At The Finish Line

                                        One Lap Of America

(The Pittsburgh team of Paul Pigman and Scott Schober is driving a 1993 Porsche 911 RS America in the 4,100-mile One Lap of America, one of the most demanding endurance races in the country and inspiration of the film, Cannonball Run. Here is the final report of their adventures).

By Paul Pigman

Final Event (Saturday, May 10th):
Beautiful day in South Bend, Ind. – sunny and 67 degrees – for the final event of this adventure and a dry skid pad at the Tire Rack facility. Two laps (each lap is a perfect circle) clockwise and two laps counter clock wise.  The goal is not to spin the car and to create as many G forces as possible as fast as possible. 

Scott drove this event and did well, no spins a decent score.

After all of the competitors completed the skid pad, the overall winners and "hot shoes" (professional drivers) were allowed on to the skid pad rack to do smoky burn outs and drifting. Nothing like a $150,000 Porsche melting its rear tires in a cloud of smoke. The most dramatic drifting was done by a prototype Dodge Challenger SRT8.  This is a retro-look muscle car that is coming to a dealer near you in the fall. 

We loaded up the car and decided not to wash it, leaving a nice streaked, 4,100 mile road grime patina. 

The awards lunch followed with many stories and stats regarding this year’s event:

• More than $150,000 raised for various charities. Scott and I raise approximately $8,000 for our two charities, The Boy Scouts and Youth Connect.
• The highest price paid for gasoline was $4.29 in Louisiana (ouch).
• There was only one accident on the highways while traveling between tracks and that was in Virginia when a deer hit a car. Eighty cars traveling more than 4,100 miles with only one incident proves that those who are trained to drive on a track tend to be very safe drivers on the highway.
• Only three speeding tickets were issued. (That either means we all drove the limit or radar detectors really do work).

Some of our observations and stats:

• Highest price we paid for gasoline was $4.09 for regular on the Ohio Turnpike heading home to Pittsburgh after the event.
• The radar detector only went off about 20 times during the entire 4,100 mile trip. 
• The 1993 Porsche RS America was bullet proof.  Most of the other competitors were wrenching and working on their cars through out the event.  Scott and I set the tire pressures at the beginning, added gasoline and 2 quarts of oil to the car and that was it. Imagine taking any other 15 year old car on such a trip.
• Believe it or not, Sparco race seats are actually comfortable road seats.
• We ended up 59th out of 80 cars. Not bad for a sophomore (Scott) and a "lap puppy.” (I am now officially a "lap dog”).   

Reflecting on the past week, I will do this again. This kind of adventure is not for everyone and you definitely need track experience, a strong back, a spouse who is understanding, and a driving partner you can get along with and trust.

Just like trying to explain to someone what it is like to drive a race car, it is hard to put into words what it is like to participate in this event. But some moments stand out for me:

• Sitting in a 20-mile long traffic jam in Chicago caused by two workmen patching small cracks in the pavement.
• The vast plains of Kansas and the sunset over those plains.
• Knucklehead drivers in Texas.
• The still obvious devastation in New Orleans.
• The beauty and topography of West Virginia.
• Passing another Lapper at 2:30 a.m. who is riding an open (no roof) car in a driving rain storm and seeing a huge smile on his face and a thumbs-up.
• Laughing until it hurt with some fellow Lappers concerning a particular days events.
• How the faces of children would light up when we gave them race stickers at fuel stops.
• Good conversation and feeling safe during the entire event with my co-pilot Scott.