GOING AROUND ONCE
A RESOLUTE TEAM FROM SUBARU OF DALLAS ATTACKED THE 21ST ANNUAL TIRE RACK®
CANNONBALL ONE LAP OF AMERICA IN A FORESTER XT! DRAG STRIPS, ROAD COURSES, SKID
PADS AND COUNTLESS HOURS OF DRIVING PROVED METTLE AS WELL AS METAL.
MAD DASH
One Lap is legendary. With a cult-like following since the early 1970s, it has inspired
Hollywood movies and considerable automotive press coverage.
The brainchild of seasoned and respected auto writer Brock Yates, One Lap has evolved
from his first “Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash”
– essentially a cross-country race – into a legitimate enthusiast event.
It was named after Erwin G. “Cannonball” Baker, who set many transcontinental
speed records between 1914 and 1933. Baker’s first crossing was on a motorcycle
– from California to New York in 11 days, 12 hours and 10 minutes. His last
crossing, in a car, took 53 hours and 30 minutes.
Today, One Lap’s high speeds are reserved for race tracks. Time, speed and
distance are calculated between the track events to allow for legal speeds on public
roads. (See www.onelapofamerica.com
for more background.)
THE 2004 ONE LAP
Starting in South Bend, Indiana, One Lap followed a schedule from track to track,
to California and back. The 5,654 highway miles were traveled between April 30 and
May 8.
Entrants numbered 82. Five were Subaru vehicles – four Impreza WRX/STi models
and one Forester XT. The Forester originated from Subaru of Dallas, with sponsors
such as Cobb Tuning lending support. Forester drivers Chris Fleming, Andre Vandenburg
and John Holmes brought considerable experience in different types of racing, an
amazing amount of pluck and great optimism.
Participants earned points at every event, depending on how well they placed. Points
determined overall standings as well as standings within each of 12 classes.
Classes allowed diverse vehicles – just about anything on four wheels with
a maximum wheelbase of 220 inches.
While the rules called for certain provisions such as fire extinguishers, first-aid
kits and emergency flares or triangles, just about any modifications were allowed
that “... meet with the spirit of the event ....”
Teams spent thousands of dollars to make their vehicles competitive.
The five Subaru vehicles among the entries finished in positions 6, 13, 14 (Forester),
22, and 53 overall.
EXCERPTS: THE 2004 ONLINE JOURNAL OF FORESTER DRIVER JOHN HOLMES
1: 30 APRIL
Tire Rack, South Bend, Indiana
EVENT 1: wet skid pad: Position (P)36
We learned that the rocket box is too heavy to put on top of the car packed!!! Duh!!
We did lay the back seat down, and we all tried to sleep en route as best we could.
While driving, Andre did have a ’95 ’Stang want to race him. I am sure
the driver will be paying the passenger not to talk for quite some time.
2: 1 MAY
Heartland Park, Topeka, Kansas
EVENT 2: road course: P26
EVENT 3: road course: P15
EVENT 4: drag race: P17
EVENT 5: bracket drag race
There is a real nice CAV GT-40 running. He barely passed Andre on the last straight.
Brock Yates walked over to our pit area after the first run and was laughing and
said, “Only at the One Lap would a Forester pull away from a GT-40!”
The drag race! We all agreed to a 3k launch.
The tree came down, and I was in reverse. It did fluster me a little. So I ended
up with a 13.48. The car is way faster than that.
I was going to try a new launch and red-lighted in the third round. Very embarrassed!
We are driving the car 8/10ths.
3: 2 MAY
Pikes Peak, Fountain, Colorado
EVENT 6: road course: P17
EVENT 7: road course: P14
Chris had a small off-track trip. He forgot the 8/10ths rule. A strut and the inner
fender were killed.
A fan let us borrow his [KYB] AGX™ [Adjustable Gas Shocks] to finish the run.
Then we asked where his stock struts were. This guy called his father, and he drove
them down from 45 minutes away. We rented his AGX until Pueblo. Without his family,
we would be out.
4: 3 MAY
Infineon Raceway (Sears Point), Sonoma, California
EVENT 8: road course: P24
5: 4 MAY
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada
EVENT 9: road course: P16
EVENT 10: road course: P20
We must have broken the left front strut in transit. The roads were real rough.
Chris did a great job driving the car with the broken strut. We only lost a few
seconds. No one but the folks that see the two trucks ahead of us can understand
how underpowered we are compared to them. They both are far north of 500 hp!
6: 5 MAY
Pueblo Motorsports Park, Pueblo, Colorado
EVENT 11: road course: P21
EVENT 12: road course: P15
7: 6 MAY
Hallett Motor Racing Circuit,
Tulsa, Oklahoma
EVENT 13: road course: P18
EVENT 14: road course: P19
8: 7 MAY
Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
EVENT 15: road course: P19
EVENT 16: road course: P16
Our factory high-mph limiter came into play. We could only do 122 mph on the straights.
Others were seeing 140 and up.
Andre did a great job in the corners, and some of the STis were only one second
ahead per lap.
9: 8 MAY
Tire Rack, South Bend, Indiana
EVENT 17: dry skid pad: P23
Reflections
We finished 14th overall and third in class.
Next year, with more horsepower and a sorted-out suspension, we will do better!
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