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.