My co-driver Jesse's reflections of One Lap of America

Top three finishers 2018 One Lap of America

One Lap of America was certainly an adventure. The wild cars and interesting people were of great interest. On the first day, it seemed like a large family reunion. Everyone was catching up with each other, having not seen these friends for a whole year. For being in a competitive situation, everyone got along real well, with rivals even helping each other. One day a driver slid into a wall and damaged a wheel. Quickly upon his arrival back at his park spot, several guys were looking under his car, offering their expertise to fix the damage. I heard stories of competitors giving each other spare car parts to get them back in the race. Many of these cars are more than a little modified, and every driver is so proud of his (or her) car.

It was really fun watching these guys speed around the track. Just watching them, you can tell that they just love it. There is so much waiting around, often in unbearable heat. And these guys are in their racing suits. Someone said that it's like being wrapped in a quilt. We also had 3 days where we had to drive more than 600 miles between tracks. We got to the hotel those nights around 2:00 and we were up by 7:00 to race another day. One morning after little sleep, we were going down the elevator to breakfast and one One Lapper said, "We do this for fun right?" It seems with all the hard work involved in racing, once the racing begins, it's all worthwhile.

The highlight of the trip for me was probably being with my college buddy at the track out near his home in Denver. I had told him that I would get him a ride in a car around the race track during the parade laps where any non racer for the day can drive a few laps around the track. As it turned out, he was able to drive his own Corvette around the track! He was thrilled. He thinks he may have found a new hobby. He was intrigued watching the races and asking questions of the drivers.

I also enjoyed the racing and chatting with the other drivers, but I am really out of my league there. All the mechanical discussions and racing techniques were mostly foreign to me, but I did learn a great deal. I can't say that I really want to run races. I like to drive my car fast when appropriate, but I really don't like roller coasters and other amusement park rides. I like parades. I like showing off our cars. Can't imagine beating my car like those guys do. We all like different things.

It was really something to see different parts of the country, even though there was no time to sight see. I wish we wouldn't have had to drive in the dark, as we couldn't see the landscape then.

Despite not ranking higher than he did, I think Jim had a good time. He has established many strong relationships. I was happy to try to make his experience as good as it could be. I really didn't drive that much, as I can tell Jim just enjoys driving. When I did drive, how could I not enjoy it? I was driving a Corvette!

Many thanks to all the donors for our charity, Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, a very good cause. I think we raised more than $4000 this year with a running total of $23,000.

These were the the top 3 finishers.

1) 2015 Corvette Z06
2) 2016 McLaren 570S
3) 2008 Honda S2000