So on August 9-11, 2007, Arnold welcomed over 100 vehicles to its seventh annual Sandhills Open Road Challenge. A large majority of the entrants are Corvettes: C4s, C5s, and C6s are everywhere, especially the ultra-potent ZR-1s and Z06s. However, there were third- and fourth-gen F-bodies, a GTO, a G-body, and even a newer Grand Prix in attendance as well. This three-day event happens in a setting that is mostly inhabited by tractors and work trucks. The population hovers around 600; there's a long main street and not much else; there is one hotel. But if you bring your high-speed GM up Highway 83 in early August, you'll be met by a town full of friendly and helpful folk-the kind that open up their homes to you for a good night's sleep. You'll enjoy a nice loud parade, a smoky burnout contest, and a car show consisting of the race entrants. And when it's all said and done, gear up for an awards BBQ, live music, and a few cold ones. But stay focused: serious racing is what you're really there for, and there's a half- and one-mile top-speed shootout to tame, and an open-road race that many call the most challenging in America.
My time on the south-to-north leg with Aaron, and going north-south after the event, gave me a good feel of this course-and it's a good one. In the first five miles of the north-south section, a driver has to accelerate over several very large hills, negotiate hard and slight right-hand curves, nail the brakes for a 90-degree left-hander, and man up for a quick right/left switch. And if you like straightaways, this course has them-several 2-miles, a 3-mile, and a 5-mile! There is no runoff, and in place of a tire barrier, prepare for a ditch and a barbed-wire fence. This is as intense as open-road racing gets.
But the SORC isn't resting on its laurels; the August 7-9, 2008 event will feature all of the events listed here-and will be adding track days on August 5-6 at Motorsport Park Hastings, a 2.15-mile road course. This is a really cool event to behold, and I'll bet even cooler to race in, so go to www.sorcrace.com to check out the class and rule structure, and start making plans.
There were several NASCAR rides in attendance; this is Bob Griffith's hot rod. This monster turned 197 mph in one mile, and sounded great doing it. | 
Carl Johansson breaks the 140-mph zone in the standing mile. His brother Scott won the 110-mph class the next day. | 
Optima is the official battery of the SORC, and the Optima crew attended with their new Z06. Here, Wisconsinite Steve Kepler burns rubber before blasting a 170-mph standing mile! He also came in Second in the 100-mph race. For a sales/marketing guy, Steve can pedal. |
Ron Adee's twin-turbocharged, Chevy V-8-powered '94 Viper provided plenty of drama at the one-mile finish line. See the driver-side front of the hood starting to ripple? That's never good at 215 miles an hour. | 
Sure enough, it exploded off the car right at the checkered flag. Ron somehow kept it straight and ended up all in one piece (well ... two) and with Second-place honors. | 
Spectator admission is free for the entire event; this is one of the viewing areas for the one-mile shootout. As you can imagine, there's plenty of parking. |