Editor’s Note – This article was submitted to us by Chris Smith and Dom Romney from Holeshot Media [1] out of the U.K. Thanks to Smith for writing up their story from the 2012 Tire Rack One Lap of America, and to Romney for all the great pics. Enjoy! –Cliff Klaverweiden
[2]Our friends at LG Motorsports [3] were generous enough to lend their 2010 Camaro to the guys from Holeshot Media to run in the 2012 Tire Rack One Lap of America.
So we had six days before the Tire Rack One Lap of America started. Flights were booked, insurance in place, and our entry taken care of, but alas – no car! I had remembered a conversation with a friend in Dallas regarding LG Motorsports [3] a few years back. I remembered that he had told me, “These are the guys you go to for Corvette and Camaro Performance.”
I called LG out of the blue and explained to them that we’re a pair of UK based muscle car guys called “Holeshot Media [1]”, who wanted to use one of their vehicles in Brock Yates’s gig across the States called Tire Rack One Lap of America [4]. Louis Gigliotti was quiet for a few seconds, and simply said, “What do you need?”
We spoke for some time and Louis agreed to let us “borrow” one of their 2010 SS Camaros. “It’s got one of our cams, fuel system, long-tube headers and some suspension tweaks. It dynoed at 470 horsepower to the wheels” he explained.
[5]The guys at LG getting the 5th Gen prepped for the abuse it would endure during One Lap.
I have to say that explaining that their car will be nailed against a wall for 8 days on the track, in addition to covering nearly 5,000 miles is a tricky task: or so I thought. Louis took it all in stride, and didn’t seem the least bit concerned.Neither I (Chris Smith) nor my Co-Driver (Dom Romney) required some 1,000 horsepower beast that would only last for five minutes. What we needed a solid 450 to 500 horsepower that would take a serious lashing and come back for more. Louis was confident, beyond doubt, that the car would have no issues. “We don’t do conversions that last till the end of the week. There might be others out there that produce more power – but we do it to last.” he quipped.
[6]By the time Smith and Romney arrived at LG's shop in Wylie, Texas, the 5th Gen was fully serviced and ready to give both the road and tracks a little bit of hell.
Nearly a week later we landed at DFW and headed to Wylie, Texas, where LG is based. When we arrived, the hood was up on the car having just been serviced and was ready for the off. We didn’t waste any time, and traveled nonstop to South Bend, Indiana, for the start of the event (a total of 1,023 miles) effortlessly in the “Pumpkin” as we had dubbed it. And boy did this thing move!
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During Tire Rack One Lap, getting there is half the fun...
We entered the car into the SSGT2 Big Bore Category, basically against all other Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers and the like, and have to say – it did bloody well. There are many different events we had to compete in over the 8 days of One Lap: drag strips, autocross, ovals, road courses – you get the picture. The thing that made LG’s SS so competitive was the fact it was a good all-rounder. It was quick, stopped well, and handled to boot.
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Romney and Smith at the driver's meeting.
After running the car at Autobahn Country Club and then Mid America, I truly realized the car’s potential to compete. Not that I am pulling the car down – far from it. What I mean is there were other offerings in the same class from other companies who had “professional” drivers who were taking this a lot more seriously than we were, and the LG Camaro stayed competitive the whole time.
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The LG Camaro shared the track during Tire Rack One Lap of America with everything from race-built contenders to regular joes out looking to have some fun.
By halfway through the week we were holding a solid 3rd place in our class, and by the end of the event at Hastings & Brainerd (and seeing speeds in excess of 155 MPH on the straight a ways) we had extended our position to 2nd in the class – losing out only to Roush’s 2013 Stage 3 Mustang. This was wasn’t too much of a surprise; they had more power and a lot less weight. It was never going to be rocket science right? It didn’t matter, because we had finished in front of any other Camaro in the event, and we were still in a full-weight road going car. Even the GM backed Camaro was a stripped down and caged track warrior, with a lot more power, but it didn’t hinder us or LG’s offering at all in the end.
We beat on the car for 8 days straight in the event, and two days of traveling at an “enthusiastic pace” either side of it, and it was like the Camaro yearned for more – even after a pulling a 12.7 at the strip with a manual trans! This car was sick in the head, a real sadist!
[15]One event where the LG Camaro shined was the drag strip, running a very respectable 12.7 ET.
When our journey was finally over, we delivered the car back to Chicago to one of Louis’s friends (thanks Zach!) who met us at O’Hare. After driving muscle cars for the last 20 odd years I have never experienced a small block LS motor that can take a hammering like theirs, and whilst preferring the Vette over the Camaro, I couldn’t help feel that they had transformed the factory car into what GM should have produced in the first place. After driving the stock SS, I never really gelled with it – but the LG car is how it should be, and someone needs to tell GM.
[16]The LG Camaro proving it's meddle in the wet.
I am gob-smacked at the quality of parts and workmanship that LG [3] offer, especially considering they are relatively inexpensive when you look around. If you think I am biased because they let us abuse their car for a week or so you may be right, but then again, I have always had the uncanny ability to break cars on the street and especially the track – but this is something new, something fresh, the new kid on the block.
We can all sit at home perusing the forums over who has the most power, the slickest rims and even the loudest sounds, but remember this – If you want a car that you can use every day then take to the track and not turn a wrench on, go and see the boys at LG because they know their business – inside and out.
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Looking back, on the event I find myself talking to everyone we know in Europe about this company and their products. We’ve all purchased the “lesser brands” from the speed shack in the past only to replace again after a few runs or hard-driven miles, right? But after beating on their parts for over a week straight, I can tell you that LG Motorsport’s [3] parts are parts you buy for life.
If you have a Corvette or Camaro and a little sense you’ll pick up the phone and call them now to take a look at your ride. That’s exactly what I am telling our guys in Europe with their late model muscle cars!
[18]A big thanks to Len Lyall Chevrolet - for a quick pit stop in Aurora, Colorado!
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