Gordon Aram, left, and Jerry Anderson are planning to compete in the One Lap of America race in early May. The race will pass through upwards of 15 states, and the pair will drive nearly 5,000 miles in a 1986 IROC-Z, pictured behind them.

Gordon Aram harbors no unrealistic expectations as he prepares to race his 1986 Chevrolet IROC-Z around the eastern half of the United States.

“I have no hope in hell,” Aram says. “But I’ll try to win. That’s the goal.”

The annual race is called One Lap of America, a slightly tamer version of the Cannonball, which inspired the movies “Cannonball Run” and “Smoky and the Bandit II” in the early 1980s.

Aram and Jerry Anderson, both of Bend, plan to take turns driving the IROC during One Lap of America, which is scheduled for May 2-10.

The 2008 race will start and finish in South Bend, Ind., taking drivers counterclockwise through the nation’s heartland to Texas, across the Deep South and up the Eastern seaboard, then back to the Midwest. Participants will stop at 10 racetracks along the way to compete in a variety of races and events. The race covers a total of 5,500 miles and, depending on the precise route — which won’t be revealed to drivers until just before the start — figures to pass through 15 to 20 states in eight days.

“It’s basically the ‘Amazing Race’ in eight days,” Anderson says. “It would make for some interesting TV if they filmed us arguing about stuff.”

In the early 1970s, Brock Yates, senior editor of Car and Driver magazine, started the Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. The flat-out and largely unauthorized race from New York to California has since been reformatted, legalized, and renamed: One Lap of America.

During One Lap of America, drivers make their way from racetrack to racetrack along routes they will not learn until May 2. They are penalized for being too early or too late to the tracks.

To discourage drivers from exceeding posted speed limits, participants are disqualified from the race if they receive two “early” penalties. Also, any traffic violation observed by a race official results in immediate disqualification.

The race will include about 50 to 70 cars. Speed matters on the tracks, but driving skill to make it from track to track in the allotted amount of time is crucial on the highways.

Aram and Anderson — who have dubbed themselves the “A Team” — will be racing against Porsches, Corvettes, Mustangs, GTs and other reputedly fast cars.

“You get guys that are just millionaires,” Aram says.

Aram, who specializes in building customized engines, says he has poured about $35,000 into the IROC, which features 500 horsepower and a roll cage. The exterior of the car will include the names of companies that sponsor the team.

Aram has been on a frantic fundraising mission, hoping to have enough money for the car and fuel and to still be able to give 90 percent of funds raised to the American Cancer Society.

“We want to raise at least $25,000 — but we’re not in this to make money,” he says.

Aram competed in the One Lap of America in the mid 1990s, and he has experience racing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).

The 39-year-old recently spent three years in Iraq, two stints from 2003 to 2007, working in rescue recovery for the U.S. Department of Defense. His job was to recover American property — and sometimes the bodies of fallen soldiers — from battle sites.

While in Iraq in 2005, Aram was riding in a sport utility vehicle that was struck by a roadside bomb. His back was seriously injured and he came home to Bend to recover. Six months later, he returned to Iraq.

“You can’t describe what it was like,” Aram says of Iraq. “Part of me died in Iraq and I’ll never get it back.”

Aram’s interest in the American Cancer Society is personal: his wife, Anna, is a cancer survivor, and they recently lost a family friend to lung cancer.

“The money I made overseas (in Iraq) is being poured into this car, and it can be put to good use,” Aram says. “It’s a chance for me to get out there and do something, and raise the money to help my friends out.”

Long hours behind the wheel await in One Lap of America. The stretch from Omaha, Neb., to College Station, Texas, is expected to take 19 hours.

Anderson will be taking part in One Lap of America for the first time.

“I’m real excited,” he says, “but at the same time, a little apprehensive about not knowing what to expect.”

Helping charity

Gordon Aram and Jerry Anderson (the A Team) of Bend plan to compete in One Lap of America in early May. To help them raise funds for the car, fuel and other expenses, call 382-0756, e-mail minotaurcars2001@yahoo.com, or visit www.centraloregonmall.com. Aram says 90 percent of funds raised will go to the Relay for Life, a benefit for the American Cancer Society.

Participants drive from track to track — a total of 5,500 miles — competing in different events at each racetrack along the way, from May 2-10.

• The Tire Rack (South Bend, Ind.) (START)

• Road America (Elkhart, Wis.)

• Mid America Motorplex (Omaha, Neb.)

• Texas World Speedway (College Station)

• Lonestar Motorsports Park (Sealy, Texas)

• No Problem Raceway (Belle Rose, La.)

• Carolina Motorsports Park (Kershaw, S.C.)

• BMW Performance Center (Spartanburg, S.C.)

• Virginia International Raceway (Danville, Va.)

• BeaveRun (Big Beaver Borough, Pa.)

• The Tire Rack (South Bend, Ind.) (FINISH)