Cannonball "One Lap Of America 2007"

[TRAYZ06]

Alright everyone it is that time of year again. For those who don't know what One lap of America it is the modern day evolution of the Cannonball Run – yes that cannonball run. What started as a chance to prove that fast cars could go across the country quickly has turned into a more politically correct event where transits are done with some moderation and time trials at racetracks each day give competitors a chance to stretch their legs (literally) and their cars rpm limits. The event starts and finishes in South Bend, Indiana with skid pad trials and in between visits tracks across the country with overnight drives between each. No section of American motorsports is left untouched with an oval and drag racing events thrown into the mix of road courses.

A few years ago running at the front of the pack in One Lap of America meant bringing as much horsepower as you could, including power that comes in big blue bottles common to the drag strip but taboo at road courses. Big corvettes and vipers gobbled up straights and hoped that they could get slowed down enough to take the corners.

Over the last few years things have begun to change. Nitrous bottles no longer appear in the front of the field. Tuning does. What kind of tuning? Engine of course; good old fashioned horsepower is still the way to get from point a to point b in a timely manor. What else though? Suspension. One Lap is primarily a road course event, and getting through the corners counts for a lot. With the onslaught of factory cars from Mitsubishi, Subaru and those Z06s with exotic-type lap times for an affordable price, the old “just throw horsepower at it” philosophy has been thrown out the window. You have to get up to speed, and then stay there through the corners if you want to run with the big (lap) dogs.

What other kinds of tuning? How about wind tunnel? Yep - for one event consisting of 4000 highway miles and about 100 track miles, competitors are turning to the playground of pro-racing engineers; big fans in a tube finding out how to make cars slicker and produce as little lift and as much downforce as possible.

The real tale is in the times. In 2006 I drove a Mitsubishi Evolution to a 6:17 run at VIR for three laps and finished eighth. Had I run the same time the year before, it would have put me fourth. Not only is it getting harder and more sophisticated to run up front, but cars that might have been a shoe-in for a top five only a few years ago now have little hope of even seeing the top ten.

“You guys keep getting faster and faster,” Brock Sr. said after the Roebling Road Raceway time trial in 2006. That was just after Karl Troy had lapped the Savannah, GA track in the 1:16 range – a time usually reserved for racing cars with no fenders or at least slick tires. Troy had done it on true street tires with a sight-blurring front straight speed of 168mph.

There was some concern in Brock’s voice that day, and for good reason – it isn’t getting any less popular and popularity brings in better – and faster – cars. The internet age is sitting pretty, and teams now bring the action into the homes of enthusiasts through streaming video, blogs and message board posts. Thousands live the event online, cheering on their favorite cars and drivers. This year there are no fewer than five film crews, some of them with real-time video as the event goes on. Last year lake-effect-racing.com, a web-site that covered One Lap from the road with a crew of video editors, got 2.3 million hits in the first 15 days of May, and over 200,000 video downloads.

That attention lures professional shops. The old-guard “One Lappers” are being challenged by tuners with 500-600 horsepower entries from shops that do nothing but produce cars that go fast.

All of this isn’t saying it is impossible to have a private entry do well, it’s just getting harder. Rain can and will play havoc with the best and the faster the front guys have to push, the more chance of breaking something.

So what is in store for 2007? Lots. The usual suspects are back, faster and more reliable than before. Over 100 entries are ready to go, including pro shops and pro drivers. Import and domestic rockets will fill the front of the pack and don’t let class labels fool you; economy doesn’t mean what it used to. May 5-12 this year is going to see some fast cars, probably a couple of upsets, and lots of very self-confident and fast drivers focused on pushing personal and equipment’s limits each day.

Snagged from Nasioc.com

Cliff Notes:

- Its a week long race event where you must drive to track to track.
- No towing.
- You must drive there with the same set of tires from the start of the race to the end with a tire tread rating of 160 or higher.
- No test and tune at the tracks.
- 1-3 track sessions per event.
- Each track session is scored and whoever has the highest points win.
- Whoever places best per class overall wins the class.

Tray M
www.topspeedsales.com