Autoblog

2012 One Lap Of America starts today

Chris Paukert — Sat, 05 May 2012 07:02:00 EST

Yes, it's spring time in Indiana, and although Jim Nabors won't be singing ahead of the drop of the green flag, it's time for another One Lap of America.

Having been part of the timing and scoring team for well over a decade, we tend to see a lot of the same faces and sheetmetal year in and year out, though there's always a steady stream of newcomers. Every few races, however, there seems to be a bumper crop of new cars that show up as old ones get tired and drivers find something different to play with. This is clearly one of those times, perhaps brought about by the dominance of the Nissan GTR over the last several years. As a result, there are a glut of the Japanese supercars in the fold, along with other noteworthy new models including an Audi TT RS, a BMW M5 and 1 Series M Coupe, not to mention a factory-prepped Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. As ever, there's a brace of Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette models of various vintages, along with a Dodge Viper or two and a Ferrari 430. There's even an E-Series ambulance and an incredible sounding Honda Odyssey, also running with factory support.

Unfortunately, one key classic will be notably absent from the paddock this year: Brock Yates. Father of One Lap Of America and the legendary Cannonball Run that spawned it, Yates' health has been deteriorating due to Alzheimer's. Yates' son, Brock Jr. has been ably running the event for many years, but this is the first time that Senior won't be in attendance.

As has become the usual, this year's event kicks off in South Bend, Indiana at title sponsor Tire Rack's massive headquarters with a wet skidpad event. The motley crew of madmen and their motors will then jog down the road a few miles to the South Bend Motor Speedway (a paved oval) before hoofing it over to Autobahn Country Club's road course in Illinois. After that, it's off to a string of road courses starting with scenic Pacific Junction, Iowa, for the Mid America Motorplex, then on to Oklahoma's Hallett Motor Racing Circuit before heading to High Plains Raceway in Colorado. After that, it's off to Motorsports Park Hastings in Nebraska followed by a trip to Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. Then it's over to Wisconsin's legendary Road America before the sleepless and bedraggled horde stumble back into South Bend next Saturday, May 12 for a final dry skidpad event. Got all that? If you don't, you can check out a map here.

As we'll be working the event, we won't have the ability to give you daily updates on the rally's progress, but if you're interested in keeping tabs on the action, check out One Lap Of America's official website and Facebook page, both of which figure to have live updates as the race gets underway this morning. In the meantime, you can check out our massive gallery above. It doesn't have every one of the roughly 75 that are scheduled to race, but if you are new to One Lap, it'll give you a good idea of the automotive diversity on display.

We'll see you in 3,300 miles or so, if not sooner...

2012 One Lap Of America starts today originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 05 May 2012 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Lap winners live-streaming this year's event

Aaron Richardson — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:59:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Nissan, Porsche, Racing

Live stream of this year's One Lap of America - Click above to watch the video after the jump

Doug Wilks and Leh Keen swept to victory in last year's Tire Rack One Lap of America at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT2. This year, Keen and Wilks have partnered up again, only this time they'll be piloting a Nissan GT-R prepared by Wilks' Topspeed Motorsports. Better than that, the pair will be live-streaming the eight-day event, thanks to an in-car webcam.

Besides live footage of every inch of the 3,000-plus-mile event, the pair will have Google Maps tracking their location, a blog and live interactive chat with viewers. All the interactive goodness is available on Topspeed as you read this.

With the power of the GT-R, already a proven One Lap winner, the Grand Am and ALMS driving skills of Keen and Wilks' mechanical expertise, Topspeed Motorsports looks poised to make another run at the top spot. Click past the jump to see Topspeed's live feed, or head over to their website for the full interactive experience. Thanks for the tip, Nathan!

Continue reading One Lap winners live-streaming this year's event

One Lap winners live-streaming this year's event originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 May 2011 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Lap of America 2010: The warm-up

Chris Paukert — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

One Lap of America 2010: Day One - click above for high-res image gallery

Spring has sprung and we're at the Tire Rack in South Bend, Indiana, which can only mean one thing: the start of another One Lap Of America.

