Tuesday, May 15, 2012

We made it home.

Well, we made it home again.  My Transit Driver Steve Barrett made it home to the Cincinnati area on Saturday evening and let me know he got a nice home cooked meal and a full 8 hours of sleep.  Steve was a great choice as a partner.  He was a big help in the highway driving and helped me get ready for my runs and kept checking over the car and keeping aware of what was going on at the track and in the paddock.  I had more than one person ask me in amazement about heading off on an 8 day 3700 mile event sharing hotel rooms and being in the car shoulder to shoulder with someone I didn't know before last Friday except for a couple of phone calls and emails.  But it worked out very well.  As far as myself, I didn't get home until Sunday morning.  With a 600 mile run home, I decided it was time to stop after about 475 miles and get a motel.  With no co-driver for the trip home from South Bend and leaving about 3 pm it was time to stop.  

Just to share some numbers, the highest price we paid for gas was $4.58 around Chicago and a low of $3.59 in Oklahoma, and that was for hi-test.  We spent almost $1100 for gas and were averaging over 20 mpg on the transit runs and about 6 mpg on the track events.  We had a couple of transit runs where we averaged over 22 mpg and that was pulling a trailer.. The overall for combined came out to 17.09 mpg.  Our best finishes were the Dry Skid pad with a 10th place and the morning run at Mid America Motorplex out in Iowa where we got an 11th place finish. 

Don't forget we are still raising money for our charity, the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  We still need about $375 to meet this years goal.  For a donation of $10 or more we will place your name on a Pink Ribbon sticker on the car, or the name of someone you would like to honor or memorialize.  Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition helps women going through Breast Cancer as well as helping to fund mammograms and research.  Help us meet our goal.  Please make any checks out to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition or PABCC and send to Jim Roberts 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552.  This event is really a lifetime experience and we felt is was a good way to leverage it to the community good by raising funds for this worthy charity.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Final Competition of the week

We headed to South Bend, Indiana to finish the week on Saturday morning with a Dry Skid pad competition.  What a drive.  We were in Wisconsin above Milwaukee and only had a few hundred miles to go but those miles included a drive time circuit around Chicago.  That was painful.  We went for miles and miles in beep and creep mode which took two hours more than we expected.  Somebody has to figure out how to handle traffic better around Chicago.  Since our main menus of the week were either McDonald's or the tracks wonderful hamburger based offerings and since it would be 10 pm till we got to our hotel Steve and I stopped short and got  ourselves some nice steak dinners.  That was the first good food we had since we started the event.  When you have 600 miles to go before getting some sleep you don't waste much time eating.  Fast food and track food fill the bill.

I figured if I did well in the Dry Skid pad competition we could probably move up a couple of positions in the overall standings. I was about the 40th car to run in an inverted field.  When I was finished I heard the announcer say I was first in class and first in overall up to this point in Dry Skid pad.  I realized the fastest cars in the group were still to run I knew that the 1.018 g's I posted would get beat by several but my goal was to finish Dry Skid pad with a top 10 finish.  When all was done I had 10th place for that event and moved up two positions to finish the overall in 34th for the week.  That was not the final number I was hoping for when we started this years One Lap of America, but it was better than last year when we had a blown engine. 

The real success of our group was Scott Breneman along with his partner Nick Young. They were in car #28, Scott's 2002 blue Zo6.  Scott drove all the competition laps and finished in 13th place overall eclipsing his best ever finish of last year.  This was Scott's 9th year competing and Nick's 2nd year.  Early on we had a strong competition going between us with me leading in the early events and Scott taking the lead with a stronger event at Hallet, Oklahoma.  The next day in High Plains, Colorado, was our first problem with our car's computer shutting down when it didn't like the air flow versus the rpms  ending in our first of two DNF's.  I think we would have had a top 20 finish without the problems but that is called the "what if" game and we have to live with the 34th place that we did earn.  In racing one of the first goals is to finish "above the fold" which basically means in the top half of the field.  So we will be proud that even with our electronic gremlins we still finished better than more than half of the competitors.

