10 days and some odd 4900 miles later I’ve returned to NY from what has been the greatest motorsport event I have ever participated in. The One Lap of America is truly a test of your patience, skill, and vehicle preparedness and is like nothing else. You are surrounded by varying levels of track experience ranging from 2yr rookies to ex GC factory racers, and schooling instructors and the vehicles they bring are just the same. There is far too much to ramble on with so I’ll get right to the guts of this event this year.
Now before all you nutty pro photographers go and eat me alive on my epicly-superb photo taking skills just know I haven’t a clue as to what I’m doing and this was all taken on my wifes Cannon PnS with a sticking 12x zoom(no lenses):tongue
Custom made and painted 20" CCW’s for the 2010 Camaro
Our team consisted of three vehicles, plus my good friend Don Kahn’s runners. Two HHR SS’s, one 2010 Camaro 2SS Rs, a bone stock 2004 Sti(Don Kahn/Courtney Zarish), and the Ultima GTR(Carl Warren/Sammy Bryant)
[SIZE=1]From L -R: Harry, Chris, Robert, Richard, Yves(eve, crouched), Fred, myself, Amanda, Thomas, Sabine(sa-bein-a)[/SIZE]
We began the trek out to a local Quality Inn in South Bend, Indiana and were one of the first to arrive at the lot some 12 hours later. Making a stop by Tire Rack to swap tires/wheels, we headed back to the hotel to await the remaining competitors and get settled in for the bar night. Over the following hours more began to funnel in, exchanging handshakes and stories of the past year. Faces of old immediately started the laughs while the faces of new slowly warmed up to the feeling of the event.
Livery on and ready to go, the two Retro class HHR SS’s
With only ~480 miles on the odometer, the 2010 Camaro 2SS Rs, bone stock(minus wheels).
People joining in the festivities to come
Before the event had even kicked off troubles began to arise on some of the cars. Jon, Steven, and William in their past year winning GTR had injector/misfire issues as soon as they pulled into the hotel. 12am walking out of the bar I noticed them under the hood, plenum piled on the sidewalk. Our own Ultima GTR had its own can of worms to deal with with it electronics, and a failing/crumbling plastic fuse panel began a week of constant upkeep and repairs.
GTR parts askew, but was back and running in a few hours
For the past eight years Tire Rack has been the main sponsor and since then has had the opening ceremony held at their facility. If you ever swing by South Bend, you need to take a gander by the facility. Massive doesn’t even begin to describe the sheer awe and you can easily get lost(which is not a bad thing in there as there’s tons of shit to look at!) and their wet/dry 200ft skidpad ain’t too shabby either!
A brief look at some of the competition
And to the right
The competition was impressive to say the least and the classes were packed with an immense amount of off-shelf performance, grassroots motorsports, and custom bits to keep you preoccupied for days on end. Tech opened and the teams filed in to have tires and basic safety checked for legality and signed off on. Walking through the parking lot occupied most of the day however the time for such was just not there and before we knew it the first event commenced, the wet skidpad. Immediately after the run the team(s) packed up their gear and headed out to the next track, following either a pre-determined route listed in the prepared route book, or via their own free will to find the way there. The next event was nothing less than the epic Road America race course, 235 miles north into Wisconsin
The tech line, 2009 Sti Pace Car loaned from NJMP for the event drive by Team Teal
Katech power in a well sorted '69 RS SS
A pair of supercharged Mustangs competing in SSGT2 Large Bore class with our Camaro
Events 2 and 3 were at the beautiful grounds of Road America, one of the fastest tracks in the US. The weather was perfect, the track was warm, and we knew we would see some blistering speeds from the GT1 class. Event 2 was full course, while event 3 was a short course with a crossover coned in between turns 13 and 5. The events did not disappoint, and the cars performed very well up until the first “casualty” of the race. During Event 2 and in our run group a CTS-V tracked out too far into Canada, put four off, and dug hard into the field putting the car through the fence and up on it’s side. The driver emerged virtually unscathed, and after calling his wife about the incident was promptly instructed by her to go “buy another car and keep on going”. He did just that, shooting down to the local dealer and picking up a used Crossfire for a mere $15K, being back on track not 2 hours later!!!
From competing F430 Challenge, full vinyl wrapped car supporting out troops as his charity
E36’s from the guys of the MRT crew. Good groups of guys to shoot the shit with
Moving on and up, we turn south towards Mid America, a 540 mile jaunt down some excellent divided highway. Keep in mind that this event is not raced between tracks and we are to follow all regulated traffic controls and laws…
In reality all traveled state police agencies were notified prior to the event that we would be coming their way and for 99.9% of us the police were actually superb. I was lit up a few times via laser doing some “odds and ends speeds” during this entire trip and made it through without incident(thank you officers if you read this 
) Back to MAM. This track is quite unique, but challenging in ways with it’s flat layout and difficult to see turns(let alone apex). In the middle of absolutely nowhere, it’s still a track that deserves to be seen and driven if you’re up for the getting there in the first place.
