The Beginning
- Thread starter Lady Six
- Start date
My first was NSXPO 2002. I have been hooked ever since!
Lady Six said:
You can typically run with the Porsche Club or BMW club. You start out in the green groups and you have an instructor with you full time.
Lady Six said:
When you stop hitting and dragging the orange cones around the track ! :biggrin:
after i slid my nsx over a small curb median and bent up the tie rod...
i then said i wanted to learn how to drive the car and told myself once i learn how to drive the car effectively, I'd stop...
little did i know this is a rather bottomless pit..:tongue:
x
i then said i wanted to learn how to drive the car and told myself once i learn how to drive the car effectively, I'd stop...
little did i know this is a rather bottomless pit..:tongue:
x
WARNING: long post (sorry!), lots of drivel.
As a pre-teen I was fascinated by cars going fast. There was limited coverage of auto racing, but when it was on I was watching. Back then we were lucky if ABC’s Wide World of Sports covered a few races, showing snippets here and there, between figure skating and bull riding. I watched the roundy-round but was even more interested in left-right. When I was 15 and an impressionable teenaged male, my father bought a brand-new 1970 Mustang fastback. I was hooked on cars. (OK, you do the math and conclude I’m and Old Fart.)
When I got my license I naturally transferred that fascination from watching to driving. I fancied myself a very good driver (back then I was incognitively ignorant; at least today I am cognitively ignorant).
Back in the mid-80’s I saw a flyer for an event called “The Serpentine”. You can drive your own car in a competitive event on a mini-road-race course laid out with cones. I was under the illusion at the time that I needed a “racy” car. I waited five more years to check it out, until I had what I considered a car that was appropriate. What a fool. I could have been having fun five additional years.
Be that as it may, in ‘89 I enrolled in a performance driving school with what I thought was indeed an appropriate car, an ’85 5-speed 5.0 Mustang GT (OK, you can stop laughing now). At nearly the same time, I noticed a car in the parking lot at my work with, across the back, a paraphrased version of the famous Mario Andretti quote: “If you’re under control, you’re not going fast enough”.
At the time I thought the owner of that car irresponsible at best. However, after meeting him, and having him introduce me to autocrossing, we became fast friends (pardon the pun) and have remained so for nearly 20 years.
So, a long and hopefully interestingly anecdotal explanation of how I started autocrossing. I had found The Best Hobby.
I wasn’t long thereafter that my association with autocrossers led to trying another High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) event, which led me to Chin Motorsports. Which indirectly led me to the NSX.
Initially I had only my ’94 Miata with which to play. With a very high amount of trepidation and apprehension I entered my first track event after upgrading to track-only pads and checking over the car very well. Turns out my fears were mostly mislaid, however, having a healthy respect for higher speeds has served me very well. My main concern was the lack of roll bar, which has since been remedied (soft of) in that car.
A work acquaintance, who at the time owned a Turbo-look 911, also autocrossed. Turns out he sold the 911 and bought an NSX. And I now own that very same NSX. Also the fact that Chin Motorsports morphed out of Florida chapter of NSXCA influenced indirectly my decision to purchase an NSX.
I shied away from wheel-to-wheel racing for a number of reasons: cost, my disinterest in building and rebuilding a race car, and the time investment required to keep a car on the track. Too many of my friends would spend hours upon hours preparing their cars for a weekend SCCA event only to be crashed out in turn 2 of the first lap.
Back to the original story line and post: I would encourage anyone interested in tracking or racing to try autocrossing. There’s an adage that I can’t really dispute that says “autocrossers make good road racers but road racers don’t always make good autocrossers.” (I'm sorry. Aplogies to track dogs and road racers. (pause) Nah, just kidding, I'm not really sorry.:biggrin: ) Autocrossing teaches the concentration, car control, and “racing” concepts at lower manageable, and safer speeds, making it easy to switch over (notice I didn’t say “upgrade”) to higher-speed track events.
Anyways, a really long way to explain how I got the bug. Thanks for reading this far.
As a pre-teen I was fascinated by cars going fast. There was limited coverage of auto racing, but when it was on I was watching. Back then we were lucky if ABC’s Wide World of Sports covered a few races, showing snippets here and there, between figure skating and bull riding. I watched the roundy-round but was even more interested in left-right. When I was 15 and an impressionable teenaged male, my father bought a brand-new 1970 Mustang fastback. I was hooked on cars. (OK, you do the math and conclude I’m and Old Fart.)
When I got my license I naturally transferred that fascination from watching to driving. I fancied myself a very good driver (back then I was incognitively ignorant; at least today I am cognitively ignorant).
Back in the mid-80’s I saw a flyer for an event called “The Serpentine”. You can drive your own car in a competitive event on a mini-road-race course laid out with cones. I was under the illusion at the time that I needed a “racy” car. I waited five more years to check it out, until I had what I considered a car that was appropriate. What a fool. I could have been having fun five additional years.
Be that as it may, in ‘89 I enrolled in a performance driving school with what I thought was indeed an appropriate car, an ’85 5-speed 5.0 Mustang GT (OK, you can stop laughing now). At nearly the same time, I noticed a car in the parking lot at my work with, across the back, a paraphrased version of the famous Mario Andretti quote: “If you’re under control, you’re not going fast enough”.
At the time I thought the owner of that car irresponsible at best. However, after meeting him, and having him introduce me to autocrossing, we became fast friends (pardon the pun) and have remained so for nearly 20 years.
So, a long and hopefully interestingly anecdotal explanation of how I started autocrossing. I had found The Best Hobby.
