The Lap Around America Project
You hear a similar story in every generation, of the love of racing being passed down from parent to child.
When I first started covering motorsports, I carried a chip on my shoulder since I was following in my father’s footsteps, until about three interviews in, while asking racers across disciplines and series what got them into racing. It was always a dad, or a mom, or a grandma.
What I saw as nepotism in my own life is seen as tradition in the sport.
I grew up watching NASCAR on Sundays with my father, Dan Beaver, who has been a fantasy handicapper for the series since I was six years old. My mom used to tease that I grew up in the school of NASCAR.
Dan Beaver, who along with daughter Victoria has done all the work in converting the former school bus into a rolling writer's retreat, is already mapping out the Lap Around America project before it hits the road in January. Photo courtesy: Dan Beaver.
I took this as far as thrifting a vintage desk to set up in my father’s home office and taking notes as he worked. This dynamic followed us through my teen years, through college, and into my mid-twenties. As I bounced around careers after college, I found a way to hold onto sports writing; often limited through all of it.
During this time I got my hands firmly planted in the dirt, moving me away from the asphalt scene and falling in love with a new corner of the sport. I wouldn’t have fallen as hard if the Wild West Shootout didn’t take place on my birthday each year, at what was at the time my home track of USA Raceway in Tucson, Arizona. I know every race fan has that track or that event or that driver that forever tied them to the sport.
I continued to write through college and into my twenties, with bylines for Yahoo, NBCSports, and FloRacing. But my schooling and career choices always moved me further away from the grassroots to which I yearned to return.
In 2020 and 2021, I found myself running the sales and marketing departments for a glass blowing studio in San Antonio, Texas, something I did not have on my COVID bingo card. While this was the first secure career I had up to this point, I realized something was missing. Passion. If I could run 50-plus projects at a time, social media, and commerce for someone else’s dream, why couldn’t I do just that for my own?
Cue The Lap Around America Project
More than 30 years ago, it was an idea cooked up by my father in his college dorm, and for the last 10 years or so, we subsequently had both spent ample time dreaming and obsessing about: the Lap Around America Project -- "The Lap" for short.
It's a pipe dream turned reality where the two of us travel the country bouncing from one race track to another. Crossing state lines and race types in the search for America. Think of it as a racing version of Travels with Charley, but instead it’s John Steinbeck's redneck cousin and replace the standard poodle at his side with a 27-year-old who sheds just as much.
Home sweet bus ... err, home. This will be the digs that Dan and Victoria Beaver will enjoy for much of 2023 as they chase racing around America. Photo courtesy: Victoria Beaver.
If all goes well, we hope to kick off The Lap early next year with The Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Right now, we're doing all of our due diligence -- in other words, we're building and outfitting our bus to give us necessary creature comforts like a kitchen, beds, and writing/work desks where we can document what we see and hear in our travels and adventures.
My father and I come from different backgrounds and have had vastly different experiences in the sport. These opinions come out in our discussions of every race and how we see each move by racers and series both on and off the track. Our Patreon -- https://www.patreon.com/TheLapAroundAmericaProject -- posts and upcoming podcast is a place to showcase these discussions and invite the public in. My father has been one of my biggest champions my whole life, and me his. This project allows us to be the other's hypeman.
Auto racing is the most diverse sport in America and can be argued to be the most tied to our country’s history, both good and bad. Each region of the United States has developed its own style of racing, but one underlying principle guides them all: there can be only one winner.
Every night across this country there are dozens of races, from weekly shows to crown jewels. Every one of these events is a treasure trove of stories. Stories of victory and heartache, scandal and redemption.
What are our goals for this project?
My passions are racing, economic literacy, and sustainability, which if you ask any team manager are hard ideas to marry. This year will be used as a launch pad for me to research the effects of racing on local communities while creating a media brand focused on the sustainable future of our sport and its ability to create community.
Our modern era is filled with isolation. The race track is an important community space for families to come together, relax, enjoy and win. The race track is an important third space for our American identity and community, which means it’s important to make it a safe place that gives back to all involved. What racing brings to a rural and urban community is unmatched in its impact.
The Lap Around America project will be fully outfitted and equipped with writing and photo areas. Here's a shot of the work still in-progress. Photo courtesy: Victoria Beaver.
