If you're not familiar with One Lap, it's a race sponsored by Michelin and Car & Driver that is the modern day equivalent of the Cannonball (made famous in the movies).  One Lap takes place over the course of a week and includes racing events held at many tracks throughout the U.S.  The schedule is very demanding on both the drivers and on the cars, as they cover more than 4000 miles in just 8 days.  If you'd like more details, take a look at the interesting history on the One Lap website.

In 2000, 113 cars participated in eight classes.  Cars are categorized by their base price without including the cost of modifications.  The week included 16 racing events across the U.S.

Brock Yates & his brother.

A police car whose driver enjoyed smoky burnouts and did a lap with the lights and siren on.

A beautiful Audi, and a Mosler TwinStar (a Cadillac Eldorado with two engines).

A 7.4 liter RennTech Mercedes.

Yikes.

As spectators, we enjoyed full access to the grid, paddock, and pit area, and were able to take a close look at the cars and talk to the drivers.  The variety of cars entered in the race was amazing - those that stood out include a handful of Shelby Cobras, Austin Mini, a twin-engine Cadillac, two Chevy Impala Police cars, Ferrari, Dodge Ram, Ford F150 Lightning, Nissan Skyline, a bunch of Audi S4s, a smallblock Chevy Blazer, and two Saturns (of course).

There was also a major aftermarket tuner presence, with cars being driven by Steve Dinan (BMW), John Hennessey (Viper Venom), and Chuck Mallett (Corvette).  There were also cars by RennTech (Mercedes), and Lingenfelter (twin-turbo Corvette).

It was truly enjoyable to be able to stand trackside just behind the guard rail and watch and listen to the cars blow by nearing redline on the front straight.

My picks for the best sounding cars of the day:
  1.  Toyota Supra Twin-Turbo, with 500+ horsepower (ahh, the sound of boost)
  2.  Oldsmobile Aurora
  3.  Shelby Cobra