What’s your tolerance for pain in the quest for speed? Can you live without a/c to save weight? Is power more important that economy? Do you have a strong enough back for that stiff sport suspension?
Now multiply those compromises by 18 scheduled speed contests spread across 3000+ miles of highway time over the course of just eight days. Welcome to the Tire Rack One Lap of America Presented by Grassroots Motorsports.
One top team has experienced both ends of that equation. Alexander Moss and Andy Smedegard are known for their wild, neon-green Honda S2000: Honda K-series power plus a BMW DCT transmission with a turbo added for good measure. They call it SuperK.
It’s fast but lacks any creature comforts. It has also been a delicate beast.
It’s not slow, though, finishing second overall back in 2022.
This year, the duo went with one of the most popular cars at the event, a C8 Corvette. And they didn’t select the Z06 or Z51. Just a base-model Stingray.
Their result? Second overall again.
Photo courtesy Driftpoint Media.
Sure, they did a few upgrades–custom Öhlins dampers, Zebulon aero, free-flowing exhaust, two-piece brake rotors and pads, and wheels and Bridgestone RE–71RZ tires–but other than that, the Corvette remained stock.
“It was 10 times better than what I’ve been used to,” Andy concedes. “SuperK had no a/c, no radio, no cruise control. And it had a 100-mile fuel range on E85. The C8 had all those, plus I could go around 350 miles on regular fuel.”
Then, after some thought, he adds something that the builders out there will get: “The C8 was maybe less rewarding at the end. SuperK was a challenge. Every moment of every day was spent just trying to keep that car alive and well. The C8 was too easy.”
Andy admits that many racers enjoy pain to an extent, but there is something to be said for keeping things simple. This holds especially true on an endeavor like One Lap of America that offers so many opportunities for things to go wrong, from nails on the road to wintry weather conditions to those dreaded mechanical failures.
Just about anything street-legal goes in the event, with this year’s field ranging from a Ford GTD (the street-legal Mustang race car) to a Ford LTD (the family-friendly station wagon).
Photo by J.A. Ackley
Not all teams concentrate on speed, though. That 1977 Ford LTD Country Squire Wagon wasn’t fast, but it was comfortable–when it was running. The McKay brothers–Eric, Justin and Mike–blew an axle seal at the event’s second stop.
They towed it 15 hours from Nashville back home in Nebraska (Mike flew back, perhaps wisely, where they patched it up enough to run Hastings, the sixth stop on the One Lap schedule.
This time, though, the rear main seal went. It was the first DNF for the LTD, as the cruiser also ran the event back in 2015 and 2017.
One Lap doesn’t require sense or sanity, however, just passion, determination and smarts. It’s also a long-popular proving ground for tire companies plus Tire Rack, the event’s title sponsor.
This year, BFGoodrich brought a company test vehicle, an actual E36-chassis BMW M3 Lightweight: no a/c, a broken radio and a suspension tuned for the track.
To make things a bit more comfortable, drivers Ed Gliss and Jonathan Benson wore Chillout suits during the warmer transits. For entertainment, they either relied on a Bluetooth speaker with its volume turned way up or wore headphones. Ed 3D printed some cupholders to help them stay hydrated.
Comfortable? Hardly. But for Ed and Jonathan, One Lap was the perfect tire test for BFGoodrich, as teams experience all sorts of weather conditions–even snow–both on track and off track.
Building a good tire for specific weather? Relatively easy.
Building a fast tire for the track? Relatively easy.
Building a tire that does both exceptionally well? Now you’re asking for a lot.
Compromises. That’s the name of the game for the Tire Rack One Lap of America Presented by Grassroots Motorsports. And the right formula with more pros than cons wins, even if that means a little discomfort.
Why is the One Lap of America important? It’s the perfect place to probe the balance between performance and practicality.
Comments
My pain tolerance is high for challenges like this – it wouldn’t be my first 4000 miles in one week rodeo. But I’d hit the easy button and do the event in my 2015 Honda Accord. Wheels, tires, brakes, and maybe suspension. The CVT may be a liability, but I just want to experience the event……finishing would be the same as winning.
I’ve started seriously contemplating a run after watching SavageGeese’s video from this year’s event.
It’s such a brilliant rule set … there are none, other than one set of tires and the event itself.
Do whatever you want to the car, but two of you have to live in it for a week and it has to survive the trip. That’s where the limits are found as to performance vs sanity.
In reply to Andy Hollis :
When you say it like that, it really does seem like a genius rule set.
Colin Wood said:
In reply to Andy Hollis :
When you say it like that, it really does seem like a genius rule set.
Rules just get in the way of fun … and bad decisions. 
Displaying 1-4 of 4 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You’ll need to log in to post.