One Lap, One Week, One Big Memory

One Lap of America is one of those events people think they understand until you explain it: thousands of miles on public roads, racetracks every day, timed competition, and a caravan of exhausted, happy car people chasing the next checkpoint. I’m back with a solo recap after returning from the 2026 One Lap of America event, sharing what it actually looks like when you live the schedule instead of reading about it. 

I dig into the origin story Brock Yates launched in 1984, how the format changed over time, and what the modern One Lap experience feels like on the ground: pack up, drive to the next city, run your sessions, repeat. I also share how I first competed in 2004 and 2005. I share how one simple email led to Brock Yates Jr calling me up and asking, “What are you doing the first week of May?” That phone call turned into 19 trips and a real friendship built year after year. 

You’ll hear the small details that make endurance road trips unforgettable: the surprisingly awesome Honda Fit, the practicality of a minivan, the reality of mechanical problems and track incidents, and the late-night routine of fuel stops and questionable gas station meals, plus the rare win of a sit-down dinner with real silverware. I also explain my role at Pit Out, where I get to meet competitors and hear how they found their way into One Lap of America.

If you love cars, racing, road trips, and the stories that only happen when you commit to the drive, hit play, then subscribe and share the show with a friend. If you enjoyed the recap, leave a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen so more people can find these road stories.

For more on One Lap of America, visit, https://onelapofamerica.com

Transcript

Welcome And Solo Update

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I'm your host Dan, and each week we'll embark on a new adventure, discovering memory and life lessons of our incredible guests. From everyday travelers to thrill seekers and everyone in between, this podcast is your front row seat to inspiring stories of passion, resilience, and the pursuit of happiness. So buckle up and enjoy the ride. I'm on a little solo episode today. I've been away from you for a little bit. Figure I would get back with my own thing until my next guest shows up. It was about this time last week. I was headed home after the 2026 One Lap of America event. I have a lot of friends who go, hey, you going on that drive around the country again? They don't exactly know what it is. I thought I'll spend a few minutes and tell you what it is and how I got involved.

One Lap Of America Basics

SPEAKER_00 0:54

One Lap of America was created in 1984 by Brock Yates. Brock, if you don't recognize that name, maybe if you're not a car person and you didn't read Car and Driver back in the day, he was the managing editor at Car and Driver for four decades. He also created in the 70s the Cannonball Run. And if you're thinking, oh yeah, I saw that movie, well, it was real. It wasn't just a movie. It was a mad dash from New York to California. He held that event five times, and then I think maybe he decided, okay, this might get a little crazy as cars get faster and drivers get more bold. So he created One Lap of America in 1984. That first event, if you look up the map of it, was literally a lap around the United States of America. I don't really recall what the mileage was. Well over 8,000, I'm sure, maybe closer to 10. And over the years, that event transforms itself into what I've known as One Lap, and that is about 3,600 miles. We travel on the road, visiting racetracks every day. Competitors, which there are 70, 80 of them, they compete on the track in timed events. They do that twice during the day. They pack up all their stuff and they head to the next city. This year we went from South Bend to Nashville, to near Tulsa, up to near Denver, then into Nebraska, to Wisconsin, to Illinois, and back to South Bend. So that, in essence, is what one lap is.

My First Runs And A Phone Call

SPEAKER_00 2:19

For my story in this, I participated with my good friend John Casella in 2004 and 2005. We really had no idea what we were getting to. I think in 2004 we might have slept in two hotels, otherwise we slept in the car, mostly because we just didn't know what we were doing. And in 2006, John said, eh, that was fun, but I don't think I want to do it again. But in April of that year, I just emailed Brock Gates Jr., who's Brock's son, and he now oversees the event, organizes it, basically does everything to get us to show up and have fun traveling around the country and competing on racetracks. So I wrote him an email and I said, I can't compete this year, love your event. Now keep in mind we didn't know each other at all. He had no idea who I was. I had seen him in 2004, 2005, and probably wasn't long after that, I got a phone call from him, and he's like, hey, what are you doing the first week of May? And I'm like, well, I could take vacation. Uh, what do you have in mind? And he wanted me to ride around with him during the event, share driving duties. I think he tried to find something for me to do when we were at the racetracks, but pretty much I just wandered around. And I thought, okay, that was that was fun at the end and figured I'd never hear back. I don't know that we said much to each other during that first year. Brock and I come from very different backgrounds. And I would say if you're using a computer system and you filled out some forms and you were matching up people to drive around the country together, we probably wouldn't show up as a match. But after 19 trips, and that's what this year was, it was my 19th ride around the country with Brock. So I can say after 19 rides, roughly 3,600 miles every year, I can quite honestly say that Brock is a very good friend of mine. That second year that we went, he said, Hey, I need you to go up to Car and Driver and pick up a car. They had given cars in the past for crew to ride around

