ONE LAP BY THE NUMBERS

This year we logged 5026 miles from Mount Joy back to Mount Joy.  The official schedule showed 3379 miles for the event plus 1230 miles from Mount Joy to South Bend and back home again.  That leaves 417 miles of which I estimated 200 on track miles which leaves 217 miles going back and forth to the hotels and maybe a wrong turn or two.  Tolls were really low at $51.09 mainly because of avoiding our famous Pennsylvania turnpike .  Gas cost us $772. and hotels were $887.  The highest price for Hi-Test gas was $4.079 in Wisconsin but I think that is because I just chose the wrong gas station.  Actually I had to get some gas at the track at the National Corvette Museum track and that was $4.279 which was about 50 cents over the local stations, but that's how it works at the track.  The lowest price was in Ohio at $3.199.  Our goal for the week was to finish in the top half of the field and we beat that goal and finished 26th, our best year in several years.  Our best event was an 9th place finish in the Wet Skid Pad Challenge.  77 vehicles started the event and 12 did not score points at our last road race event at the National Corvette Museum.  So they were either broken or in a replacement car which no longer scores points, just run for fun.  In the final picture of cars that made it back to South Bend there are 68 cars shown.

One of the great numbers this year is that we raised almost $3600, bringing our total over the years to over $29,000.  The Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition really appreciates our efforts and considers us a Grassroots supporter and it really feels good to raise money for such a good cause.  So many of our friends and loved ones have been affected by this terrible disease that we want to do all we can to help find a cure.

We will wrap up our fundraising in a few weeks, so if you still want to donate see Duck Drake or myself.  If you would like to use your credit card go on line to www.pabreastcancer.org and click donate.  Just be sure to mention One Lap of America when asked for what event.  Thanks You to everyone who has supported us in this event and in our fundraising.

I made it Home

After competing in the Dry Skid Pad challenge and then enjoying the awards banquet it was time to head for home.  Just an average transit of 615 miles and a bit over 9 hours back to Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.  The last hour and a half in the pouring rain, but it's good to be home again after being gone 9 days, and to be home for Mother's Day.  It was quite an event and counting the trip from home then back home again, I put on 5026 miles in 9 days.
The group picture by Highland Design Studio, is of the teams who made it back to Tire Rack. We are in the third row a little right of center with the Breast Cancer Stickers on the roof from our fundraising effort. All those people on the stickers rode along on this great adventure vicariously;^)

Last event, the Dry Skid Pad

The last event of this awesome week is the Dry Skid pad competition.  You run two laps counterclockwise then two clockwise and they calculate an average g-force.  I didn't do quite as well as I wanted by was able to move up by one more position in the overall standings for the week.  I finished 26th for the week which is my best finish in several years. Here is a picture with Duck Drake and I sporting our pink Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition t-shirts, with the Tire Rack skid pad behind us. BTW, You can still make a donation on line at www.pabreastcancer.org/donate  please note One Lap when asked for what event you are supporting.

National Corvette Museum Track

For Fridays events
we headed about 500  miles to the southeast to Bowling Green Kentucky to the National Corvette Museum racetrack. We ran three different configurations, the East track, the West track and the full track.  This was a good day for me, finishing well in all the events and moving up a little in the standings.  Now one of our shortest transits of about 400 miles back to South Bend for the last event of the week, the Dry Skid Pad competition.

Blackhawk Farms

Wednesday afternoon after Hastings Nebraska we headed northeast  about 600 miles to northern Illinois almost into Wisconsin. Thursdays track was a neat little track called Blackhawk Farms tucked into the woods. It is a track that I never heard of before it showed up on the One Lap of America list of tracks for 2019.  The day started off wet and one of our top competitors ran off the track and busted up his car.  The good thing is he was not hurt.  I had a couple of decent finishes and moved up a little bit in the overall standings.  Here is a picture of "Duck" Drake my transit driver checking things under the hood.  The other picture is Travis Pastrana wishing me good luck while I am getting lined up to make my run.

If it's Hastings Nebraska it must be Wednesday

With all this traveling and competing we kind of lose track of the days, so we figure out what day it is by looking at the schedule to see where we are on what day;^)  Another day in the rain but I was pretty pleased with my scores of the day.  Don't forget we are still collecting for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  You can use your credit card on line at www.pabreastcancer.org/donate
Be sure to mention One Lap of America when asked for what event.

Brainerd International Raceway

Tuesday was a full day, we did the Donnybrook Road Course first which is 3.1 miles long and 10 turns and includes the longest front straight and the fastest turn one in road racing.  In the afternoon we then ran the Competition Road Course which includes much of the big course without the front straight, but also the infield road course which totals 13 turns and 2.5 miles. After that we two drag events. The drags started with a pure Elapsed Time run on the front straight which is also an NHRA Drag Strip.  When the ET runs were finished we the went into a Bracket Drags event.  I did relatively good on all the events but only lasted two rounds in the Bracket Drags.  A Good scoring day.  The other thin that made the day a long one was the transit to Hasting Nebraska which was 556 miles and we didn't get in till after 2 am.


One other nice thing at Branierd was that my brother Mike and wife Patty came up from Minneapolis to visit and watch me compete.

Mixed Bag at Road America

Weather can certainly play a factor in our efforts.  Today it was raining and super slippery when I went for my morning run.  I had a great run and by managing the traction available I was able to catch and pass both a Viper and a Lamborghini. I was feeling pretty good about myself but then a few cars crashed and with the delay the track dried up and the rest of the cars had runs in the dry. That certainly skewed the results a bit and I ended up way down the order.  I did redeem myself in the afternoon with a nice finish and score. 

BTW, Tonight we have a short transit of only 459 miles;^) 

Fun day at Nelson Ledges track in Ohio

Had a fun time at Nelson Ledges today but as always not as fast as I wanted to be.

I was paddocked next to Travis Pastrana so I got to see this close up when he came in from his morning run.  He ran off into the grass on a turn but kept it going and had a decent run, but with the lush grass and soggy from recent heavy rains when he got back to the paddock he had a lot of grass to clean out of the wheels.





A lot of interesting vehicles are on the event with us and here is one in my class, a 2019 Dodge Challenger Redeye at only 900 horsepower from Hot Rod magazine and The House of Muscle. 

Good Day on the Wet Skid Pad

I had a pretty good day on the wet skid pad competition and came in 9th which is a great finish.  If I could finish like this all week I would be grinning ear to ear. After the wet skid pad we were off to Grissom Air Force Base for an Autocross on the old runways. I didn't do as well on that event, but that's life, we'll keep trying.  Now the 300 plus mile run to Garrettsville, Ohio to Nelson Ledges Raceway, they claim to be the fastest 2 mile road course in the country, and it has been repaved.  When we finish about 3 pm we will then head west to Wisconsin and Road America for Mondays events.

READY TO BEGIN

 Saturday we will begin the 2019 One Lap of America event with a Wet Skid Pad competition then off 82 miles for an autocross on the runways of Grissom Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana.  After completing the auto cross we head for Nelson Ledges for our Sunday event, another 319 miles away in Garrettsville, Ohio.  All of this on the same day. 

This is an unusual scene for your typical hotel parking lot, lots of licensed cars cleverly disguised as race cars all getting stickers on and going through tech.  With a field of 80 competitor cars, it's a big field this year. Wish us good Luck!