It was during this event that due to unfortunate misfire circumstances, Willim, Jon, and Steven had to reluctantly pull their GTR from competition to avoid damaging the engine and had the car flatted back to South Bend. However they did not give up and drop out of the competition, and during our travels to Gateway they flew back to the hotel in South Bend and picked up their '99 Subaru 2.5RS. Stickered up, knowingly underpowered, and no longer running for points those guys did some commendable driving and completed the remainder of the race in their daily driver!
Fred, Sabine, and Yves alongside Catesby and Jose in the pearl GTR, with Camaro in pursuit.
Day three was at Hallett MRC, another great road circuit located in Jennings, Oklahoma. Beutifully laid out, well maintained facilites, and run by a wonderful family this is mos definitely a must-drive track. I will personally be making it a point to come here again and actually wheel the tarmac myself. Some blind apex turns and some off camber fun made the events very interesting and the weather again was unusually beautiful for an OLOA event. OLOA rookies Anthony Magagnoli and Kevin Kreisa put their AWESOME BMW 325is four off between turns 8 and 9 over the uphill and performed a well skilled save and track-on to throw the crowd into blazing cheer. This was also the event that started the week long application of dirt and grease to my limited clothing, assisting GT3RS driver Geoffrey and his Co-D Jack Brice in getting their 2010 centerlock wheel system back together and working for their second heat.
Fred Yearling, an extremely talented driver from the Renault Clio cup in Europe piloting the HHR
The exceptionally driven BMW 325is of Anthony and Kevin
Robert Dubler, Thomas Daetwyler, Catesby Jones, and Amanda Hennessy going over track details at Hallett MRC
Tulsa Raceway Park was next on our list and the event area for the ET/Bracket drag event. Not really my thing, nor that of ANY of our competing cars, but overall interesting to watch some vehicles make passes. An overall fast ET was held as event #8, and for dial in times for the bracket racing to be held in the 9th event. Interesting enough, the fastest vehicle of the day was our friends Hugh Bate and Rene von Richthoven in a 2010 997 Turbo making a pass at 10.90, followed by Catesby in the GTR at 11.48. Although the tables really turned for event 9 when long time One Lappers Mike and Jon Roberts won the Bracket racing in a bone stock 2008 Civic Si.
Sam Bryant chasing down Evo X in the Ultima GTR at Hallett
2006 Viper SRT-10 with 2008 visual update
Bill Urwin and Reg Noble’s quick GTi
Gateway International Raceway is an oval track with a relatively new partial infield course. A tricky transition from the infield to the banked oval made some people nervous but the tires stuck and the teams made some impressive runs. The big failure of the day happen to(get it out now while you can) the guys running a very nice and intensely fast 2007 STi. Coming out of turn 2 the right rear halfshaft failed, ejecting the wheel bearing and hub from the knuckle. I was in the right spot at the right time to catch so goo photos before getting yelled at by track officials for being too close :tongue
Once back in the paddock, I pulled up my sleeves and with the down GTR crew we tore the car apart and got the 80% of the way repaired, with the GTR guys sourcing the required new parts on the fly and getting them to the paddock in very short order. By our arrival morning break at Mid Ohio, they were in the paddock back on four wheels ready for racing at one of the best tracks in the country.
Coming into turn 3 at GIR, Mike Lattos and Erik Van Cleef’s wounded Subaru Sti
Mega toe out is the key to winning
Culprit, prior to an hours work of me cleaning and repairing the rotor.
Mid Ohio, who the hell in the right mind doesn’t like Mid Ohio. It has to be one of the cleanest and properly maintained tracks ever and has some of the smoothest, free flowing track anywhere. Period. You walk through this place and if it wasn’t for the sound and smell of the cars, you’d think you were walking through a state park in the north east. It was anticipated that many of the rookies and veterans whom have never been to this facility would find the grouping of turns known as madness to be a bit of a challenge, but aside from a handfull most did quite well. I spent this day relaxing/sleeping in the sun on the grass as I was beat but did manage to rip off some 50-60 photos of the events throughout the day. I for one would love to have stolen the seat time from my sister for this track, but it was her OLOA car and Fred was already putting a hurting on her points standings by this point.
Mustang running Mid-O
Jose in the GTR chasing down leader Leh Keen in his perfect GT2, carousel at Mid-O
Mazda 5 popping off some curbing
Moton’s on the 2007 Subaru Stil of Mike and Erik.
