BIG CHECK PRESENTATION

 

Here is the ceremonial BIG CHECK presentation for the $4310 that I raised this year for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition as part of my One Lap of America race.  Just a footnote, over the years we have now raised over $35,000. 

I would like to thank all of those who donated and made this fundraising effort a success and got their names on top of the Corvette for a vicarious ride around the country.  Pictured with me is Daniele Yanich of the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  Shown with my 2008 C6 Corvette Coupe that I competed with and an appearance of their super pink van.  Also a close-up picture so you can actually see the check;^)

One Lap By The Numbers

 This year we logged 5192 miles for the entire trip from Mount Joy, Pa. and back to Mount Joy again.  The official schedule showed 3500 miles for the event plus the 1230 miles from Mount Joy to South Bend and back home again.  That leaves 462 miles of which I estimated 200 miles on track which leaves 262 miles going back and forth to the hotels, tracks and Tire Rack, and maybe a wrong turn or two. 

Tolls were really low at $65.90 mainly because of avoiding most miles on our famously expensive Pennsylvania Turnpike.  Actually we were only on the turnpike from Breezewood to the Ohio line and it was my biggest toll of the week.  Gas cost us $782, and hotels were $801.  The highest price for Hi-Test gas wask $3.929 in western Pa.  The lowest price was in Texas at $3.049.  We actually achieved 22.3 miles per gallon in my Corvette overall including the track miles. 

Our goal for the week was to finish in the top half of the field and we didn't quite beat that goal this year.  One success is that I did beat most of my buddies that were in similar cars, my Motto is "Take your wins where you can".  The competition gets tougher every year and many cars are full blown racecars, rather than lightly modified track day cars as they used to be.  My Corvette is pretty much stock, but with all the stickers, it looks like a racecar. 

My best event was the Dry Skid Pad Challenge and my second best was the Wet Skid Pad Challenge.  72 vehicles started the event and eight did not score points at our last road race event at Gingerman Raceway in Michigan.  They were either broken or in a replacement car which no longer scores points, just runs for fun.  We did not have our usual picture of the Survival Cars that made it back at the Tire Rack, but they did create a picture of those carks assembled in the entrance lanes of the hotel parking lot. 

Two of my most interesting numbers of this years event were one alligator jump and over $4,000 raised for my charity, The Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  I have now raised over $34,000 over the years. 

Thank you to all who supported my effort and my charity! If I missed anyone who would still like to donate please see me or donate on-line with a credit card at https://www.pabreastcancer.org 

  Thank You,   Jim Roberts

The Gator Brothers

Another One Lap of America in the books.  One of the neatest things about getting to One Lap is seeing all those One Lap friends that you haven't seen in a year, or this year for 2 years. This was my 12th year and Gary "Duck" Drake's 2nd year.  Very interesting year, what with hi-jumping over an alligator on the way to New Orleans and the car stinking big time for the next three days.  Not thrilled with the rainy transit nights but at least it helped wash off the alligator smell;^)  Had a forward facing power steering hose compromised from the encounter with the gator but it didn't show up finishing the many miles to the hotel that night, but it did show up with the more aggressive steering on NOLA where running in the rain I lost my power steering and did most of the session muscling the car the car through the corners and splashing through the major puddles, but at least I didn't DNF.  Duck and I spent the rest of the week being called the Gator Brothers.  A big thanks to Amanda Hennessy and JD White for helping fix the power steering line.  Can't wait to see everyone again next year. 

On another note: 
We are still collecting for our charity, the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition and are having one of our best years ever.  Only a few hundred dollars more and it could be the best.  If I missed you and you would still like to give, see me or go on-line to donate with a credit card at https://www.pabreastcancer.org/ be sure to put One Lap of America when asked for what event.  Thank You. 

I MADE IT HOME

 After competing in the Dry Skid Pad challenge (my best event of the week) and then enjoying the buffet lunch instead of the regular banquet, and then the awards presentations, it was time to head for home.  Just a transit of 618 miles and about 10 hours back to Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.  This transit was just about average for the daily transit runs this week, but I didn't have a co-driver for the drive home since Duck headed back to his home in the Cincinnati area, 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 5192 miles in 9 days.

Lots of stickers on the car but the ones on the roof are from everyone who donated to my effort to the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition Stickers for our fundraising effort. All those people on the stickers rode along on this great adventure vicariously;^)  

Alligator Alley & Helping Hands

 Had a very eventful transit to New Orleans Monday night when I ran over a dead gator in the middle of the road.  The SUV in front of me cleared it with lots of ground clearance but I kind of launched over it in my Corvette, as we were clipping along at a pretty good speed.  It did  not appear that we did any damage and we were able to continue over 100 more miles to New Orleans.  The next morning when I was making my first run at NOLA I lost my power steering which makes steering very hard, but I continued on and finished my run. It was not a good score with major rain and ponding of water and really having to muscle the car through the turns, but at least I completed the run instead of a DNF.  I would say a big Thank You to Amamda Hennessy and JD White for their help in fixing the hose that was damaged in my encounter with that dead gator.   Also thanks to Adam Hennessy for helping to diagnose the problem.  With their fixing my car I was able to compete in the afternoon event and did much better.