I wasn’t long thereafter that my association with autocrossers led to trying another High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) event, which led me to Chin Motorsports. Which indirectly led me to the NSX.
Initially I had only my ’94 Miata with which to play. With a very high amount of trepidation and apprehension I entered my first track event after upgrading to track-only pads and checking over the car very well. Turns out my fears were mostly mislaid, however, having a healthy respect for higher speeds has served me very well. My main concern was the lack of roll bar, which has since been remedied (soft of) in that car.
A work acquaintance, who at the time owned a Turbo-look 911, also autocrossed. Turns out he sold the 911 and bought an NSX. And I now own that very same NSX. Also the fact that Chin Motorsports morphed out of Florida chapter of NSXCA influenced indirectly my decision to purchase an NSX.
I shied away from wheel-to-wheel racing for a number of reasons: cost, my disinterest in building and rebuilding a race car, and the time investment required to keep a car on the track. Too many of my friends would spend hours upon hours preparing their cars for a weekend SCCA event only to be crashed out in turn 2 of the first lap.
Back to the original story line and post: I would encourage anyone interested in tracking or racing to try autocrossing. There’s an adage that I can’t really dispute that says “autocrossers make good road racers but road racers don’t always make good autocrossers.” (I'm sorry. Aplogies to track dogs and road racers. (pause) Nah, just kidding, I'm not really sorry.:biggrin: ) Autocrossing teaches the concentration, car control, and “racing” concepts at lower manageable, and safer speeds, making it easy to switch over (notice I didn’t say “upgrade”) to higher-speed track events.
Anyways, a really long way to explain how I got the bug. Thanks for reading this far.
Dquarsar2,
I'm a slightly (3 years) older fart than you, so I started my downhill slide into auto oblivion just slightly sooner . . . and I'm still at it. I autocrossed everything in the Midwest from MGB's, Spitfires, GT6's, TR6's, Porsche 914's, 911's, and on and on. Then I took a Jim Russell Formula Ford school and found out all the things I'd been doing wrong. Rented a school FF for a season and a half and learned how slow I really was. Now I run my NSX in NASA TTB and am content . . .
Most racers from any group, (SCCA, NASA, etc.) are more than helpful to people who want to get started. Log onto their websites, join (it's cheap) and JUST GO DO IT ! You won't regret it, only your wallet will . . .
I'm a slightly (3 years) older fart than you, so I started my downhill slide into auto oblivion just slightly sooner . . . and I'm still at it. I autocrossed everything in the Midwest from MGB's, Spitfires, GT6's, TR6's, Porsche 914's, 911's, and on and on. Then I took a Jim Russell Formula Ford school and found out all the things I'd been doing wrong. Rented a school FF for a season and a half and learned how slow I really was. Now I run my NSX in NASA TTB and am content . . .
Most racers from any group, (SCCA, NASA, etc.) are more than helpful to people who want to get started. Log onto their websites, join (it's cheap) and JUST GO DO IT ! You won't regret it, only your wallet will . . .
Lady Six said:
Actually, most autocross clubs DO in fact let pure novices sign up. You'd want to go and check it out and try to latch on to someone who can guide you through your first few events, though. The autocross community is very willing to help newbies (until you start beating them). :smile:
Check out scca.com. Look for Solo II, which is what autocrossing is called in SCCA parlance. Check out your local SCCA region. Many regions do sanction autocross events. Also, there are numerous marque clubs (as was mentioned by NetViper) that put on events.
Here in South Florida there are three or four clubs within driving distance that put on events. Gulf Coast Autocrossers (Fort Myers) does a Saturday autocross school/test/tune day before every monthly Sunday autocross, and Equip Rapide (Fort Lauderdale/Miami) also does occassionally put on schools. Start with your SCCA local region.
That said, the NSX is more suited to tracks where it can stretch its legs. It seems like it's always in the wrong gear for autocross (too fast for first, too slow for second), but PLEASE don't let that keep you from going (remember my comment about wasting five years or so just thinking about doing it).
In addition to that, there is a very good school, called Evolution, that puts on autocross schools. I'd suggest you at least attend a couple of autocrosses before you sign up for a Phase 1 Evolution school, as most of what you'd be exposed to would fall right out of your head. Having a few autocrosses under your belt would maximize the Evolution investment.
Happy driving, and keep off the cones! JUST TRY IT!
dquarasr2 said:
dquarasr2, I think Ladysix is interested in Autocrossing because he doesn't have an NSX. He has a Prelude.
SKB NSX mentioned about entering a race school after having autocrossed a number of years in a lot of different cars, how much he learned he didn't know.
Well, I can relate. After driving the Miata and learning how to maintain momentum in a low horsepower car, having the NSX has again reminded me just how much I don't know. I still don't readily come to grips with changing my line to take advantage of the power. I still haven't gotten comfortable with the mid-engine config and the fact that when it starts rotating it wants to keep rotating (relative to a Miata). I'm now aware of, again, how much I need to learn, and how much in awe I am of people that can jump into any car and be fast (I HATE them :wink: ). So much to learn, so few years left.
Well, I can relate. After driving the Miata and learning how to maintain momentum in a low horsepower car, having the NSX has again reminded me just how much I don't know. I still don't readily come to grips with changing my line to take advantage of the power. I still haven't gotten comfortable with the mid-engine config and the fact that when it starts rotating it wants to keep rotating (relative to a Miata). I'm now aware of, again, how much I need to learn, and how much in awe I am of people that can jump into any car and be fast (I HATE them :wink: ). So much to learn, so few years left.
