The Series Continues

by Scott Meyers

Tom Tkacik delights in hibernating for a month or three, and coming back out and topping the highly competitive (C Stock) Miata flock. Yep, he did it again, by about a tenth of a second. Oddly enough, he runs the reportedly "uncompetitive" 96 model, and not the "hot ticket" 99 model many of the others do. Guess someone forgot to tell him he had no chance. :-)

Many hesitated when the Meyers' Neon (G Stock) was for sale. Some figured that it might be hard to make it go faster. Bad thought! Wiggy jumped in first event and has been running better than the previous owner each event, around the 980 PAX level. That previous owner claims it's the new 225 tires, but we all know that Wiggy is simply a natural driver who always gets the best out of his cars. A 980 PAX car for $4000 sounds like a steal.

It appears that we are in danger of becoming known as "Lotus Land" (A Street Prepared), thanks to Mark Huffman, Ted Lewis, and Jim Witkowski. (Dare I include Mindi Cross here too?). Will nothing stop these low-flying fiberglass monsters? Mark Huffman started the plague, and began developing his antique British car years ago, after graduating from a Triumph Spitfire. Ted Lewis then followed Mark's lead (from a …Pinto?), and has been getting closer each month. Jim Witkowski (Man of many Porsches) and Mindi (relative car-borrowing virgin) all share Ted's car, and they too are creeping up the indexes.

Where have all the Pony Cars gone? Sure, we have a few in F Stock and E Street Prepared, but … only five? What gives? It just hasn't been the same since Jim Rohn deserted his roots for that Black BMW M3. :-( Ken Terrell's Firebird, Tom Billson's Cobra Mustang, Larry Petrucci's Pontiac Formula and the Richard Rippy's Camaro are great to watch, but shouldn't they have more competitors? What's two bucks a gallon to an All-American car guy other than money well spent?

Have you noticed that that evolving black Miata running D Prepared keeps getting faster? Don Sattler and David Lahey are constantly looking for new ways to improve it's performance, and it is creeping closer and closer to Huffman-like times. Recall that it took Mark years to get where he is, so these guys are doing quite well. Personally I don't understand the concept of keeping a car for a long time, but maybe my new black E Stock Miata will do the trick … if the alignment bolts stay put! (I unwittingly ran the last two events with the right front camber bolts extremely loose). Here’s hoping a four wheel alignment will improve performance.

Street Modified is an evolving SCCA 'newer' class, and the rules are changing almost monthly. No worries for our SM crew though. Guys like Steve Steele, Geren Smith and Anthony Ohmer keep getting faster. That old Mustang of Steve's just keeps one tick ahead of the rest, it seems. Either that or his upper body strength from no power steering is also improving each month. Do NOT arm wrestle this guy! Harry Berzes (Street Modified 2) says he's tired of "bringing a knife to a gun fight", so this weekend (March 16^th) he and Brant Bauman (trained on a Turbo Colt he did) are wrenching a new Turbo onto Harry's car, which should simply thrill Paul Hamersly. :-) Until now Harry had basically a mild Street Prepared Miata. Speaking of Brant, the 8" rims and new-design Kumhos he recently added seem to compliment his Miata just swell. He was in the high 33's, where few of us were found this day. It was feared that by adding 8" rims and 245 section tires to the STX rules that the Pony cars would rise to the top. Seems they forgot to tell Mark Goerner, as he and his Type R are not only tops in that class, his PAX numbers are way up there too. And he doesn't even need sub-frame connectors!

Ladies PAX Class has some new players, and it's nice to see this class grow. In the past competition was sometimes placed above fun in a couple's approach to our events. But not everyone lives and breathes to win. (No, really. I didn't make that up.) These ladies are truly competitive, but aren't pressured to "have to win", and that helps make the events more fun for everyone. Couples I've seen in the past who were hostile and angry with each other due to the pressures of "trying harder" just aren't out at events anymore. By the way, quite a few of us guys simply enjoy the experience and also don’t focus on “having to win.”

The Sportsman Class is simply a collection of Open Class guys who need to have run group choice, for whatever reason. This class provides that flexibility, and fourteen drivers signed up. This is a local category, meant to help folks attend and compete when the pre-set run groups required of the Open classes would prevent participation. Case in point (I heard): Jason Boles ran in Tucson in the morning and drove back to Phoenix to compete in our event. (Is he addicted, or what?) Even though he could not make the SM2 run group on time, he could still enter Sportsman and compete.

