2015 One Lap of America: One Hell of a Road Trip

Spanning 10 U.S. states over 7 days, the 2015 One Lap of America took a toll on both man and machine throughout its 3,000-plus mile journey. With nearly 60 entrants, the vehicles participating in this year’s race varied greatly, as everything from a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT to a 1977 Ford LTD Country Squire wagon (manned by the appropriately named team, Griswolds Great Adventure) competed for top honors.

Even more impressive was the fact that a number of original equipment manufacturers also took part in this year’s One Lap of America race. Toyota brought along a Scion FR-S with forced induction, Honda came armed with a wicked looking and highly modified Acura MDX SUV, BMW enlisted a new X6 M SUV, and Dodge teamed up with the dealership group AutoNation to campaign a 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack.

The first green flag waved on May 2 at Tire Rack’s headquarters in South Bend, Indiana signaling the start of the wet skidpad competition. With sprinklers deployed, the Tire Rack made sure a thick layer of water settled on its skidpad before allowing each team to drive the circular track both clockwise and counterclockwise to measure overall lateral g-force. When all was said and done, one vehicle stood out above the rest: the team of MTI Racing Viper. Campaigning a 2008 Dodge Viper, the team managed to pull a side-splitting 0.833 g of grip on wet tarmac.

Unfortunately MTI Racing Viper’s time on the podium was short, as their Dodge Viper would have to retire early on in the race.

Once the wet skidpad was complete, teams drove into the night to get to the next racing destination in Pacific Junction, Iowa. Raceway Park of the Midlands (formerly Mid-America) offers a fun and complex 2.23-mile road course. While no cars were formally taken out of commission by the 15-turn track, the Honda team’s Acura MDX spun off track on at least two occasions. In the end, the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association 2010 Nissan GT-R took first place in both the morning and afternoon sessions at the track, posting jaw-dropping times of 4 minutes 54.166 seconds and 4 minutes 53.377 seconds, respectively.

The team didn’t stop there, though, as it took top honors in both sessions of the following day’s event at Deer Trail, Colorado’s High Plains Raceway. The big-winged Nissan GT-R tackled the 2.55-mile track in 5 minutes 46.244 seconds and 5 minutes 44.365 seconds, respectively. To put that in perspective, the second place vehicle – the RS Motors 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX – crossed the finish line more than 7 seconds after the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association GT-R.

The following day’s racing event required teams to make the short drive to Pueblo, Colorado’s Pueblo Motorsports Park. Originally scheduled to consist of two driving sessions on the track’s 2.2-mile road course, the event was modified to an autocross competition due to excessive rainwater on the track. Nevertheless, the change in racing didn’t initially affect the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association Nissan GT-R, as the red, white, and blue super coupe squeaked past the Brock Yates Tribute Fund team’s 2014 Ariel Atom in the first autocross session.

Unfortunately the team couldn’t hold onto its top autocross billing, and the GT-R dived to seventh place in the event’s afternoon session, falling behind the teams of Chariots of Palm Beach (2013 Nissan GT-R), Shaky Dog Racing (2003 Chevrolet “Chebby Vette” Corvette), Team CVM (2015 Porsche 911 GT3), the factory-backed BMW team (2015 BMW X6 M), the aforementioned Brock Yates Tribute Fund team (2014 Ariel Atom) and, the session’s top performer, the RS Motors 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.

A harrowing 670-mile drive followed, as teams made their way to Cresson, Texas to battle it out at Motorsport Ranch. The 3.1-mile road course was split into two smaller tracks (measuring 1.3 and 1.7 miles, respectively) that were raced simultaneously by 2015 One Lap of America participants. Following these two sessions, teams ran the full 3.1-mile road course. To no one’s surprise, the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association Nissan GT-R finished first in all three course configurations, posting a time of 3 minutes 13.560 seconds on the 1.3-mile circuit, a time of 4 minutes 3.319 s, econds on the 1.7-mile circuit, and a time of 7 minutes 1.443 seconds on the 3.1-mile full course, bettering the next fastest vehicle by 2.255, 10.132, and 8.408 seconds, respectively.

One Lap’s time in Texas wasn’t over yet, as the group of racers trekked nearly 70 miles to North Star Dragway in Denton, Texas for 1/8-mile bracket racing. While the Chariots of Palm Beach team’s 2013 Nissan GT-R managed the fastest raw time of 6.944 seconds, the 2014 Porsche Cayenne S of team Ann’s Cookie Express managed to breakaway with the top position. (Chariots of Palm Beach tied for sixth place and Ann’s Cookie Express pulled an impressive 1/8-mile time of 9.587 seconds.)

With ominous skies looming overhead, One Lap teams took to the road for the 220-plus mile journey to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Jennings, Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the threat of tornadoes and heavy rain made this shorter leg in the 2015 One Lap of America race a long and tiring experience. With parts of I-35 closed due to tornado damage, many teams took shelter south of Jennings, Oklahoma. Others slogged through the storm though, battling flooded streets and heavy winds to ensure a timely arrival at the following day’s event.

Tired and weary from the previous night’s drive, all but one 2015 One Lap of America competitor successfully made it to the next day’s event at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit (flood waters unfortunately took one competitor’s Corvette. Fortunately, both team members emerged unscathed). With the Chariots of Palm Beach GT-R breathing down their neck, the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association GT-R managed to take the top spot in the track’s morning and afternoon racing sessions, posting times of 4 minutes 8.936 seconds and 4 minutes 7.963 seconds, a mere 1.962 and 2.290 seconds ahead of the event’s second-place Chariots of Palm Beach GT-R.

The final road course battle took place in Bowling Green, Kentucky at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. Located directly across from the National Corvette Museum, the track is a complex and technical road course that can be configured in four different ways: a 3.15-mile grand full course, a 2.87-mile grand max straight, a 1.97-mile high speed circuit, and the split 2-mile and 1.1-mile west and east circuits. Despite its difficulty, the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association GT-R managed to take the checkered flag in both the morning and afternoon sessions, posting times of 6 minutes 46.245 seconds and 6 minutes 46.875 seconds. The next closest competitor in both sessions – the Brock Yates Tribute Fund 2014 Ariel Atom in the morning session and the Chariots of Palm Beach 2013 Nissan GT-R in the afternoon session – was more than 9 seconds behind the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association Nissan GT-R.
The race came to a close the following day at Tire Rack’s headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. After a night of celebrating the tiring feat of driving across the country and making it all the way to the finish line, drivers lined up to compete in the “dry” skidpad. Unfortunately, overnight rains resulted in a generally wet skidpad experience for drivers. Despite this, the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association GT-R took the top spot with an incredibly sticky recorded skidpad run of 1.111 g.

With the race in the books, a handful of teams decided to celebrate by tearing apart their vehicle’s rear tires. Highlights included Mike Musto madly doing doughnuts in the Dodge/AutoNation-backed 2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack, and Mike Schnell Renner of the BMW-backed team beautifully drifting a big BMW 7 Series sedan.

Unsurprisingly, the tangerine associates/ALS Research Association 2010 Nissan GT-R came away the overall winner at this year’s One Lap of America, with second- and third-place going to the Chariots of Palm Beach 2013 Nissan GT-R and RS Motors 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. While not every team received a trophy for their efforts in One Lap of America, everyone involved in the race walked away with a new respect for their car, the United States, and their fellow drivers. If that’s not winning, then we don’t know what is.

See the full results and individual class results at OneLapOfAmerica.com