This project also gives me the opportunity to experiment more with podcast creation, brand management, writing, photography and graphic design - all skills that are needed for the next steps in my career.
My father has always valued the story above all else. When asked who he wants to win a race, it’s always going to go to the driver that provides the most interesting narrative. Not to say he hasn’t had his favorites throughout his life, but like a good journalist, he’s learned to keep these close to his chest.
There’s no better feeling than sitting around a fire and learning someone’s stories; how they developed their passion, why they moved cross-country in search of a dream, and what they’ve given up and received because of these big changes. Dan wants to write these stories on top of his sports coverage. While we’re traversing the country, he will be finishing his second motorsports mystery novel.
Meet Rocinante
My apologies for the litany of Steinback references, but they will be sprinkled throughout this entire journey. If you were wondering how a 27-year-old daughter and 60-year-old father will keep from going insane while living with each other on the road, the answer is our bus, Roinante.
Last September, Dan and I went 50/50 on a 32-foot Thomas-Built School Bus that we’ve been transforming into a Skoolie since. The bus is outfitted with an office, podcast space, and other features to make life livable for two professional writers.
This is the photo studio of sorts that will be utilized by both Dan and Victoria as they make a Lap Around America. Photo courtesy: Victoria Beaver.
The bus will have decals, like a race car, with 152 square feet of advertising space. Black on the back, white on the front with a red diagonal line down the center, this paint scheme has been selected to mirror Davey Allison’s rookie scheme. It was also decided on as one of many compromises Dan and I have had to make in the early parts of this journey. If one wants a white bus and one wants a black this is the literal middle ground.
Currently, the bus is about 60% complete. I officially live in it, or more honestly camp in it. In exchange for goat milking and business development work, I’ve spent my last nine months living near Kingsbury, Texas, on a sustainable goat farm and artist residency, Habitable Spaces; an unorthodox incubator for an unorthodox media project. We warmly refer to me as their first NASCARtist-in-Residence.
The Physical Lap
While living on the road, we both have to give in to the unexpected. While writing and running this project, we’ll also be fighting for campsites, mapping out the cheapest diesel prices, and praying that we find the best WiFi solution. These less-than-ideal moments of the journey will be shared in the spirit of transparency.
As the lap stands now we’ll cover the four primary series of NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, and Formula 1 during the year as we connect the four corners of the country. In between these events, we’ll hit up the dirt racing crown jewels, regional weeklies, and more. Our trip to the Pacific Northwest will likely be in lockstep with the World Of Outlaws Sprint Car series, giving us a chance to immerse fully in one discipline for a couple of weeks. This path is constantly evolving as we learn of others' must-see tracks and bucket list races.
Highlights of the lap will include The Chili Bowl, Bristol Dirt races, The Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal, The Prairie Dirt Classic, the inaugural NASCAR Chicago Street Race, as well as key drag racing and sports car races.
This is Victoria's bedroom, an oasis-like respite after a hard day of watching and reporting about racing. Photo courtesy: Victoria Beaver.
The Lap will feature interviews with drivers, crew members, track race officials and fans. The project will carve out a foothold in the physical and digital landscapes of auto racing. The branding opportunities around this project link companies to current and future consumers in an activated sphere.
What’s Next?
We’re less than six months away from our kickoff and the journey to the journey is far from complete. Dan and I still need to finish outfitting the bus, finish electrical, plumbing, a few interior builds, and exterior paint. We’re currently funding this out of pocket with our writing salaries going straight to the build. To support this project as we finish the build and hit the road we’ve set up a Patreon account, this contains all of our writing from Dan’s fantasy knowledge to my monthly race-themed Spotify Playlists.
Everyone who subscribes to our Patreon is a driving force in this project. We will pick up more and more as we travel. This cannot be the only source of funding we have for building this brand and are looking to primary and secondary sponsors to cover our rolling billboard.
To become part of the journey on Patreon, subscribe at Patreon.com/thelaparoundamericaproject.
If you would prefer to make a one-time donation to our Skoolie Build GoFundMe at http://www.gofundme.com/the-lap-around-america-project-bus-build
Business or advertising inquiries can be sent to victoria.beaver.racing@gmail.com
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Contributing: Dan Beaver