A beautiful track at Road America

WOW, what a track at Road America near Elkart Lake, Wisconsin.  I was here two years ago with Scott and was impressed then but we had our power steering problem and I didn't get to run the track.  This is also one of the few tracks they won't let us ride a bike, run, walk etc.  There are a lot of elevation changes and a real challenge riding a bicycle around all the trails to get to the different corners to have a look.  I got quite a workout  They have lots of bridges and a couple of tunnels to allow you access to almost any corner of the facility.  All the bridges and tunnels really add to the aesthetics of the grounds.  The track is over 4 miles long an has several very fast sections.  My only problem is that I was really driving my tach and trying not to exceed 5,000 rpm so my computer wouldn't shut me down again.  The first session I did a "Granny lap" and regretted it afterwards.  The afternoon session I tried to be a little more aggressive and cut my time down a good bit but still had really watch the tach to prevent the gremlins from raising their ugly heads.  Our friends from Rochester, New York, Tim and Steve blew the engine in their Mitsubishi Evo and ended their week.  Robert Dubler the Swiss Chocolateer rolled his new Cadillac CTS-V Wagon on turn 8 and pretty much destroyed the car.  Lot's of airbag but Robert was not hunt.  So as bad as our luck with the computer gremlins was it wasn't as bad as some.  Now we have Milwaukee and Chicago drive time traffic to deal with and one last event which is the Dry Skid pad competition.  I did pretty well on the wet skid pad and am hoping I will do well on the dry pad.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

If it is Thursday it must be Brainerd

If it is Thursday it must be Brainerd.  Steve and I are on the go so much we forget what day it is.  When you look at the schedule and match where you are and know it's Thursday.  What a long drive from Hastings Nebraska to Brainerd Minnesota, over 600 miles.  And that was after doing the extra event at the Hastings track.  They changed the Autocross course after the Mustang Boss ran into the guard rail so those who had run had to run again so we didn't get away till about 4pm and didn't get to bed until about 2am. 

My brother Mike and my nephew Hank came up to see me run at Brainerd.  My first run at Brainerd was on the full course and I did a pretty good run finishing in 26th place.  Scott did a little better than me with a 22nd place finish.  In the afternoon we ran the shorter SCCA course and the computer gremlin bit me again shutting the car down and leaving me with another DNF (did not finish).  By the time I was able to clear the codes in the car's computer the run was finished, so no points for that run.  If I would have gotten another 26th place that would have been 250 points so this is getting costly in my points count.

At Brainerd we also did the drags, both pure elapsed time and the bracket drags.  I wasn't pleased in my pure e/t run and went out in the first round for the bracket drags.  In fact the guy who took me out is our friend in the #45 C4 Corvette, Gary Griessmann who has some history as a drag racer and is very good at it.  He lasted through 7 rounds of bracket racing and finished up in 2nd place for brackets losing in the last round.  Congratulations Gary!!!  A little earlier, Gary's partner JD White had some fun on the SCCA course in the afternoon.  He spun the car on turn one and went backwards under the bridge that is right after turn one.  Lost a little time but no harm done, he was perfectly in the center and didn't hit the walls.  Because we couldn't leave for Road America in Wisconsin until we did the drags so we didn't get going until about 5pm.  It ended up being another 2am evening till we got to bed.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Need a little good luck!

Another not so good day at Hastings Motorsports Park in Hasting Nebraska.  To try to avoid the car shutting down like it did at High Plains yesterday . I am short shifting which changes my driving style and I am not getting quite the speed from the car.  In addition to the High Speed events at Hastings we also did a very tight little autocross which I didn't do very well at.  I got a cone on each run which cost me 2 seconds and 2 seconds was enough to drop down several positions.  As bad as my day was it was worse for the owner of a new Boss Mustang who hit a guard rail and folded the drivers side door back enough to break the rear quarter window.  Better luck tomorrow.















Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Gremlins Bite us at High Palins in Colorado.

Well the gremlins bit us today.  While on my second lap the when I was driving hard the computer didn't like the air flow numbers and shut down into limp mode.  I pulled off the course onto a crossover road and tried to reset the computer.  Unfortunately by the time I completed the reset the session was over and I ended up with a DNF.  That is not good.  We will probably lose 250 to 300 points because of the DNF and it is not an amount you can make up.  I have reset my shift lights and will continue to run but it is going to cost me, since I can't drive it quite as hard or the same thing is likely to happen again.  As it stands now we have dropped to 25th position overall.  Our new goal now will be to try to maintain or improve on 25th but a top 15 is no longer in the works.

