We made it Home

We made it home Saturday evening about 11 pm after logging 4964 miles since leaving Thursday to head west for South Bend.  Rick still had another 30 miles to get home to Ephrata.  This year gas was slightly cheaper this year and the lowest we paid was $3.41 in Mississippi and the highest was on the Indiana turnpike at $4.45.  Total spent for gas was $1039 and we averaged 17.29 miles per gallon including transits at about 19 mph and on track mileage of about 6 mph.  Out longest transits were from New Orleans to Daytona Beach which was 650 miles and from South Bend to Grissom Air Force Base then on to Talledega, Alabama at 683 miles. We did give a little too much money to the turnpike commissions of Pa. Indiana and Ohio where we spent a total of about $180 on tolls.

This years finish was less than we were hoping for at 37th place.  We had an ABS brake system failure at the Autocross at Grissom Air Force Base so we spent the rest of the week without ABS.  I am used to teaching without ABS and I race my Spec Miata without ABS so it wasn't a disaster but I probably would have done much better on the autocross and at BMW Performance Center which was like an autocross with the ABS.  Also as I mentioned in a previous post I think I chose the wrong tire and didn't have quite the grip I had in the past.  The lack of grip and a little over aggressive driving had me off the track a few times during competition which cost me several finishing positions each time.

The other big event that cost us in finishing positions was at Carolina Motorsports Park when an oil cooler line got cut through by the power steering pulley which then spewed oil and put out a smoke screen.  I was able to finish my run by nursing the car to the finish but lost a lot of time.  We were able to make a repair on the oil line before the end of the session and run the second event of Carolina but got a 10 second penalty for running out of group and I was the last car to run.  Our goal this year was for a top 20 finish.  The competition really seemed to be stronger this year with many awesome cars in the mix.  Even at 37th place there were a lot of cars that finished behind us, so that's a little bit of a win.  The biggest win is that we were able to complete the event and bring the car home ;^)

Don't forget we are still raising money for our charity, the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition. We still need a few hundred dollars 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 the it to the community good by raising funds for this worthy charity.

Dry Skid Pad Day, last event of 2013

Our last event of this years One Lap of America is the Dry Skid Pad competition.  We do two laps in a counterclockwise direction then two in clockwise direction.  The best lap in each direction counts and is divided by two and calculated to determine how much average g force you were able to maintain on the 200 foot diameter skid pad.  Last year this was one of my best events finishing 10th.  This year I finished 20th in the Dry Skid pad and it has me questioning my changing away from my tire choice from last year.  I ran the Michelin PS2 last year and the Continental DW this year and while the Continental was a great tire for the road and held up great for the treadwear it didn't give me quite the grip in the aggressive high speed driving manuvers on the road courses or on the Dry Skid Pad.

Between the tire choice, the problem with the ABS (anti lock brake system) and the cut oil cooler line, this won't end up as one of my best years, finishing in 37 place overall.  I do try to keep things in perspective and my motto is "Take your wins where you can".  Sometimes that "win" is beating someone you have set your sights on in an indivdual event.  This year that win will be that we were able to complete all the events with no DNF's (did not finish).  There were also a lot of entries that fared much worse the we did, with major problems that put them out of the race.  So we are pleased that we were able to roll with the problems and finish as well as we did.

The picture show what a little off course can cost with the front splitter from the Mitisibushi all clogged with grass from running off the dry skid pad.  This car driven by our friends Tim and Steve from Rochester, NY had a few problems this week and they finally ended up replacing a turbo, but they were able to finish the week.

A day at Pittsburgh International Motorsports Complex

The week is winding down.  We spent the day at Pittsburgh International Motorsports Complex (formerly Beaver Run)
 out near Beaver Falls in Pennsylvania.  Rain came in early and we had a wet track for most of the morning event.  By the last two run groups the track had started to dry so some of the slower cars placed pretty well.  Our car #29 finished 40th in the morning run, I was just a little too conservative in the wet.  The afternoon run was dry and we did much better and finished in 30th place and moved up to 37th overall.  Tomorrow morning we will compete in the dry skid pad event which will be the last for this years One Lap of America.  Shortly after the Skid Pad we will have our awards banquet and then everyone heads for home.  If all works out we should be home late Saturday night after a 601 mile transit.  When we get home Rick has another 30 miles to Ephrata.  It has been quite a week and by the time we get home we will have logged almost 5,000 miles

If it's Thursday it must be VIR

If it's Thursday it must be VIR. 

