> (Somewhat more seriously... When I started autoxing there happened to be
> a stock class that fit my car perfectly (Neon ACR) so I didn't have any "I
> can never be competitive" issues. I _have_ seen some novices get all
> in a frenzy when they find out their (insert totally common mod. like
> subframe connectors) puts them into (insert class where really prepared
> cars that don't look much like theirs anymore). Some stay around anyway,
> some go home. Personally I don't miss the ones that go home. All that
> said, I think SM is neat because it gives _all_ competitors the ability to
> build a killer 'street' car and we didn't have a way they could do that
> before.
For the general record, I autocross my '91 Escort GT in STS. My first event
was in March of this year. I found out about autocrossing from this page
and subsequent email exchanges with the owner:
http://www.scca.org/amateur/solo2/prosolo/photos/stproject.html
I had modified my car almost perfectly inline with the ST rules before I
knew what autocrossing was - so *YES* ST brought me into autocrossing - SP
would not have attracted me readily (too much to get started and not get
completely blown away) and Stock just isn't what I do with cars. <g>
It's a shame that you don't miss the ones who try the sport, get blown away,
and go home. Why not encourage them to keep playing and compare their times
to some of the cars/drivers in other classes that ran similar times? Maybe
you could point out which cars/drivers are regular attendees. Eventually
these people may get accustomed to the sport, familiar with the different
classes and rules, and build their car accordingly. I'm always comparing my
times to several other competitors in other classes just to judge my own
skill progression. I've had a BLAST improving my times and I just won my
first trophy in October :) A friend autocrosses a 2nd Gen RX-7 and he's
trying to beat me - although I can't see him bragging to his RX-7 friends
that he beat an Escort ;^)
Will Kalman
'91 Escort GT
CSCC #232 STS
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