First Autocross of 2018!

It's been a busy summer and tough to get to the track.  Fortunately, I ran into (when I was on a run in our neighborhood) a guy with 3 cars in his drive with autocross numbers on them.  Totally out of breath, I somehow managed to convey the question "Where do you race these?".  He told me about Akron Sports Car Club and Dragway 42.  The autocross is actually on the asphalt parking roads behind the drag strips but it makes a very cool course!

First things first, however!  This year, I don't have to endanger my manhood with my McDonald's coffee!  This armrest is great.  Thanks, folks!

 Upon my arrival, I was a bit overwhelmed.  There may have been 200 cars.  Clearly some of these folks had invested more in their wheels and tires than I have in my entire car!  BB and I began a slow ramp up of heart rate...

There was nothing for it but to prepare, so we did.  We removed everything from the trunk and passenger side.  We passed tech with no issues and some compliments.  For example, no need to inspect the battery which is now an Optima in one of the two original trays and has provided perfect starts!

With so many cars present, we had a long wait so I watched the first the first heat and waited for my work assignment.  I was watching and resetting the cones on turn one.  There was not much action except for the first run of this beauty!

This '67 Chevelle SS was amazingly rebuilt but had way too much horsepower for even those massive tires and nearly hit me on her first start!  

Eventually we were forced to race!  With her upgrades over the long Winter, I was anxious to see how BB would do.  And she did well, even with her amateur driver!  Here is some video:

On my second run, I took a Kent State Car Club student for a ride along since he was an MG fan.  As he breathlessly exited the car, he described it to his friend: "Dude, it's so much work to drive!  The steering wheel is huge.  The body roll is outrageous (He should have ridden last year without any sway bar at all...) The gear shifter is long.  You have to shift all the time because of the way the transmission is geared.  Oh Man, I'd love one but I don't know if I could manage it!"  Thank you, friend.  I love one too and I can manage it, although I recognize all your concerns as valid.  See the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang post.  We're going all the way back.  Steam Punk is what today would look like if the future had happened faster, and we'll be there soon!

And data shows that the mods have bought about a 10% improvement in cornering acceleration.  I'm thinking it might have been more but the tires are probably a fuse, since they control the traction patch.  They may also have succumbed to dry rot...

And, I'll have you know, we were not slowest!  We were second slowest.  But behind a Miata is not bad for being 40 years older.  We continue to learn and grow and one can't ask for much more than that!