Our next trip I though would be the worst, passing on through OH and PA into New Jersey to NJMP. This is another great facility located in southern NJ. Two great circuits and a pro kart track all located on cleanly maintained grounds. Home of Team Teal with drivers David Teal and Wayne Hickman with Wife Faye Teal at their side. Also home to their loaner 2009 Subaru Sti. The Lightning course is what we ran and because this track had some interesting corners and concerns for new drivers here, cones were placed at turn in, apex, and track out on every corner. That didn’t stop the mayhem and people were putting their wheels in the dirt in repeatable fashion. Robert Dubler did so in the warm up lap, and I swear Don Kahn thought he was on a stage rally for a moment when he drove right off the track in 3-4.
Five time #1 champ Mark Davia stopped by to pay tribute to the group, and states a return to come in 2011.
Robert Dubler going over bracket strategy with Amanda and Sabine at Tulsa.
Carl Warren pulling through Madness at Mid-O
Exo X staged at Hallett MRC
If Mid Ohio is to smooth then the next track we visited would be the definition of W.T.F…the rediculous Nelsons Ledges. Straight out of some bad wrong turn horror film, this track is located in podunk-ville and is rough. And I mean rough. Certain areas grass and weeds were sprouting up through the pavement, the surface conditions varied like a stage rally, and the continued warnings of roaming deer were enough to test any drivers nerves. The people though were great, welcomed us like no other place, and despite the looks the track made for one of the most interesting days of the event Early during the week driver Mark Blaha of the #32 gray Mustang said he’d either finish the race, or go out with a bang. Well he certainly did just that, and during his first event of the day his motor grenaded on track at turn 11, spewing wrist pins and parts everywhere. I unfortunately was ot able to get pictures of that as I was tied up with another issue on a different car that at this time I’m not allowed to discuss but will in the future, I promise.
Mike Schnell Renner from the BMW Driving School in their X6 at Nelson Ledges
Standing start grid, SSGT1 Big Bore, Leh Keen launches his GT2 off the start.
Pilot Sports, the most common tire of the race…
G-VR4 trying to make it at Mid-O
Friday evening, and nearly 3500 miles later, we were back at the starting hotel in South Bend and were ready for some desperately needed beer at the bar. All surviving teams piled in and talked over the weeks adventures, passing the stories around and congratulating the known winners of the event. Sat morning would be the final event back at the Tire Rack with the dry skid pad. Throughout the week I spent a majority of my time assisting other teams fixing their cars or answering questions. I don’t like to see people stuck in the paddock and not competing because their car is down due to track-side fixable issues. Sat morning was without exception and it was again with the Ultima. Back at N.Ledges the alt shit the bed and they managed to get the car half way there by running off random batteries and no headlights at 10pm. Flatted the rest of the way they made it to the skid pad where Sam and Carl borrowed a semi charged battery to make the runs. 3 clockwise and 3 CCW runs were required. Sam pulled through the CCW runs but disaster struck and the voltage dropped, killing the ignition. Not wanting Carl and Sam to DNf the very last event of the race I ran out across the tarmac to the car and was joined by fellow team mates and others alike. We pushed the car around the skid pad as fast as possible the remaining two laps hoping to obtain enough points to retain a top ten finish for the car but the lack of energy from the entire week showed it’s signs and althought the car finished the test, it dropped from the top ten finish by a mere 10 points :’(:’( Beaten and exhausted, we limped the car back to the paddock where I put it on a trailer ready for me to tow back home.
Getting official now, breaking my so called One Lapper “puppy” status
Hugh and Rene’s 5th place overall finishing 997 turbo, brand new off the lot(5700 miles after the event)
Third place finishing Z06 piloted by Jeremy Hertzberg and Danny Popp in the Road America paddock.
The man who now runs the show, Brock Yates Jr, talking to Mike before his first run at Nelson Ledges
Some would say you’d have to be nuts to run in an event such as this and I can say with certainty that they’re 100% correct. But there’s a reason why people return 5, 10, even 20 years in a row to compete in this event and it’s not something that can be expressed in text or talking. You’ve got to experience it for yourself, even if only a co-driver for another team. I for one am hooked and will be returning again next year, with any luck, in my own car. It’s not for everyone, and certainly isn’t for people who have no track experience(they require driving schools at a minimum, track experience HIGHLY recommended) For $2700, plus all costs of fuel, tools, food, lodging, tires, etc, etc you get an event that covers some amazing tracks and an experience you’ll never forget.
We took first in SSGT2 Large Bore with the Camaro, 1st and 2nd in Retro class with the HHR’s(Fred 1st, Amanda 2nd) and overall standings were 17th, 33rd, and 40th, with the Ultima in 11th and the Sti in 48th. And to make the event even more memorable for myself, Brock Yates and his crew awarded me with a plaque for “Most time assisting others” for keeping as many people in the race as I possibly could.
My hats off to all the drivers and crew members, Tire Rack and other sponsors, and to Brock Sr/Jr for keeping this event alive for everyone to enjoy!
