2008 One Lap of America formally knows as the Cannonball Run occurred this year May 2 to May 10 and Stephen Noton in the GenieKnows sponsored smart car was vehicle #42 in a group of 72 speed freaks...
United States of America (Press Release) June 3, 2008 --
GenieKnows.com CEO, Barbara Manning has often quoted the Company's corporate mantra as "the little engine that could”. And so it proved to be as the Company sponsored smart car successfully ran and finished the 2008 One Lap of America rally formally known as the Cannonball Run.
GenieKnows.com employee, Stephen Noton drove the smart car over the 12,000km (7,500 miles) between event venues and also completed the track events across the United States. Not only did the smart finish the rally - it also beat out vehicles at every type of track event, skid pad, race track, drag and autocross. In the end the smart managed to beat 38 of the 72 vehicles and even took a podium finish.
Many of the other drivers at first were questioning the smarts speed and endurance, some even were willing to take bets on the first day that it would simply tip over. However, the smart never tipped over and after the 8 days of events most were very impressed with the performance and reliability of the smart.
The fuel economy of the smart ranged from 46 MPG on the highways to 34 MPG on the race tracks, which meant the gas bill for GenieKnows was kept to a minimum.
During the podium finish, Stephen joked about using only 3/4 of a tank of gas to run all the events, see that video clip at YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_pRj3fCdCVY
While the smart car managed to attract a lot of attention - in one true Cannonball Run style story the Kansas State police took notice in the smart. It would seem that the smart along with a few of the other vehicles were traveling down the highway at a brisk speed and a customized BMW police car was sent out to catch up to this group of vehicles.
"When I saw a black tinted out BMW coming up fast behind me with just 2 small lights flashing from inside the front grill I didn't know if to take it seriously or if it was an Alex Roy styled prank" Stephen Noton said and referencing to Alex Roy, a fellow Cannonball style driver, who often pulls people over in a fake cop car: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_CHbqYq9o
While the police did catch up with the smart they issued only verbal warnings. With over 50 high-end sports cars driving through their highways the police wanted to get the message out that the local law enforcement were watching closely.
Despite lots of interest from the Kansas police there were no satiations issued and everyone progressed to the next stage. A passing One Lapper managed to take this photograph ( www.onelapper.com/photo/photo/show?id=2039856%3APhoto%3A2284 ) which was posted on the Internet within minutes of the incident.
What did the other drivers thinks of the smart? Most were very impressed and interested, but one person the 5 time champion Mark DaVia who drives an impressive Porsche 996 TT was very excited when Stephen Noton allowed him to take the smart for a drive. He came back with a big smile and is now looking to buy a smart as commuter vehicle.
Another team that wanted to take the smart out was Car and Driver magazine who had entered the 2009 Nissan GT-R (Skyline). The Car and Driver team decided to take the smart onto the race track for a closed course testing run. They were so impressed that they plan to do an article on the smart in an upcoming issue.
Big smiles and cheerful thumbs up were common with the people who came across the smart car. Stephen Noton's website http://www.451s.com/oloa has more information on his One Lap of America adventure and charity of choice - Make-A-Wish Atlantic Provinces' ‘One Lap, One Wish for Britney' fundraising initiative.
GenieKnows.com employee, Stephen Noton drove the smart car over the 12,000km (7,500 miles) between event venues and also completed the track events across the United States. Not only did the smart finish the rally - it also beat out vehicles at every type of track event, skid pad, race track, drag and autocross. In the end the smart managed to beat 38 of the 72 vehicles and even took a podium finish.
Many of the other drivers at first were questioning the smarts speed and endurance, some even were willing to take bets on the first day that it would simply tip over. However, the smart never tipped over and after the 8 days of events most were very impressed with the performance and reliability of the smart.
The fuel economy of the smart ranged from 46 MPG on the highways to 34 MPG on the race tracks, which meant the gas bill for GenieKnows was kept to a minimum.
During the podium finish, Stephen joked about using only 3/4 of a tank of gas to run all the events, see that video clip at YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_pRj3fCdCVY
While the smart car managed to attract a lot of attention - in one true Cannonball Run style story the Kansas State police took notice in the smart. It would seem that the smart along with a few of the other vehicles were traveling down the highway at a brisk speed and a customized BMW police car was sent out to catch up to this group of vehicles.
"When I saw a black tinted out BMW coming up fast behind me with just 2 small lights flashing from inside the front grill I didn't know if to take it seriously or if it was an Alex Roy styled prank" Stephen Noton said and referencing to Alex Roy, a fellow Cannonball style driver, who often pulls people over in a fake cop car: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_CHbqYq9o
While the police did catch up with the smart they issued only verbal warnings. With over 50 high-end sports cars driving through their highways the police wanted to get the message out that the local law enforcement were watching closely.
Despite lots of interest from the Kansas police there were no satiations issued and everyone progressed to the next stage. A passing One Lapper managed to take this photograph ( www.onelapper.com/photo/photo/show?id=2039856%3APhoto%3A2284 ) which was posted on the Internet within minutes of the incident.
What did the other drivers thinks of the smart? Most were very impressed and interested, but one person the 5 time champion Mark DaVia who drives an impressive Porsche 996 TT was very excited when Stephen Noton allowed him to take the smart for a drive. He came back with a big smile and is now looking to buy a smart as commuter vehicle.
Another team that wanted to take the smart out was Car and Driver magazine who had entered the 2009 Nissan GT-R (Skyline). The Car and Driver team decided to take the smart onto the race track for a closed course testing run. They were so impressed that they plan to do an article on the smart in an upcoming issue.
Big smiles and cheerful thumbs up were common with the people who came across the smart car. Stephen Noton's website http://www.451s.com/oloa has more information on his One Lap of America adventure and charity of choice - Make-A-Wish Atlantic Provinces' ‘One Lap, One Wish for Britney' fundraising initiative.
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