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3 Februuary 2008: Tire Policy
FROM: JOHN RASTETTER - TIRE RACK
PRODUCT INFO MEMO: 09 – 004
DATE: JANUARY 30, 2009
SUBJECT: Tire Rack 25th One Lap Of America
The 2009 Tire Rack One Lap of America organized by Brock Yates remains the legitimate evolution of his infamous Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dashes of the 1970's. As such, these annual contests continue to pique the interest of automotive manufacturers and driving enthusiasts from across the country.
The 26th Tire Rack One Lap of America will start at The Tire Rack's headquarters in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday, May 2, 2009. The first event will be a wet skidpad challenge conducted at The Tire Rack before the competitors begin their weeklong trek, stopping off at many of America's racetracks for timed competition. The final performance test in this year's event will be a dry (weather permitting) skidpad challenge at The Tire Rack on Saturday, May 9, followed by the awards presentation.
Tire Selection
The Tire Rack One Lap of America competitors can select tires from the participating tire brands listed below in 2008:
BFGoodrich
Bridgestone
Continental
Dunlop
Firestone
General Tire
Goodyear
Hankook
Kumho
Michelin
Pirelli
Yokohama
Each vehicle is required to be equipped with tires from a single brand.
Offering these multiple tire brands should reduce the difficulties of finding appropriate sized tires to fit unique vehicles, as well as minimize problems due to availability from the tire manufacturers.
Because many vehicles entered in the One Lap of America are fitted with different tire sizes on their front and rear axles, and due to the fact that tag-a-long trailers are permitted to carry tools and spares, each team will be restricted to using a maximum of six tires during the event (unless additional tire changes are deemed necessary for safety reasons and authorized by the event organizers).
Regardless of which tires were fitted to the vehicles as Original Equipment, only street legal tires with a minimum UTQG Treadwear Rating of 140 will be allowed.
No racing slicks or DOT-legal Track & Competition tires will be permitted.
Tire shaving is not permitted and all tires, including spare tires, must begin the event with a minimum of 8/32-inch tread depth (to be confirmed during pre-event vehicle inspection) and complete the event with a minimum of 2/32-inch of remaining tread depth (to be confirmed during post-event vehicle inspection) at no less than 2 points around the tire's circumference that are approximately 180-degrees apart.
In order to assure that all tires are standard street legal tires as sold by their manufacturers to the general public; all participants are required to purchase the tires they use during the event directly from The Tire Rack.
The 2009 One Lap of America tires will have unique identification permanently branded to their sidewall to clearly identify their origin. Vehicles will not be allowed to participate in the event unless their tires have the required identification branding. Because of this unique branding, tires must be purchased and installed on the vehicle before competitors arrive in South Bend for registration, and tires purchased through this program are not returnable, even if they have never been mounted.
Competitors who wish to use tires left over from the 2008 OLoA event (unused spare tires, for example) will be allowed to do so provided that:
- the tires are of a brand participating in the 2008 event (see list above).
- the tires are identified with their "OLOA 08" branding
- have at least 8/32-inch of remaining tread depth at the beginning of the event.
Since the team's cumulative track time is used to determine the winner, most One Lap of America competitors will be best served by tires from the following Tire Rack tire categories:
- Extreme Performance Summer
- Max Performance Summer
- Ultra High Performance Summer
- Street/Sport Truck Summer
With Tire Rack approval, teams may select tires from other tire categories manufactured by the participating tire manufacturers.
If none of the participating tire brands offers a tire size appropriate for the vehicle, then The Tire Rack will consider approving alternate street tires.
Tire Sponsorship
The participating tire manufacturers have agreed to sponsor all 2009 One Lap of America teams using their product by supporting a 25% rebate fulfilled by The Tire Rack for tires purchased directly from The Tire Rack. The 25% rebate applies only to the cost of tires and is not applied to the cost of any other products, taxes or shipping costs.
Entered teams can purchase a total of 10 tires for their OLoA registered vehicle that will be eligible for the rebate (four tires are suggested for pre-event testing with the remaining six tires for use during the event). If a tire order is placed by a team that is not yet registered, the rebate will not be processed until the event organizers confirm the team’s entry in the event.
The 25% rebate will be based on the selling price identified on the www.tirerack.com website at the time of purchase. In order to process tire orders quickly, the team representative will ultimately receive multiple invoices, one for the tires and shipping, and another crediting the rebate.
While teams may desire to compare tires from different manufacturers in their pre-event testing, regardless of which tires are selected, only the first 10 tires per registered vehicle will receive the 25% discount. Additional tires for use in the event must be bought through The Tire Rack to receive the required tire identification branding and will be sold at our everyday low prices. They will not be eligible for any discount or rebate.
Participant Order Processing
Only a team representative whose name appears as a driver on the OLoA website's Entrant's List will be allowed to order tires eligible for the rebate, The team representative should call toll free (888) 370-8473 between 8 am and 8 pm Eastern Standard Time. Identify themselves as a One Lap of America competitor, and provide entrant and vehicle information.
NOTE: Competitors cannot place One Lap of America tire orders through tirerack.com because the website cannot implement the unique identification branding required by the program rules or process the competitors' rebate.
UPS or FedEx Ground Service is the most cost effective method available to you, and usually results in one to three day deliveries. Overnight service is available, but expensive due to the weight of tires.
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