Every year we tell ourselves we're crazy for embarking on another one of these eight-day 'round-the-country exploits, and for over ten years now we've been signing on to help run the event on the timing and scoring crew. And could you blame us? Every year, a great bunch of people gather together at the behest of none other than Brock Yates, and they bring with them all manner of machinery to compete on race tracks across the nation.

This year's event starts off as usual, with a wet skidpad event at the Tire Rack, with the racers moving on to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for stints around Road America, one of the country's most historic and challenging roadcourses. After the time trials at RA, it's off to Mid America Motorplex, a fine 2.2-mile long roadcourse off in the middle of ~~nowhere~~ Pacific Junction, Iowa. On Monday, the racers will visit the surprisingly quick and engaging Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma, followed by some drag racing at Tulsa Raceway Park. The next day will find the competitors at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis for a 1.6-mile road circuit. From there, it's on to Mid Ohio on Wednesday, a circuit that needs no introduction. The increasingly bedraggled competitors will then make the drive to New Jersey Motorsports Park on Thursday and then jog back to Ohio's Nelson Ledges for the last roadcourse events on Friday. After that, the teams will filter back to the Tire Rack in South Bend for the final event, a dry skid pad (weather permitting) and to unwind at the awards banquet on Saturday.

Got all that? Said another way, it's another action-packed week that's sure to test the racers' mechanical, mental and intestinal fortitude.

Click through to the jump to read on.

Gallery: One Lap of America 2010: Day One

Continue reading One Lap of America 2010: The warm-up

One Lap of America 2010: The warm-up originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Lap of America 2009 - The flag drops...

Chris Paukert — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:33:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

2009 One Lap of America - Day 1 - Click above for a hi-res gallery

Greetings from Joliet, Illinois, home of the Autobahn Country Club. We're on board with Brock Yates' One Lap of America, one of America's toughest motorsports challenges. Over the course of eight days, 63 drivers of all talent and experience levels will take to a range of motorsports facilities across the country in a wide variety of machinery. There's something for everyone here, from mainstream American performance iron (a passel of Chevrolet Corvettes and Camaros, along with a Mustang or two) to niche exotics (Ultima, Lotus Exige) to Japanese cars (including a nifty Mitsubishi Galant VR4), a gaggle of Porsches, and more BMW M cars than you can shake a stick at. Heck, there's even a GMC Jimmy, a stunning Nissan Altima Hybrid SEMA entrant and a Fifties rat rod.

In truth, we One Lappers assembled yesterday in breezy, chilly South Bend, Indiana at Tire Rack's massive facilities. The competitors met up to receive a driver's meeting, technical inspection, and a full slate of sponsorship decals, along with the usual final tunings and bench racing sessions. The actual racing didn't start until earlier this morning, however, where the competitors made use of the retail giant's 200-foot skidpad - with the sprinklers on. You can read all about what happened over Motor Trend (they're one of the event's main sponsors), but suffice it to say that one of the two Nissan GT-R entrants (not pictured) at this year's event stunned the assembled throngs by recording 0.953G, a handsome figure considering the soaked tarmac.

This year, competitors will travel some 3,265 miles between today and next Saturday before circling back to South Bend next Saturday. Along the way, the racers will take part in an autocross event at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, then roll to Greenbrier, Tennessee to take on the Highland Rim Speedway oval. After that, it's off to Alabama's Talladega Gran Prix on Monday, with a long haul (over 600 miles) down to Florida's legendary Sebring International Raceway. After that, it's time for a bracket drag racing session at Gainesville Raceway, and then on to Daytona International Speedway. Come Thursday, there's a tidy 440 mile run to Kershaw, South Carolina, home of Carolina Motor Sports Park, and from there, the racers slip over to BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg. Doubtlessly looking a bit worse for the wear, the survivors will then motor 560+ miles to Pennsylvania's Beaverun Motorsports Complex. The bedraggled racers then make the final 240-mile transit back to South Bend for a final (hopefully) dry skidpad event and a final banquet and trophy award ceremony.