Tomorrow we will be a little closer to home since we turn east and head for Hasting Motorsports Park in Hastings Nebraska.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hallet Motorsports Park, Monday

I guess turnabout is fair play.  Today, Monday we were at Hallet Motorsports Park near Tulsa in Oklahoma. Scott beat me in the morning race placing 20th while I cam in in 27th.  In the afternoon race I improved by only one second but Scott improved by 3.2 seconds.  That gave him a 19th and me a 30th place finish.  At this point we also swapped on Overall standings.  I was as high as 12th place and Scott was 14.  Now he is 13th and I am 16th overall.  Well done Scott.  While we are competing with everyone at One Lap we have a good competition going on between us.  This course is a very technical with several decreasing radius turns which are easy to overdrive.  This course also has a lot of elevation changes.

Now  we are off to High Plains Raceway in Colorado only 608 miles away.  We got in around 11:30 and got some much needed rest. 

Monday, May 7, 2012

A little Success at Mid America Motorplex

Sunday morning we showed up at Mid America Motorplex in western Iowa at a place called Pacific Junction.  I think the name comes from the Pacific Railway which is nearby.  While we were there we saw several long long trains go by.  The day started rainy and windy with winds probably a steady 30 miles and hour.  We appreciated the wind when it came to drying the track but I didn't even try to ride my bike around the course.  The couple competitors who did try to ride bikes to recon the track walked their bikes most of the way.  Just a note on the bikes, there are only a handful of us who bring bikes because it is sometimes a challenge to have enough time to walk the track.  Others walk, run, jog, or scooter around or just hope their out lap for reconnaissance is enough.  Most tracks you can't get a view of the whole track because of elevation changes, trees etc.  At Mid America Motorplex there no trees of note and there is absolutely no elevation change but at over 2.23 miles you still can't see the whole track very well even from the top of the grandstands. 

I had an excellent run in the morning and came in 11th and not quite as good in the afternoon in 18 place.  Because of finishing fairly well in the wet skid pad and the oval track that was good enough to move us up to 12th place overall. In our qualifying run back at Autobahn we finished 28th and with the competition, that is probably a fair rating of where we really rank in the whole field.  The high finishing in the first two events propelled us forward but it might be tough holding on to as the week wears on.  At this point I am a couple of positions ahead of Scott Breneman and we have a great competition going on and are that close that we are in the same run group.

Now it's off to Hallet in Oklahoma only about 450 miles away, then one of the biggest legs of the trip out to High Plains Raceway in Colorado with over 600 highway miles.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

The Competition Begins


Friday morning began sticker day, putting all the national sponsor decals on the cars and going through tech to have the car and equipment checked and have your tires stenciled so they could see at a glance that you had the correct One Lap tires on the car.  This is also the day that I got to meet my new transit driver Steve Barrett.  Steve is from the Cinncinati area and we have spoken on the phone but just met on Friday.  I am posting a couple of pictures showing me finishing stickers on the car and a picture of Steve.

On Saturday morning the competition began.  I was able to post a g force reading of .819 on the skid pad.  Last year I got 6th place with a .804 but the .819 was only good for 16th place this year.  Last year's .804 would have only placed 25th in this years event.  I guess the competition keeps getting tougher each year.  Some evidence of this is there are now 8 Nissan GTR's in the SSGT1 Big Bore class this year as well a great mix of awesome vehicles throughout the classes.

After the wet skid pad we went to South Bend Motor Speedway's paved 1/4 mile oval.  I have never run an oval before and the cereal bowl look and the wall can be intimidating.  I was able to come out of there with a 20th place and am now in 14th place overall.

Next we ran off 106 more miles to Joliet, Il. to Autobahn Country Club Raceway and run on the 2.1 mile South Course and the finishing order of this event would set the starting order for the rest of the week.  I didn't do as well as I had hoped and posted a 28th place finish.  I was hoping for a little better but that still puts me in the front half of the 75 cars to run in each event and will let us get going to the next event a little earlier.  Most days we will put on 450 to 620 miles going to the next racetrack after we do two events a that days track.  When we finished at Autobahn we then headed to Council Bluffs, Iowa 452 miles away to be ready to start Sunday at the Mid America Motorplex.  This was on heck of a day and we didn't get in our motel room until 1:30 am.  Tomorrow it is two events at Mid America then 460 miles to Hallet Oklahoma.

Stay tuned for more posts as I have the time to do them.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

It won't be long now.  In a few days it all begins.  All the preparation is complete and I will soon be headed to South Bend for registration and a kick-off luncheon then it will be lots of competition.  The first day we will have three events.  The first event is a wet skid pad competition, then a short distance to an asphalt oval and finally off to Joliet, Il. to The Autobahn Country Club for a road race course Time Trial which will set the running order for the rest of the week.  The first day will be busy, but once we finish the three events it's off to western Iowa for two events at Mid America Motorplex the next morning.  Keep checking on this blog and I will try to post each day and let you know how we did or some of the interesting stories of the day.