Cars Mishaps And Road Rituals

SPEAKER_00 4:10

in. So I showed up at Car and Driver and they gave me a Honda Fit. That might have been when the Honda Fit was just coming out. So I show up with it, and Brock and I still look back and have stories about that Honda Fit that it was one of the best cars we have driven in one lap. And we've driven a lot of cars, but that little car was just fun. And you could get a lot of stuff in it. Inter 19 drives, we've managed to only get two tickets, one for Brock and one for myself. We've had a few tire issues over the years, including one on a Kia Stinger, which obviously picked up something down in Texas, and after that, about every hundred miles, the low tire pressure indicator light would come on, and we would stop and we had a pump, we'd pump it up and go another hundred miles. We've been in a minivan several years and we still like a minivan. It holds a lot of stuff and it's comfortable for a drive around the country. This year we had uh 70 competitors. I'm not sure what number we ended up with, but it wasn't 70 because this is a real event. Unfortunately, we lost a few cars due to mechanical issues or track issues of hitting something that was stationary. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and we moved on to the next

Pit Out Job And Racer Stories

SPEAKER_00 5:22

track. Maybe you're wondering, maybe you're not, what I do when we're at the racetracks. I don't remember the year, but Brock would try to find things for me to do, and and finally he put me at Pit Out. That's the place where cars go on the track. So I'm the last person they see before they go on the track, and it gives me a great opportunity to interact with people which I enjoy. I get to hear their stories and how they ended up at one lap. So I'm thankful that Brock finally found something for me to do and it fits really well for my personality. In case you were wondering, what I do all week long, other than drive around the country. We're typically the last to leave the track. We fill the tank, we grab some unhealthy food at a gas station, and then we drive till we're low on fuel, we do the same thing again, and then we're on to our next stop. This year we arrived early on a few nights, and we actually had a sit-down dinner with Matt, who rode with us, like to say, a real silverware. Over the years, we've found some real call them hole in the walls, if you will, and had some really good food. This year's longest drive was nearly 700 miles, but somehow we managed to arrive around 1230 AM.

Takeaways 2027 Invite And Reviews

SPEAKER_00 6:32

As I wrap this up, I have great memories of one lap. Funny thing, when it rolls around each year, I try to convince myself that I have too much to do, I don't need to use a week of vacation, and I'll come up with a few other excuses. But my dear wife, she will always kind of slap me back into reality and go, now you say that before you go, but when you get back, you say, I had a great week, and I look forward to next year. So before the event, I pull out my one lap gear, I pack my bag, I drive to South Bend because that's where we start from, and as usual, I had another great week. I guess until Brock stops calling, I will do that same routine around the first week of May. And I would encourage you, if you like cars, road trips, just meeting really great people, you should come and join us in 2027. I know if Brock calls, I'll be there. I hope you enjoyed this little recap of my week on One Lap of America. We'll get back to some guests here soon, so be sure to stay tuned. And if you don't mind, slip out, leave a review for me on Apple or Spotify or Amazon, wherever you happened to listen to this, share it with some friends, because I really do just like to get everybody's story out. I believe everyone has a story. So, until next time, thank you for tuning in to Dan the Road Trip Guy. I hope you enjoyed our journey today and the stories that were shared. If you have any thoughts or questions or stories of your own, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to me anytime. Don't forget to share this podcast with your friends and family and help us to spread the joy of road trips and great conversations. Until next time, keep driving, keep exploring, and keep having those amazing conversations. Safe travels. And remember, you can find me on the internet at dantheroadripguy.com.