Richard Nichols Said:
>And I *still* remember my first autox, after which I commented to an
>autoxer (who was trying to sell me some parts) that I only autox to be a
>better driver on the street. A long time autoxer, he said to me, "Street
>driving? Autocrossing has *nothing* to do with street driving." And
>there's exactly why autox needs some additional perspectives.
Whoever that person was.... Couldn't be more WRONG. If the autocrossing
community were polled, you would get an abundance of replies regarding
incidents where skills learned in autocrossing saved someone's bacon.
IMO, autocrossing is a great teacher for limit, emergency type braking and
handling maneuvers. Do it in Solo2 for a while, and when you need it on the
street, it will be there!
AAron Wrote:
>One last point, it is going to be really hard to get the "import drag
>racing" crowd to cross over because that whole scene is a lot more social
>than it is about real racing. I'm talking about for the average drag
>racer. You go out to a race to show off your car, brag about how fast it
>is, pick up on women and look at other cars. The racing is just a side
>attraction.
Interesting that this comment seems to indicate a lack of social interaction
in the autocross participants. If the competition were the only thing, I'd
have
saved the $500 spent this weekend, and found something cooler to do than
bake in Evansville. True, I believe it is an entirely different mindset. Few
people show up with the intent of "picking up on" members of the opposite
sex. And bragging about how fast your car is makes no sense. The proof is
in the DRIVING. Most friendships in this sport begin with in-class rivalries,
and then expand with time to include those from all the classes.
Since I haven't been very active nationally for the past decade, I don't know
nearly as many of the people involved in the sport as I used to. But I still
know quite a few, and am always glad to meet more. I have no idea how the
drag group relates to each other, but in THIS sport, it is a community.
Anyone
care to guess how many cars were loaned for competition due to mechanical
breakdown or other reason this weekend? There were a BUNCH at Evansville.
Nationwide? wow.......
Alan Sheidler
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