Ryan got into autocross back in 2004 when he lived in Roanoke, Virginia with a rare 1995 MR2-turbo, 1 of 195 or so. With about 2 months of mid-engine rear-drive driving experience, he ran one event with minimal success in stock trim. He went to Virginia International Raceway and saw a NASA race with Honda Challenge cars, and his interest in Hondas first began. He researched Honda Challenge H1 racing and their rules about modifications and started looking for a car. After that he fell in love with the idea of road racing a highly modified Honda and got rid of the MR2-T for a 1995 Civic EX coupe project car in the spring of 2005. Ryan proceeded to build and prep this car to the limits of H1 with a 2004 RSX-S motor and all the other goodies. It became one of few K20 powered Civics in the Nation, running a crazy wiring harness, and pro-type motor mounts and axles.
After this car was built, Ryan actually got tired of his job in Virginia and found a Manufacturing Engineering Job with Emerson Process Management, Fisher Controls in Marshalltown, Iowa and moved back to his old stomping grounds 40 miles away, Ames, Iowa. Ryan researched the NASA and SCCA scene there in Iowa and SCCA was bigger so he got a membership and went to an autocross event to get some seat time in his track car. He attended a few autocross events between HPDE events with his 210whp, under-tired, no PS/ABS/LSD Civic and it wasn’t much fun on the terrible autocross road surfaces in Iowa, he says. The lack of good courses and often flakey SCCA organization in Iowa almost turned him away from autocross for good. From there he sold his race car to move to Scottsdale, Arizona and picked up an '06 350Z Track model which he says was a piece of junk for multiple reasons. He replaced that with a brand new 2008 Civic Si for economy and fun.
During this transition, he talked about this with SCCA member, Travis Berry, who he works with, and just randomly showed up to work one day with the new car. Travis had nothing but good things to say about the Phoenix SCCA region, so he gave it a shot and is glad he did! Having owned the 2008 Civic Si for only 1 week, registration tags and dealer plates still on the car, he attended his first autocross here on 11/9/08 in STX open. With the car being completely stock, he PAX’d a 849 getting 61st out of 136 competitors. He was satisfied with this result for a stock car and his 5th autocross, ever!
Ryan’s involvement in the club has been limited to just showing up at the events and driving the wheels off. He helped pit crew for a team of VW rabbits back in the Midwest for a couple SCCA races though, and planned on helping out with corner working; something he’ll probably still pursue here in Arizona as well as taking a more active role in autocross. His success here in Arizona SCCA autocross has been minimal, so far, but he knows there’s always something to learn and something to modify to get better at this sport we all love. His first STX class win came just recently at the FIR West Track event on 9/12/09, followed up by another at the October event. He plans to continue modifying his Civic and trying his luck in the STX open class.
"I’ve never won a trophy for an automotive event but I have built a toothpick bridge made out of only toothpicks, balsa wood and Elmer’s glue that held 44 lbs. of weight! Got third place in that contest. Maybe someday I’ll build good enough skills and a good enough car to place at an event somewhere." Uh, we definitely think that is in the works! Ryan is currently working for Goodrich Aerospace in South Phoenix as a Manufacturing Engineer. Ryan’s other hobbies mainly include reading about auto sports and cars, and going mountain biking and fishing. Yet another welcome addition to the club, and an avid enthusiast!