An evolutionary derivative of the Cannonball Run, further inspired by the eponymous movie and Smokey And The Bandit II, the current One Lap of America rally began life in 1984. The late, great Brock Yates began the fun in 1974 while Senior Editor at Car and Driver, creating the Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.
The event is now called the Tire Rack One Lap of America and uses the same format it’s followed since 1992. Teams of at least two—with no support crews—drive nearly 24 hours a day for eight days with competitive racing events at race tracks throughout the country as their "stopping" points.
This should sound intriguing as auto enthusiasts, but why is it relevant to our membership? This year at least nine BMWs have infiltrated this event of the 70-plus entries, and at least two of the teams will be blazing across America—and onto eight different race tracks—proudly wearing a BMW CCA grille badge on the front of their rides. The BMW Performance Center will be entering a 2017 BMW M3 Competition Package driven by the team of Mike Renner and Steve Maguire and driving the Michelin 2017 BMW M4 will be BMW CCA members, David Rose and Nick Parente. But these four fine gentlemen aren’t the only BMW CCA members in the event. In fact, eleven of the drivers of those nine teams piloting BMWs are BMW CCA members representing eight chapters!
BMW CCA Members competing in this years event:
- Matt DeReus, 2003 M3 – Northstar Chapter
- Mike Roberts, 2015 M235i – Boston Chapter
- Dan Schaut, 2013 M3 - Badger Bimmers
- Robin Sparrow, 2011 M3 – National Capital Chapter
- Thomas Lappin, 2011 M3 – Sandlapper Chapter
- Neil Simon, 2011 1M - National Capital Chapter
- Brian Hair, 2011 1M - National Capital Chapter
- Nick Parente, 2017 M4 – Green Mountain Chapter
- Dave Rose, 2017 M4 – Green Mountain Chapter
- Mike Renner, 2017 M3 – Sandlapper Chapter
- Steve Maquire, 2017 M3 – Peachtree Chapter
Other cars span a range from Corvettes and Porsches to a 1977 Ford Country Squire wagon to a McLaren 12C. More information on the Tire Rack One Lap of America can be found at www.onelapofamerica.com, including a list of all the teams and their cars, the schedule, and what will happen at each of the eight race tracks the rally will visit.
The 2017 One Lap of America might be bringing these cars—and the BMW CCA branded Michelin and Performance Center cars to a track near you. Check the schedule for updates, but the latest post shows the following tracks and dates for a variety of events ranging from time trials to drag racing:
- May 6, 8 a.m. – Tire Rack Skid Pad, Indiana
- May 6, 1:30 p.m. – Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana
- May 7 – Memphis Motorsports Park Road Course, Tennessee
- May 8 – Road Atlanta Grand Prix Course, Georgia
- May 9 – Sebring International Raceway, Florida
- May 10 – Carolina Motorsports Park National Standard Track, South Carolina
- May 11 – Dominion Raceway Road Course and Paved Oval, Virginia
- May 12 – Gingerman Raceway, Michigan
- May 13 – Tire Rack Skid Pad, Indiana
Each event is free to spectators. If you live close to one of those tracks and want cost-effective racing with some impressive machinery and committed (should be committed?) drivers, head over and show your support and enjoy yourself! If you see the Performance Center M3, the Michelin M4, or the other BMWs in the rally, post your pics to our BMW CCA Facebook and Instagram accounts!—Kyle van Hoften
