Posted on: April 29, 2011 – 12:00 pm by RLD
Our SRT team that has been burning the midnight oil, prepares for the historic 40th anniversary One Lap of America event that begins today.
The One Lap schedule covers more than 3,650 miles over 8 days with 18 timed competitions at 10 venues. There is a dedicated staff of volunteers to ensure a safe and level playing field among the numerous stops and within the respective classes. Over 70 competitors will travel to various tracks such as Summit Point in Virginia, Daytona International Speedway and Autobahn Country Club Raceway in Chicago. The competition is not just limited to road courses as the Dynamic Dou will also assault Gainesville Raceway (home of the NHRA Gatornationals) for some quarter-mile blasts. They’ll also be hitting the Autocross Solo II venue at Grissom Air Force Base. The folks from Tire Rack and Motor Trend Magazine are once again the official sponsors.
After a two-year break, we are sending the “Dynamic Duo” of Erich Heuschele and Adam Forte to the One Lap. By day these SRT engineers tinker with things like vehicle integration and suspension dynamic systems. During their “off” hours, they can be found playing with a variety of hot cars to feed their need for speed. Erich is a seasoned veteran of six One Lap events and his list of accomplishments is quite impressive with three first place finishes in his respective class. For Adam, this might be his first time in the driver’s seat for the One Lap but he’s not shy behind the wheel of fast automobiles. One of Adam’s responsibilities at the SRT team, is to ensure each new vehicle meets the performance objectives before it’s launched. This includes a myriad of high-speed tests at numerous race tracks and drag strips throughout the US and Canada. His lead foot and on-board instruments makes sure each new SRT model performs the way it should. Both Erich’s and Adam’s skills and experience should complement each other during this week long event.
In the past, we’ve taken prisoners with some of our entries that included various SRT vehicles ranging from the Neon to a mix of Challengers, Chargers, 300Cs, Vipers, Rams and even Jeep Grand Cherokees. Our engineer/amateur racers actually have used the One Lap events to collect valuable data on how the tune suspension settings, shock and spring dampening rates to driveline durability.
Erich and Adam’s ride for this year is a bright white 2011 Challenger SRT8 that will compete in the SSGT2 Big Bore class. Other than the addition of Hella Rally 4000 driving lights and the mandatory completion decals, the Challenger is completely stock. Their plan is to win the class and finish in the top 10 overall and we know they have a great shot at doing it. The Challenger pays homage to the adventures of Brock Yates and the Cannonball excursions he made in his own white 1972 Challenger during the halcyon days of the 1970’s. Brock’s E-Body was powered by a Cotton Owens massaged 340 small-block but our boys will have the new 470 horsepower 392 HEMI® under its performance hood.
We’ll be covering the awesome One Lap adventures of Erich and Adam and their Challenger SRT8 on Red Letter Dodge starting this Monday. Make sure to check back with us for results and updates along with the fun and colorful stories our Dynamic Dou will be sharing as they hammer down the highway!
4/30 – Grissom Air Force Base- Tire Rack Wet Skid Pad
5/1 – Summit Point Raceway Summit Point
5/2 – Carolina Motorsports Park National Standard Track
5/3 – Daytona International Speedway Road Course & Gainesville Raceway
5/4 – Circuit Grand Bayou Road Course
5/5 – Barber Motorsports Park
5/6 – Autobahn Country Club North Track
5/7 – Tire Rack Dry Skid Pad
On behalf of the 