BTW we are still collecting donations for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  Send in a donation of $10 or more and we will put your name on the car and you can ride along.  Check the last post for info and address to send donations.  We are closing in on our goal but still need your help.  Why not put every family member's name on the car to show their support in the fight against breast cancer?  Thank You all for your generous donations.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Hood Sponsor announced



JimBob Racing announces that we have signed a new Hood Sponsor for 2012. The Hood Sponsor is Engle Printing Company of Mount Joy, Pa. The Engle printing Company is celebrating 58 years in business this year and is a very respected and involved member of the local community. I would also like to mention our other sponsors without which I couldn't put this effort together. The Mount Joy Diner, Auto-Locator, Faulkner Chevy, Jim's Tire Service, Top of The Line Roofing, Krunch Kritters, PA. Breast Cancer Coalition, Jim Roberts' West Main Auto, Mick's All American Pub, SSC Tint & Graphics and the Lancaster County Corvette Club. We would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support.


Just an update on our fund raising for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition. As you can see from the attached picture we are filling up the roof and will soon have to start on the back window. We started out with a bang and announced a goal of raising 50% more than last year. While we are ahead of last years pace we still have a lot of work to go to realize that goal. Don't forget if we get your donation before we leave in early May we will put your name on one of our Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition stickers and place it on the car and you can "ride along" on this amazing adventure. We will also put someones name who you would like to honor who has delt with breast cancer or another cancer. You can also name someone in memorial. We have also had familes who for $10 each have put all the members of the family on to show their support for the fight against Breast Cancer. Steve Barrett, my Transit Driver is from the Ohio area and he is active in getting donations from his friends as well. If you would like to donate please send your donation to Jim Roberts 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552. Please make any checks payable to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.


It won't be long now and I'm working on the final details on making sure I have the right parts, stuff, etc. to take along. Space is certainly a consideration so we have to pack ligh, though not a light as some. Last year an Ultima GTR exotic sports car had so little space for luggage they had to put their clothing and stuff in baggies and fit it into any crevice in the cabin they could find. Be sure to keep checking the blog and I will try to make updates each evening to share some of the results and stories of the day. Feel free to share the blog address with anyone who might be interested in this type of thing.



Sunday, April 8, 2012





Just put all new brakes and rotors on the Vette and doing the final check over. Received my tires and mounted and balanced and installed them. It is now less than a month away and I'm getting anxious. It is a relief to have Steve Barrett in the transit driver position. Steve is really excited and is helping to spread the word and is also collecting donations for our charity. Now I need to get the vinyl graphics on the car finished for the sponsors.


I have started to put the names on the car for the people who have donated to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition. Just a reminder anyone who donates $10 or more to our charity we will put your name, or a name in honor of or in memory of, on the car. With your name on the car you can "ride along" on the trip and help the Breast Cancer Coalition help women and help fund research for a cure at the same time. I don't want to miss anyone who has given in past years, so if you want to give again this year and I have not contacted you, please see me, give me a call or send me a check to, Jim Roberts 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552, but make check out to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.



At this point there are 76 vehicles registered for One Lap and SSGT1 Big Bore which is our group, has 21 cars. We have several Corvettes including a ZR1, a few Vipers and Nissan GTRs, a couple of Porsche and BMWs, a Ferrari and a Jaguar XKR coupe. BTW SSGT1 is usually the largest and most competitive class in the field.


Just as a reminder I have included the official map so you can follow along and know where we are each day. My plan, as in the past, is to blog each night to report on the events and/or success of the day. Don't get too excited if I don't post each night, sometime the days are just too long and something has to give.

Sunday, April 1, 2012



Great news, I now have a Transit Driver. His name is Steve Barrett, he is a longtime Corvette enthusiast and lives in Fairfield Ohio. When Rick couldn't do it this year, I went through my list of people who said they wanted to go and scheduling conflicts etc. just kept getting in the way. JD White, a fellow Corvette guy that we hung out with last year during One Lap came to the rescue and pointed Steve in my direction. I think Steve is going to work out well, when I said the car had a heavier cam and clutch, his response was "That sounds like fun".