Believe it or not, all autocrossers competed on real Street Tires many moons ago. There were no "R" tires. Then, around the 1970's, some tire manufacturers started making softer-compound street tires. Those of us who autocrossed quickly started running on those tires. The "Tire Wars" were on: BFG, Kumho, Yokohama, Toyo and others joined the fray. Soon, to be competitive, you had to have those tires! But "R" tires have a short street life and not everyone could afford one set of tires for the track and another for the street. A local driver, Ron Kessing, championed what he originally called the "Daily Driver" classes, which required "real" street tires, as determined by the UTOG numbers. From the looks of the numbers of you running these classes, as with Sportsman, there is a market and need for this option. Note that many of these drivers are just as skilled and talented as any Open class driver, but for a variety of reasons just prefer running on street tires.

Forty seven of you ran in ST1, ST2, and ST3 at this event. Some would like to see all stock class cars go back to real street tires. But no one in the higher levels of SCCA shares that view, and many stock class drivers who run the "R" tires see no need for this change. Maybe some day. In the meantime, drivers of stock cars have the choice: run a street tire class on street tires or an open stock class on "R" tires.

Interestingly enough, the “indexed” or “PAXed” results in Street Tire (as well as Novice) pit different makes against each other, adding an extra level of interest. Some classes, like C Stock, are pretty much a “one marque” class – all Miatas. Not in Street Tire 1. Here the Lou Young S2000 eked a small margin of victory from the BMW sedan of Jim Rohn. Following them are an M Roadster, Camaro SS, a coupe of Corvette's, a new 350Z and … a Lincoln LS. Lots of flavor here. ST2 shows the same with the Chad Mizner Del Sol VTEC still “King of the Hill”, followed by the Pat Fisher Spec-V, a Ford Focus, an Impreza, a Cooper S, and more. ST3 shows equal interest with the Eric Olson DSP Spec-V leading a Fiero, a Miata, and a 200SX SE-R. Looks like a nice tight STL battle between Jessica Jackson’s Civic and Kat Kemper’s Corvette, with the Civic grabbing the honors at this event.

Usually, a Novice driver who shows up at one of our events (or any large autocross anywhere) gets a quick dose of reality, and a sense of "Boy I'm slow, I must be no good". A lot of knowledge and experience is required to be able go fast in this sport, and few are born with it. Many of the fastest drivers out here have been autocrossing for ten years or more; some of us more than twenty. You tend to learn a few things along the way. Personally I lost my first autocross by fifteen seconds, in my class! Talk about a huge dose of humility …

So, we developed our Novice classes to help soften the blow and to offer help, coaching, and a smoother transition to the world of autocrossing. Seems to be working well, as forty eight of you entered as Novices. Ladies too! With proper training and attitude both spouses or "significant others" can have fun at these events. Note that you are not required to run Novice, it's a choice you make. After six to eight events as a novice, or a trophy, we "graduate" you to the world of Street Tire or Open classes. If you feel you are ready sooner, simply declare one of those classes when you register.

In NV1 the “thumpers” were able to hold off the more nimble cars as Todd Holzwarth’s Camaro SS handled the Derrick Disharoom Corvette by 11 PAX points; following was a S2000, a Honda Civic (!) and a Mustang. NV2 displays the Pontiac Sunfire of Chris Vasilakos leading the Cooper S of Larry Bunch. Following them are Miatas, a VW Golf, and more new Minis. NV3 has an equal variation with the Daniel Dimond Impreza leading the pack, including a Type R, modified Mini S, a CRX and a CSP Miata. A healthy sized NVL group finds first-timer Sarah Peters’ off to a good start in her 99 Miata, followed closely by Jamie Duffy’s Type R and Anne Mullan’s 2000 Neon.

Finally, the Time Only's. These are a second set of runs (you must have entered a competition class earlier in the event to qualify for Time Only runs) for any driver wanting more seat time. It's also a great time to get coaching, trade cars, and try new things. The cost is much less, and the experience can be invaluable. Last event we had forty six folks take an extra set of runs. As we approach a limit to the number of minutes in the day, there may be a time when we have to limit Time Only's in favor of the actual competition runs, but we have not yet grown that large.