I've used this line for several years now.  Basically I mean when you travel all those miles in so few days you really do loose track of what day it is until you look at the schedule and figure it out by where you are.  Tonight we are in the Beaver Falls area for an our two races at Pittsburgh International Raceway tomorrow and we have put on 4125 miles since leaving home on Thursday.  This was one of our short transit drives at just over 400 miles, but we didn't get started until late since we did 3 different events at VIR.  We ran the South Course, then the North Course and last the Full Course which is over 3.3 miles long.  By the time we wrap things up and get home Saturday night we will have over 5,000 miles in 8 days.

Today we ran three events at VIR (Virginia International Raceway).  We moved up a little in the standings.  I had a couple of pretty good runs and gained a few points.   The awesome SLS Mercedes that I showed in a picture went into a tire wall busted it up a good bit and maybe did some engine damage.  Our repair of the cut oil line seems to be holding up fine.  A little less excitement for once it a welcome relief. 

Here is a little adjustment being done on Sean's car after he spun coming out ot the kink at Carolina Motorsports Park yesterday and took out a big section of tirewall.  The picture above is Rick checking the tire pressure before my afternoon run.

BTW we are still a little short of our goal for
the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition and are still accepting donations  and will put a sticker with your name on the car for a donation.

Major problem, engineered fix at Carolina Motorsports Park

About halfway through my morning run at Carolina I saw smoke pouring out the back of the car.  When I let off
the throttle it decreased so I limped it through to the finish and didn't get a DNF.  With alot of help from fellow competitors and friends we figured out a cooling oil line was cut by the power steering pulley and the running engine pumped the oil out.  Fortunately it didn't run completely out of oil.  After JD White and Gary Griessmann ran 20 miles then back from the parts store for parts we got it fixed and I was the last car to do an afternoon run.  I did get a 10 second penalty for running out of group, but at least we got a time and a score. Everyone we asked for help was very willing to help as they could and I appreciate their help.

After Carolina we headed to the BMW Performance Center in Greer, S Carolina and did kind of an autocross which included a big banked turn.  Because of our problem at Carolina we just made it in town to get out run in.  At this point we have stabilized the freefall and can hopefully improve our standings over the remaining seven events.

Pictured at the right is a tire that went flat and came apart on Leh Keen's car at Daytona 130 mph while doing his warm up lap.  He was able to put on a spare and make is run since it happened on the warm up lap before the green flag.  If Leh would have taken the green flag and had a problem  he would have received a DNF (Did not Finish),

Tomorrow we do three configurations at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).  When we are complete at VIR we head out to Beaver Falls, Pa. area to the next track.

Daytona is in the books

We ran the road course at Daytona today.  That configuration is the one the Grand American series uses for the Rolex 24 hour race and it is 3.56 miles long which includes the high banks as well as an extra mile of infield and the Bus Stop.  To come blasting down the back straight and turning into the "Bus Stop" is a challenge, then when you realize that the Rolex guys make passes on entry to that corner you realize how much talent those pro drivers have.  Leh Keen a competitor who is also a Grand Am races was the class of the field and took 1st place.  He also had a little excitement when on his warm up lap he had a tire go flat and shred at 130 mph.  Not to worry, put on a spare and go get 1st place.

Pictured with me at a stop at Grassroots Motorsports Magazine is Peter Gagne.  He would like to participate in One Lap some day.  I met Peter a few years ago at Grassroots tent at the Rolex 24 and we have stayed in touch.  He came out to see us today and over our lunch break he got the opportunity to drive my car around Daytona during Parade Laps.  Peter is an SCCA autocrosser here in Florida and I think we really heightened his interest in participating with that ride.

I got some good runs in today and started gaining positions in the standings.  We still have several events and with some good finishes I hope to continue to make up for lost ground.  Tomorrow is a busy day with two events at Carolina Motorsports Park and then 125 miles up the road an event at the BMW Performance Center, then off to Virginia International Raceway for Thursday.

Another mixed bag day at New Orleans NOLA

Another mixed bag day at NOLA.  NOLA is a 2 year old track outside of New Orleans.  It is 2.7 miles and it is fast and very flat.  You have to remember that we are running these tracks on street tires that don't get quite the grip as race tires.  When competing you tend to get near the limit and I exceeded it again today and ran off on turn 4 on my second lap.  I was able to regroup and drive right back on but of course it cost precious time.  Because of the "off", my finish was low in the standings and I slipped a little lower in the standings.  The afternoon went a much better and I had a good run.  So good in fact I caught the car in front of me and had to make a pass.  They release cars on a time frame that usually keeps passing to a minimum, but sometimes it happens.  Unfortunately it likely costs both cars some time in getting the pass accomplished, or I would have had an even better time posted.  At least I have started to improve my standings an hope to continue in that direction.


