i am representing the NSX community in the SCCA autocross national championships

[shrddr]

folks,

in less than 2 weeks (sept 7-8) i am competing in the B-stock class (dominated by s2000's and C4 corvettes) in the SCCA autocross national championships. it has been an interesting year getting the car and myself up to speed... starting with the disappointment of finishing last at the TX national tour event... to winning the SCCA pro solo in blytheville arkansas. that win garnered a lot of attention (the NSX has NEVER won on a national level in any class in SCCA solo history) for the car and me... mostly the car though

sportscar magazine mentioned me and the car as being a threat to challenge for one of the trophy positions:

i am hoping for a good result at the national championships... but there are some VERY capable drivers and cars that are going to be there. should be an awesome experience

v

 

[docjohn]

awsome job.I owned and auto x'd both an s2000 and the bee at the same time some years ago and can tell you I can't believe what you are able to do with an nsx.One particular layout was pretty tight and the nsx was midpack.. with my s2000 I took ftd.....so kudos..

 

[SFDreamer]

Congrats, and WHOA, small world, my friend Adam Ruff is in there.

 

[Brylek]

Good luck! Nationals are no joke, lots of talent out there... I have been doing solo events for 3 years now and I don't think i'm ready for where you're heading Once again, good luck!

P.S. Are you running street or racing tires?

 

[R13]

Good luck! Even being in that conversation is an accomplishment, but hopefully you can sneak up on a few people and add another 1st for the NSX.

 

[NSXAMG996TT]

Go kick some ass! And post pics of the trophy...

 

[Matt_337]

Good luck!

 

[shrddr]

Good luck! Nationals are no joke, lots of talent out there... I have been doing solo events for 3 years now and I don't think i'm ready for where you're heading Once again, good luck!

P.S. Are you running street or racing tires?

DOT approved "race" tires... i.e. hoosier A6

 

[Nukem]

great job, Getting where you are with the NSX is no easy feat. I wish you luck, and drive like you know how, Those S2k's are awsome in the autox. Would love to see an NSX at the top :wink:

 

[W]

Best of luck. I know you have the talent to take the car to its highest levels.

BTW, I didn't see you registered in the pro solo finale. Are you planning to attend or maybe you're in another class?

 

[shrddr]

Best of luck. I know you have the talent to take the car to its highest levels.

BTW, I didn't see you registered in the pro solo finale. Are you planning to attend or maybe you're in another class?

i appreciate the vote of confidence

no, i'm not doing the pro solo finale. the car is still on the stock clutch and it is on its last legs. it has already become very tricky to get a good launch and not slip the hell out of the clutch. that is why i only competed in one pro solo event this season. i didn't want to chance killing the clutch at the pro solo finale. i intend to replace the clutch at the end of this season.

v

 

[enigma]

Kudos and good luck! I've been autocrossing for years now... used to have an E Stock MR2 that placed very well at nationals (top 5 if I recall, not with me driving though... previous owner) and have autocrossed my S2000 and the NSX, albeit on street tires. It's very impressive that you're able to compete with the S2Ks and Vettes in the NSX... I've always had fun with mine when I took it, but I always struggled to get decent times out of her--she's great on the track, but hard to come to terms with around an autocross course.

Good luck! Post vids and pics when you get them!

 

[NSXgal]

Way to represent, and best of luck!!!

 

[eddie_82]

Go kick some ass! And post pics of the JACKET...

Fixed

Good luck Vivek!

-RyanM

 

[shrddr]

well... long story short... i blew it

i made too many mistakes on day #1, and drove rather poorly on day #2. it was a very disappointing nationals for me... i let myself and the car down.

more details will be posted in my blog in a few days after i have licked my wounds.

v

 

[dquarasr2]

well... long story short... i blew it

i made too many mistakes on day #1, and drove rather poorly on day #2. it was a very disappointing nationals for me... i let myself and the car down.

more details will be posted in my blog in a few days after i have licked my wounds.

v

Hey, it's all good. :smile:

I was going to post before you went, but I didn't get a chance.

I first went in 1996 in the very competitive C-Stock, which was 80% Miata. I remember being really, really overwhelmed. I was very much unprepared for the magnitude of the whole event, what with greater than 1,000 participants, the grandeur of it all, and the pressure I felt to perform well. I totally tanked. Definitely if I was to give any advice to someone at Nationals for the first time (was this your first Nationals?) I would say just go and don't get psyched out. I was WAY too intense, studying the course layouts, walking them about 1,000 times. I totally overdrove both days, and didn't relax at all.

It's a pretty intimidating environment. In retrospect I would have tried to enjoy myself more, and put less pressure on myself.

