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! 

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

 Thanks to our sponsors.  With their help I am able to participate in this years One Lap of America.  Thank you to Auto-Locator, 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 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, do 2 skid pad competitions, one Autocross and 2 drag events.

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 $26,000 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 $10 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

Here is this years route map for One Lap of America.  Even though it is concentrated in the Central States area the mileage still adds up to about 3500 miles for the event, plus another 1200 miles for the round trip from home to South Bend, Indiana.  All in a little over a week.

Getting Ready for One Lap 2019

Here is our "Thanks to our Sponsors" picture for 2018.  I am on the left and Jesse Landis my Transit Driver last year is on the right.  We will be using my 2008 Corvette again this year.

I am starting to get 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 mostly in the Central States starting in South Bend, Indiana, over to Ohio, west to Wisconsin then north to Minnesota, southwest to Nebraska then to Illinois, south to Bowling Green, Kentucky 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, helping with the highway miles, this year and I will do all the competition driving.  Duck is a car guy and should be a great asset on our adventure. This will be my 11th One Lap and we have raised over Twenty Six Thousand dollars for the Pa. Breast Cancer Coalition over the last few 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 http://www.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.

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 the list of tracks for 2019 One Lap of America. 
3500 miles in the central states area.  As far east as Ohio, as far west as Nebraska, north to Minnesota and south to Kentucky.  With the 1200 mile round trip from and to Pennsylvania and track miles and maybe a wrong turn or two we will be close to 5,000 miles.