It is now 1am and we just arrived in Daytona Beach.  Tomorrow we run the 3.56 mile road course that they use for the Rolex 24 hour race.    After we finish Daytona we head to Carolina Motorsports where the film "Are you faster than a Redneck".  On that show they only use about half the track.  We will use the whole track and run two events then head about 150 miles to Spartanburg for an evening event before heading for Virginia International Speedway.
Stay tuned for more reports.

Off Road excursion at Taledega

Sunday morning we gathered at Talledega Grand Prix Raceway in Alabama.  On our drive down from Indiana we encountered a lot of rain.  There was a lot of rain in the infield which I happened to find out by dropping a wheel and taking an off road excursion.  A local photographer who had a very hi tech camera got an amazing shot of me hitting the soggy infield and water flying 10 feet high.  It looked like my car was in the middle of a fountain.  If I can get the picture I will share it.  Obviously if you take this type of "shortcut" it doesn't help your times, so I had a terrible finish.  The afternoon was a little better but I was really sliding around.  I think I probably made a mistake on my tire choice this year, they don't seem to be getting the grip I had in the past.  Hopefully I will start to gain some positions on the next few days and start a climb back up in the standings.
It's hard to see in a small picture but the car is all splashed with dirt and grass from running through the infield. 

Here is one of the more interesting entries.  It is 2012 speedconcepts Mercedes that has been heavily modified.  To handle the supersized rear they built the fenders out about 2.5 inches each.  It is an awesome looking car and makes me think of cubic money.

After 407 miles we are now in New Orleans where we will compete at NOLA Motorsports Park tomorrow, the off to Daytona to run the same configuration they run for the Rolex 24 hour race.

Split decision on first day.

The day started out early about 8:30 am with the wet skid pad competition.  I got a .785 g's run which was good for a 13th place, kind of a success since last year I was 16th.  Scott Breneman really aced it with an .803 which got him a 7th place.  The less successful part of the day was at Grissom Air Force Base where I had problems with my ABS brake system which hurt me in braking.  Unfortunately I was only able to garner a 43rd place finish which dropped me from 13th overall to 27th.  Again Scott was on his game and came out with an 8th at the autocross and leaves him with an awesome 4th place standing overall.  Just got to the motel after a 600 mile run to Talledega, Alabama.  We will compete on the Talledega Grand Prix road race course while the big guys of NASCAR are over at the Talledega 2.66 mile oval.  The first event tomorrow will set the starting order for the rest of the week.  The higher you finish the sooner you finish each day and the sooner you get started on your transit drive to the next track.

Hope we can avoid the NASCAR traffic as we head to New Orleans tomorrow evening.

All registered and "stickered up"

We arrived at Tire Rack this morning and were one of the first to get there.  It was interesting to see the other cars pulling in.  From about 6 awesome Nissan GTRs to several Corvettes, Vipers, Camaros, Mustangs, Porsches, BMW's, a couple of Jaguars, Hondas, a Mini, one AMX, a 46 Plymouth (Corvette drive train underneath) and several other makes and models. Some arrived in 50 ft. trailers but most just drove in.  Many like us were pulling a small trailer to carry spares along.  Quite a few had no trailer and you have to be amazed how they carry a weeks luggage in cars like the Lotus Elise.  There really is a class for almost anything.

Tomorrow morning we start at 8am with the Wet Skid Pad competition, then on to Grissom Air Force Base, then  miles to Talledega, Alabama.  Hopefully we get to Alabama in time to get a motel and some sleep.  Check back tomorrow (late?)
and see how we are doing.

The Journey has started!

Well Rick Stauffer and I made it to Elkhart, Indiana today.  Just stopped a little short to get a good nights rest, have a nice meal.  Tomorrow is registration and "Sticker Day" when we put all the new (national sponsor) stickers on the car, as well as the big One Lap of America door banners.  We will have a kick off luncheon/picnic and probably a nice meal Friday night, then it will be fast food and gas station foods while we put on about 3500 miles traveling from racetrack to racetrack around the eastern United States from Saturday to Saturday. The competition all starts Saturday morning with a wet skid pad event, then off to Grissom Air Force Base for a couple big autocrosses on some of their runways.  After Grissom we will drive to Talledega, Alabama for the next mornings races.  I hope to have enough time to post about each days competition, keep checking back.

If you notice the roof of the car we are a little behind in collecting donations for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  We would like to fill the entire roof.  It's not too late, send me an email and I will put your name on the car.  For every donation of $10 or more we will put a pink ribbon sticker on the car with your name on or the name of someone you want to honor or memorialize.  If you send a check be sure to make it out to Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition or PABCC for short.  Check for address etc in last blog.