in the rain. Too much chance of hitting the walls in the wet. Also unfortunately for me that was my event to do for the day so all I did today was a fun run on the autocross course which didn't count but I did get a respectable run of 45.345.


While we were waiting for things to happen at Highland Rim, I was dozing in the drivers seat and one of the Motor Trend photographers snuck up to the window and snapped my picture. I hope that picture doesn't end up in a national magazine or on their web site.


Tomorrow we run at Talladega Grand Prix roadrace course. We are splitting the duties, Scott will run the first event and I will run the second. As soon as we are finished we pack up quickly and head for Sebring, Fl. which in about 620 miles away. Hopefully we get there in time to get a motel room. Because of how late we will probably get to Sebring I don't know if I will do a post tomorrow, but you can check resuts on the On Lap web site at http:/onelapofamerica.com/home.shtm.



Saturday, May 2, 2009

Mixed Bag Day

Today was a mixed bag day. I did kind of lousy on the Wet Skid Pad competition and Scott did great on the Time Trial at Autobahn Country Club Raceway. Another part of the mixed bag is that I did not contribute many points and that leaves us in 35 place overall so far. The second part is Scott did terrific and ended up in 15th place in the Time Trial and that puts us in the early groupings in each event so we can finish early and be on the road for the next event.

Tomorrow will be a long day, we will start at Florence Ky. with an large autocross then 250 miles to a asphalt oval in Tennesse, then over 250 more miles to Talledaga, Al. The reason for this is the track at Bluegrass Raceway in Sparta, Ky. was being paved and is not finished in time for our event so an alternate plan was created.

Don't forget we are still trying to raise funds for Spina Bifida Resources. If you want to send a check send it to Jim Roberts 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552 and make it payable to SBR/One Lap. Or if you want to make a pledge just send me an email to that effect.

Pleas check back, I will try to post daily.

Friday, May 1, 2009

We made it to South Bend



























Hi Everyone,
Well we made it to South Bend and are at Tire Rack. We got the rest of the decals for the national sponsors and the One Lap of America door shield. They had a drivers meeting and we got the Route Book and last minute changes and corrections. After the dinner/meeting we headed for the hotel to study our Route book and make our final plans. Tomorrow morning we start with the competition. I will be competing in the wet skid pad event, which will be two laps around clockwise then two laps counter clockwise from which they will calculate your g force. We will be awarded points based on the g force we are able to maintain. After the skid pad we are off to Joilett, Il. where Scott will compete in the road course event which will set the seeding order for the rest of the week. The higher up we finish tomorrow the sooner we will finish each day and be on our way to the next track.
There is some very serious equipment and some very talented dirvers that we will be competing with. At this point I am thinking I have my work cut out for me. I have enclosed a few pictures of a sampling of the cars.

Check back tomorrow and I will try to post an update and let you know how we did on our first day.