Back to Tire Rack One Lap of America

The 2009 event began on Friday, May 1st with registration, vehicle inspection and drivers' meeting held at Tire Rack in South Bend, Indiana. Competition began the following morning when the Tire Rack team hosted the One Lap of America competitors to a Wet Skidpad Shootout using our in-ground sprinkler system to wet the test track's skidpad.

Finishing positions for Skidpad Shootouts were awarded by measuring and averaging the cornering forces each vehicle generated while driving a complete lap in both directions on the test track's 200-foot diameter skidpad. The wet Skidpad's SSGT1 BB (Big Bore) Class and overall winner was the 2009 Nissan GT-R driven by Will Taylor. His Continental ContiSportContact 3 tires generated an average wet cornering force of 0.953g to claim Tire Rack One Lap of America's King of Wet Cornering for 2009, breaking the previous skidpad record of 0.930g set in 2004.

Tire Rack One Lap of America Skidpad Winners

BMW Car Club of America

Tire Rack SCCA National Solo Program

Tire Rack Street Survival Teen Driving School

Tire Rack One Lap of America

Following the wet Skidpad Shootout, 59 teams left Tire Rack to compete at Autobahn Country Club Joliet, Turfway Park (autocross), Talladega Gran Prix Raceway, Sebring Int'l Raceway, Gainesville Raceway (ET and bracket drag racing), Daytona Int'l Speedway, Carolina Motorsports Park, BMW Performance Center and BeaveRun.

After driving over 3,250 road miles across the Eastern United States and competing in 17 timed events in just seven days, the 2009 One Lap of America competition concluded on Saturday, May 12 with the 18th and final event, a dry Skidpad Shootout again hosted by the Tire Rack team. The competitors ran in reverse order based on overall points (lowest overall placed cars to the highest). However the fickle disposition of springtime weather in Indiana played as big a role in determining the winners as tire grip, car preparation and driving skill. While the day's weather started at nearly 60° Fahrenheit with sunshine through broken clouds, it dropped to 46° Fahrenheit with light intermittent rain that dampened the skidpad during the challenge. Therefore the final results reflected a little luck (as to when teams ran their Skidpad laps), as well as their preparation and skill.

The winner of the dry Skidpad Shootout was the SSGT1 BB (Big Bore) Class 2007 Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 driven by Dan Corcoran. While he didn't have the driest conditions, his car generated an average cornering force of 1.066g on Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires to become the Tire Rack One Lap of America's King of Cornering at the second Skidpad challenge of 2009.

The overall wet Skidpad winner and new wet Skidpad record holder is Will Taylor driving the SSGT1 BB (Big Bore) Class 2009 Nissan GT-R.

Tire Rack One Lap of America Overall & Class Winners

The 2009 Tire Rack One Lap of America not only offered the traditional challenge of being faster than your competition during the track time trials (most often conducted in dry conditions), but also offered the additional challenge of driving in the rain on the highway and at several tracks.

For much of the event, the Nissan GT-R of Steven Rankins and Will Taylor ran neck-to-neck with the Porsche 996 GT2 of Peter Lier and Ian Stewart for the SSGT1 Big Bore class and overall victory. The all-wheel drive Nissan GT-R appeared to have an edge over the rear-wheel drive Porsche GT2 at events run in wet or damp conditions, while the Porsche came into its own on the longer tracks and dry events.

When the smoke cleared and the rubber dust settled, Steven Rankins and Will Taylor driving their 2009 Nissan GT-R won their first overall Tire Rack One Lap of America victory. Second place overall went to Peter Lier and Ian Stewart in a Porsche 996 GT2 and third place overall went to Tony Wiesenhahn and Tony Barber driving a Subaru Impreza WRX.

Braille Battery MPG Contest

Also associated with this year's One Lap of America was the Braille Battery MPG Contest. Braille Battery manufactures small lightweight acid-free racing batteries that reduce size and weight without surrendering durability and cranking amps.

While the Braille Battery fuel economy run didn't award official OLoA points, it provided an opportunity to compare each team's highway fuel consumption to identify the most fuel-efficient vehicle/team combination in each class and overall.

Each car's fuel tank was filled and sealed at a Shell station immediately after leaving Daytona International Speedway. Tanks were then refilled when the competitors reached a Shell station approximately 200 miles north on I-95 in Riceboro, Georgia.

The Economy Car Class and overall winners of this special standalone event were Mike Roberts and Greg Hagopian, achieving 56.85 mpg in their 2007 Honda Civic Si Sedan on Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 tires.