I also went in 1999 but after driving from South Florida to Topeka, KS, and participating in the Saturday Pro Solo, only to have Category 5 Hurricane Floyd bear down on my home, I had to leave Sunday at noon, leave my co-driver and owner of the car I was driving to his own devices to get the car back home (I had to tow vehicle and the trailer), drive 26 hours straight, put up hurricane shutters, then see the Cat-5 storm bearing down on us and bugged out to friends in Sarasota. I was up 45 hours straight and that pretty much killed autocross Nationals for me for the rest of my life. Thank goodness Floyd turned away from Florida at the last minute and saved the insurance industry as we currently know it.

Nationals has SO many good, no check that, GREAT drivers, it's hard to do be confident. Put extra pressure on yourself and it's a recipe for a disappointment. So don't feel badly. Label it rookie mistakes (assuming this was your first Nationals), and hold your head up knowing you won a Pro along the way.

I'm impressed, for what it's worth. And you can always think of it this way: Hey, YOU WERE THERE! The car was not just collecting dust in the garage.

Nice going.

 

[shrddr]

Nationals has SO many good, no check that, GREAT drivers, it's hard to do be confident. Put extra pressure on yourself and it's a recipe for a disappointment. So don't feel badly. Label it rookie mistakes (assuming this was your first Nationals), and hold your head up knowing you won a Pro along the way.

I'm impressed, for what it's worth. And you can always think of it this way: Hey, YOU WERE THERE! The car was not just collecting dust in the garage.

Nice going.

this was my 3rd nationals

- my rookie year in 2008 i co-drove in the STU class in an STI (and made all the requisite rookie mistakes).
- in 2009 i co-drove in C-stock in a 2007 MX5/miata and finished 5th in class
- this year my goal was a top 3 finish. i simply made too many mistakes to get there.

i appreciate the kinds words and i'm not beating myself up... i just know i can do better. so next year... i will

maybe you should come out again too?

v

 

[dquarasr2]

this was my 3rd nationals

- my rookie year in 2008 i co-drove in the STU class in an STI (and made all the requisite rookie mistakes).
- in 2009 i co-drove in C-stock in a 2007 MX5/miata and finished 5th in class
- this year my goal was a top 3 finish. i simply made too many mistakes to get there.

i appreciate the kinds words and i'm not beating myself up... i just know i can do better. so next year... i will

maybe you should come out again too?

v

5th in class in C-Stock is saying something, so, you're definitely no slouch. :smile:

Nah, I don't think I'll do another Nationals at least not in the forseeable future. I'm done deluding myself that I can actually be competitive. (The older I get the faster I was.) Maybe some day, if my son decides to do another, but probably not. I just don't get enough autocross seat time these days, doing mostly track days. I don't know that my son will get a chance to go to Nationals again soon, considering he now has a daughter. Hey, maybe when she's driving in another 14 years we'll all go. :tongue:

But either way it was great that you represented.

 

[W]

I was tracking the results online during the first day and it just seemed like everyone was dirty on their first runs. I don't know if it was first run jitters or what. I don't envy the situation you were in going into your final run on day 1. I guess I'll have to wait on your blog posts for any insights. It did look like the course was more in your favor the first day as compared to the second day.

 

[shrddr]

I was tracking the results online during the first day and it just seemed like everyone was dirty on their first runs. I don't know if it was first run jitters or what. I don't envy the situation you were in going into your final run on day 1. I guess I'll have to wait on your blog posts for any insights. It did look like the course was more in your favor the first day as compared to the second day.

i just posted up the full report in my blog. the day #1 course was more in my favor mostly because i was more used to that kind of course. there was a very slight course/car dependency on day #2 where the s2000 killed everything else. i think the car had the capability to be competitive on both days. i felt like i could have challenged for top time in the class on day #1, and been in the top 3 or 4 for day #2 if i had done everything right.

 

[NSXrunner]

well... long story short... i blew it

i made too many mistakes on day #1, and drove rather poorly on day #2. it was a very disappointing nationals for me... i let myself and the car down.

more details will be posted in my blog in a few days after i have licked my wounds.

v

All good. Way to represent! Bad day at the track is better than a bad day at the office ANY DAY. Except maybe if you crash, but that's a different perspective.

 

[W]

Excellent write-up. Thanks! Too bad there wasn't a Braveheart type of guy making a speech right before your last run. "Fight and you may cone, run safe, and you'll be fine ... at least a while ... Freedom!!!"

 

[shrddr]

pictures

 

[joove]

Excellent effort though and all the best for next year. NSX + Vivek FTW!

 

[CL65 Captain]

I see a GoPro Hero on top of that NSX.... where's the video???