Eagles Canyon Raceway in Texas

 

 

Mondays event was at the newly repaved and extended Texas track Eagles Canyon Raceway which is now 2.7 miles long.  Lots of blind turns and elevation changes.  This is a track I have never run before and you get just one recon lap before you do your timed runs.  It was an awesome track and after a full day we were off to NOLA at New Orleans, only 609 miles till we get to the motel.  It will be another long night.
  

Wet Day at Memphis

 Memphis was a wet day and since the front stretch is also the dragstrip which gets very slippery when wet, they changed up the format and ran just a portion of the track.  Because of the rain we also could not run the drag strip events. At least we got an early start on the 500 mile Eagles Canyon Raceway near Dallas. That night instead of a hotel we got to stay with friends Jeff and Kelly Murphy who had moved to Texas and lived somewhat near the track. 

West Skid Pad

Had a decent day on the Wet Skid Pad competition to start this years One Lap of  America. After skid pad then off to Grissom Air Force Base to Autocross on the runways, then a 500 plus mile run to Memphis.

 Thanks to our sponsors.  With their help I am able to participate in this years One Lap of America.  Thank you to, Top of the Line Roofing, Whitmoyer Auto Group, Krunch Kritters Spray and Body Shop, Jim's Scrap Tire Service, Lancaster County Corvette Club, Two Cousin's Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Mount Joy, Where and When-Pennsylvania and Barton Signs & Apparel of Elizabethtown.

As previously announced, this year my Transit Driver will be fellow car enthusiast Gary "Duck" Drake from the Cincinnati area.  Duck and I will share the highway transit driving and I will do all the competitive driving when we compete at each of the tracks. This year we will race on 6 different road course tracks, one Oval track, do 2 skid pad competitions, one Autocross and 2 drag events.  The event is about 3600 miles but with our trip to the start in South Bend and then home I will log almost 5,000 miles. 

This is such a world class event that I wanted to use it to do some community good and decided several years ago to raise money for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition.  Our accumulated total to date is over $36,000 raised for a great cause.  This year we are a little behind with our fundraising and can use all the help we can get.  A Donation of $20 or more gets your name on the car  and you can ride along vicariously;^)  You can also put a name on in Memory or in Honor of someone.  For those interested in donating and getting your name on a sticker on the car please stop in at West Main Auto in Mount Joy or see Duck or me, (make all checks payable to PBCC or Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition).  You can also mail me a check at West Main Auto 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552.  If it is more convenient just go to www.pabreastcancer.org/donate and you can donate using your credit card.  Be sure to note One Lap of America when asked for which event.  The Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition is a great resource and represents, supports and serves breast cancer survivors and their families through educational programming, legislative advocacy and breast cancer research grants.  The PBCC is a statewide non-profit organization that creates the hope of a brighter tomorrow by providing action and information for women with breast cancer today.   Thank you,  Jim Roberts

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

 Here is our "Thanks to our Sponsors" picture for 2019  (we didn't run in Covid 2020) .  I am on the right and Gary "Duck" Drake, my Transit Driver is on the left.  We will be using my 2008 Corvette again this year.

I am getting ready for this years event in which we will compete in early May.  Every year we do a
different route, this year we will be traveling from South Bend to Memphis then to Texas, next down to New Orleans then to Atlanta, up to West Virginia, then our longest drive to western Michigan and back to South Bend.  The event will be about 3500 miles.  With the miles to South Bend and back home, the total will be almost 5,000 miles in about 9 days.

Gary "Duck" Drake from Hamilton, Ohio will be my Transit Driver again this year, helping with the highway miles, and I will do all the competition driving.  Duck is a car guy and is a great asset on our adventure. This will be my 12th One Lap and we have raised almost Thirty Five Thousand dollars for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition over the years.  Make a donation and you can ride along "vicariously" (with your name on the top of the car) on the trip and help a great cause at the same time.  The Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition, represents, supports and serves breast cancer survivors and their families in Pennsylvania through educational programming, legislative advocacy and breast cancer research grants. 
  To make a donation and get a sticker on the car, stop in at the store or send to Jim Roberts % West Main Auto, 14 W. Main St. Mount Joy, Pa. 17552 along with who to name on the sticker.  Make all checks payable to PBCC for short.  You can also visit pbcc.me/donate  and donate by using your credit card.  Just click on Donate and follow the instructions. Be sure to fill in One Lap of America when asked for title of event.  Without the regular meetings and such because of Covid, it's hard to present my effort face to face and I am struggling to reach my fundraising goal this year. This is a terrible disease that has touched the lives of many of our friends and loved ones, Thank you for considering a donation.

To help follow the adventure, I still maintain a blog at www.onelapadventure.blogspot.com where you can also find older stories. Or you can "Like" my Facebook page at Jim's One Lap Adventure. Keep watching for more updates.

Here is this years route map for our One Lap of America event.  The event starts in South Bend, Indiana but our trip starts back in  Pennsylvania.

After beginning the competition in South Bend on Saturday we head to Grissom Air Force Base then to Memphis Motorsports Park.  Then it's off to Texas and the newly extended and repaved Eagles Canyon Raceway.  The next day finds us in New Orleans at NOLA Motorsports Park then off to Atlanta Motorsports Park, then a few miles to the Lanier Speedplex Oval for another event the same day.  Moving up the east coast we stop at Summit Point in West Virginia then head northwest to our last road course at Gingerman Raceway in western Michigan,  The last competitive event for the week will be the Dry Skid Pad event back in South Bend.  The route will be about 3500 miles in about a week.