Went down to Summit Point for a Friday at The Track to instruct and also give the Corvette a shakedown before starting final preparation for the One Lap which is only about a month away. Everything ran fine and I was able to put some nice hot laps on, running on street tires as we will with the One Lap effort.


Most days we will finish at that days track by 3pm and then put on 500-600 miles to the next track. This really is an endurance event for man and machine.


BTW we are still collecting money for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition and will put a sticker on the car with your name on it for anyone who donates $10 or more. We can also put stickers on the car in Honor of or in Memorial to. Please send any donations with checks made out to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition to Jim Roberts 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552. Last year we raised a couple thousand dollars and our goal is to improve that by 50%.














Thursday, March 15, 2012

Ride along on One Lap with your name on a STICKER

Pictured is Jim presenting Heather Hibshman, Executive Director of the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition with our official picture of last year effort. Our team was recognized as a Grassroots supporter by the Coalition for our fund raising efforts where we raised over $2000 dollars for 2011. This year Rick is scheduled for a back operation and will not be able to go along but will continue to help raise funds for the Pa.Breast Cancer Coalition and will be puting stickers on his Corvette as well. I encourage you to not delay in making your donation for $10 or more and we will put a"Pink Ribbon" sticker on the car with your name or a loved one's name and you can "ride along" on our One Lap of America and help a great cause at the same time. At this point we are ahead of last years fundraising and are hoping for great things.
Just a quick update on our preparation, we have been going over everything on the car and even did a shakedown run to the Rolex 24 hour race in Daytona and it worked flawlessly and even got reasonable gas mileage. Gas mileage has decreased as the engine power has increased, so we are hoping the predicted major increase in fuel prices doesn't happen before our event in early May.
The entry list is growing and is now up to about 70 vehicles with an amazing mix of vehicles and classes. From Hondas Mini's and VW's to Corvettes Porsches, Vipers, Ferraris, Jaguars and BMW's and every thing in between.Many of the race tracks we will go to will be new to most of the participants. The format gives us one lap to learn the course and then three laps of Time Trial. The Time Trial is much like a qualifying lap in Nascar in that you are not going wheel to wheel with other cars but racing against the clock as are the other cars.
Please make any checks out to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition and send to Jim Roberts 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552














Sunday, March 4, 2012

Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition is 2012 Charity for Jimbob Racing



Jim Roberts of Jimbob Racing announces that The Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition will be our charity again this year for our One Lap of America effort. We will again be accepting donations and will be placing a sticker on the car for each donation of $10 or more. Many people have donated and have their own name put on to show their support for the Coalition. Others have put the name of a friend or a loved one who has dealt with this terrible disease. Space is filling up, so don't wait too long if you would like to make a donation. Checks should be made out to the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition, and sent to Jim Roberts at 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552. Please mark One Lap in the memo section of the check so we can keep track of the donations. If you see me or Rick cash is also acceptable, just let us know whose name to put on your sticker. Feel free to make donations to put several stickers on the car. With the stickers you can "ride along" on this amazing adventure and donate to a good cause at the same time.


Their Mission:
The PA Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC) represents, supports and serves breast cancer survivors and their families in Pennsylvania through educational programming, legislative advocacy and breast cancer research grants. The PBCC is a statewide nonprofit organization that creates the hope of a brighter tomorrow by providing action and information to women with breast cancer today.


Please join us in raising funds for a very worthy cause.



Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Gearing up for One Lap 2012

This is my first post of the 2012 effort of One Lap of America. Thanks to all of you who follow along and I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to share the blog address with anyone you might think would also enjoy following this neat motorsports event.
I have included the map so you can follow along.

This year we again expect to log over 5,000 miles in total counting the trip to the starting point in South Bend and back. The official route will take us from South Bend, Indiana where we will compete in a wet skid pad competition then off to Plymouth In. to an asphalt oval event then to Joliet, Il. to the famous Autobahn Country Club Raceway all on the first day. At Autobahn we will do Time Trial laps that will set the seeding order for the rest of the event. By the next day we are due at MidAmerica Motorplex near Council Bluffs, Iowa by 8 am. Then off to tracks in Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and back to South Bend. By the end of that circuit we will have traveled over 3300 miles plus the miles on each of the tracks, all from Saturday to Saturday.

The Brock Yates One Lap of America has it roots in the Cannonball Run of the early 1970's where the goal was to get from New York City to Redondo Beach, California as fast as possible. After a few formats of competition from 1985 to 1991, mostly road rallies while driving around the United States, the present style of One Lap of America was started in 1992.