After seven days, seven states and more than 20 events, the HMA Race Team returned to Alabama on May 11, finishing the 2014 One Lap of America competition 25th overall in the 2014 MDX and 39th overall in the 2014 blue Odyssey, out of 69 vehicles.
The HMA-built racers were the only two “non-cars” (minivan and SUV) involved in the week-long, endurance-based event, and the team goal was to break the top 30 for the MDX and the 30-bracket for the Odyssey.
The HMA Race Team accomplished both those tasks – racing against some of the top race-style cars on the road and garnering a lot of attention along the way.
“The One Lap competition is an excellent opportunity for HMA to showcase the vehicles we build and prove how capable these “people movers” truly are,” said Josh Foran, Quality Analysis associate. “The Race Team put together two great cars that outperformed our expectations, and it was a great learning experience for us to bring back to the team and to HMA.”
The One Lap of America is a one-week series of time trials on road courses, banked ovals, and drag strips across the U.S. Per the rules, the competitors are required to drive their vehicles more than 3,300 miles between events, carrying only the equipment they can fit in their cars.
“One Lap of America was an amazing experience. I gained a great deal of experience working on our cars and made lifelong friends…and how can you top chasing down Corvettes in a minivan?” said Joseph Thomas, Vehicle Quality associate.
Michael Gordon, Facilities associate, and Thomas captained the Odyssey, while Foran and Aaron Eley, Corporate Planning, led the MDX.
“The Odyssey definitely won the ‘cool factor’,” Gordon said. “Everyone saw it in the beginning and just thought it was a nice idea, but when we came off the track – beating some of these race cars – they were all amazed and couldn’t believe this was a minivan.”
The team took turns sleeping in their vehicles during the nightly commutes and spent the days fine tuning the automobiles before each competition.
“To pull up next to a ZR1 Corvette, a modified Nissan GTR, or supercharged BMW M3 in an MDX and beat them in a race is an awesome feeling!” Eley said. “The MDX and Odyssey left a lot of people surprised by how well they performed, and it was great to be able to represent our HMA team throughout the week.”
Keep up with the HMA Race Team:
Facebook - Honda Manufacturing of Alabama Race Team
Twitter - @RaceHMA
Race Report
The team arrived in South Bend, Indiana on Friday, May 2 for pre-event registration and preparations. Competition started early Saturday morning with a wet skid pad contest and from there, the week-long, seven state, 20+ event journey began.
Day 1, 5/3: Tire Rack Wet Skid Pad and Grissom Air Force Base
Wet Skid Pad: MDX – 30th, Odyssey – 46th
Autocross: MDX – 34th, Odyssey – 37th
Finished the day Overall – MDX 32nd, Odyssey 44th (out of 69)
Day 2, 5/4: Memphis International Raceway – Road courses and drag strips
The MDX finished fourth in bracket drags with 13.997 at 98 mph in a quarter mile.
Finished the day Overall – MDX – 36th, Odyssey – 46th (out of 69)
Day 3, 5/5: NOLA Motorsports Park & Mobile International Speedway
NOLA Motorsports Long Course: MDX - 23rd (first run), 36th (second run) and Odyssey - 40th (first run) and 42nd (second run)
Mobile Speedway 1/2 oval: MDX – 21st; Odyssey – 42nd
Finished the day Overall – MDX – 32nd, Odyssey – 45th (out of 69)
Day 4, 5/6: Atlanta Motorsports Park & BMW Performance Center
Atlanta Motorsports Park Road Course: MDX - 23rd (first run) and 36th (second run), Odyssey - 31st (first run) and 27th (second run)
BMW Performance Center: MDX – 21st, Odyssey – 32nd
Day 5, 5/7: New Jersey Motorsports Park Thunderbolt Raceway
MDX – 23rd (first run), 21st (second run)
Odyssey – 35th (first run), 37th (second run)
Finished the day Overall: MDX – 29th, Odyssey – 42nd (out of 69)
Day 6, 5/8: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
MDX:26th (first run), 25th (second run)
Odyssey: 38th (first run), 33rd (second run)
Finished the day Overall: MDX – 28th, Odyssey – 41st (out of 69)
Day 7, 5/9: Gingerman Raceway - Michigan
MDX: 5th (first run), 4th (second run)
Odyssey: 25th (first run), 23rd (second run)
Finished the day Overall: MDX – 24th, Odyssey – 40th (out of 69)
Day 8, 5/10: Dry Skid Pad – South Bend, Indiana
MDX – average 0.965 g, finished 23rd
Odyssey - averaged 0.949 g, finished 25th