With just 60+ cars in the field this year (as opposed to the 80+ vehicles in years past), it's clearly a down year in terms of attendance - a development readily attributable to the economy (it's admittedly hard to ignore to overlook the substantial cost associated with mounting an entry). However, there are some ace new competitors here and a lot of interesting machinery. Further, with the absence of five-time reigning champion Mark Davia and his Porsche 996 twin-turbo (whose wife is expecting), there's sure to be a new winner this year.

Full Disclosure: Yours truly is part of one of the two timing and scoring crews (I have been participating as such since 1999), so while I will do my best to bring AB'ers closer to the action, as a crew member, I will only attend a bit more than half of the events as we hopscotch the country in order to get ahead of the competitors and prepare the timing equipment and post the scores ahead of their arrival. As such, it is recommended that you check out Motor Trend and the official One Lap Of America website for the rules and the latest updates on the races.

Well, the cars on the false grid are set to go green, so I'm gone... until next time, please check out the massive gallery of 70+ high-res images below featuring most of the competitors.

Gallery: 2009 One Lap of America - Tire Rack & Autobahn

One Lap of America 2009 - The flag drops... originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 May 2009 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tread-depth test should defer to quarter, not penny

Dan Roth — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:32:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Safety, First Drives

We've always found that our tires get squirrely in the wet before they fail the old penny test for tread depth. The Tire Rack, supplier of black round things and other accessories, are suggesting that the price of your safety has appreciated by 24 cents. For years, the penny test has been a quick way to turn a common item of pocket detritus into a tread-depth gauge. Hold Abe upside down, and if the tread clears the top of his noggin, you've got at least 2/32nds of an inch of tread. When tread gets down that low, however, things start to get hairy. 2/32nds is the minimum depth that warranties on the tires will be honored, but that doesn't make it wise to cruise around on rubber that tired. We were once treated to a nasty little bit of unexpected oversteer when taking an off-camber turn downhill during a rainstorm with tires that barely passed the penny test.

The Tire Rack is encouraging drivers to use a quarter instead of a penny. Using George's melon as a guide in the same way as the penny, the minimum tread is 4/32nds, double the penny test. It could be argued that there's a lot of miles to be had during that 2/32nds delta, but your life, and that of your passengers, is far more valuable than a few miles on a set of tires. In Tire Rack tests, the "quartered" tires had significantly better grip and shorter stopping distances in the wet. The hope is that awareness will increase and lives will be saved. There's no need to wear your tires so low - it's not like they're slicks - and it's one of the cheapest measures you can take to ensure the safety of you and your cargo.

[Source: Tire Rack]

UPDATE: The Tire Rack also offers up this video to show the difference in stopping distances between new tires, tires worn down to a quarter's measurement (4/32"), and tires worn down to a penny's measurement (2/32"). The difference between all three is pretty dramatic, especially the "quartered" and "pennied" that are separated by only 2/32" of tread life.

Continue reading Tread-depth test should defer to quarter, not penny

Tread-depth test should defer to quarter, not penny originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Goodyear blows out 1,500 jobs, shutters European plants

Chris Paukert — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 14:24:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Plants/Manufacturing, Earnings/Financials

Goodyear Tire & Rubber has announced plans to slash 1,500 jobs in an effort to save $50 million dollars. The world's largest tire company will reach those goals in part by shuttering plants in Britain and Poland.

Part of its restructuring efforts that began last September, the manufacturer will jettison 585 employees at its UK Goodyear Dunlop facility in Washington, and a smaller outpost in Wolverhampton will shed around 40 employees, leaving about 450 workers.

Additionally, Goodyear's Debica, Poland plant will stop making bicycle tires and inner tubes, pink-slipping 360 employees.

The rubber giant says that it expects to incur charges of around $105-115 million USD in the process of exacting the changes.

[Sources: The Australian; Associated Press]

Goodyear blows out 1,500 jobs, shutters European plants originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 07 Apr 2006 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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