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The 2nd Maverick Region Autocross of 2001 will be held on April 29th at the
MineralRing. It was designed by Charlie Davis and is called the Funbeam
Screwmaster. The course is long and quite busy in places. Most people will
drive a course that crosses itself 4 times. Hopefully, you will find it
challenging and fun. Here are the statistics: the length is about 0.9 mile
and the estimated mean time is 105 seconds...the top speed should be about
79 MPH (approaching Lambsy Divey) and the slowest speed should be about 15
MPH (around Pinch)...the average speed should be about 31 MPH.
Note that all the gates are 16 feet wide. This allows greater than 45 degree
angles through these gates, if needed (hint...hint) and if you know where
your tires are.
The course is long and can safely accommodate 3 cars at a time. There are 2
big directional arrows on the course diagram that show approximately where
the first 2 cars are when the 3rd car should be started. With an average
time of 105 seconds and 3 cars on the course, that should allow us to run
about 100 cars per hour. Depending on how many entrants we have, you could
get as many as 10 runs.
Downed or moved pylons will count 2 seconds (as usual). However, there may
be a few double pylons (thus, double penalties) to keep everyone honest.
There will be no "pointer" cones (those that are laid down, to point you in
the right direction), so study the diagram carefully so you will know where
to go! Look ahead...
Start...The starting grid will be located far enough back (behind the edge
of the fence) that a car spinning in Whoa! won't hit anybody. Whoa! is
pretty slow...about 25-30 MPH, so they should not slide far if they make an
honest attempt to slow down. When you start, stay to the right to avoid the
grassy area. BACK
Hook It is just a fast right turn, leading to The Hustle. If it was a left
turn, it would be called Slice It... BACK
The Hustle is a long, constant interval slalom. With pylon spacing of 60
feet, it's designed to be a 2nd gear feature in most cars. The direction is
optional, but the difference in the two options is BIG, so there is really
only one correct choice. It should be good practice for beginners (and
experts) to "ignore" the first and last pylons. BACK
Part Way is simply a gate to help everyone find Way State. It's full power
until you approach the first circle. BACK
Way State is two circles, much as we had at the Autocross 101 school and the
first AX at Standridge. It's much bigger than the one at Standridge and the
two circles are separated by 300 feet. This will allow lots of fun as you
navigate this "figure-8", transitioning into and out of fast acceleration
zones. BACK
Mazey Doats is composed of four, 50-foot square boxes, with 16-foot "doors"
in the center of the sides. These boxes are placed strangely, but with
forethought. The optimum path through these four boxes is undefined and left
as an exercise for the drivers. The rule is that you must traverse each box
in any order. There are 12 paths through each box, thus there are 124 or
20,736 different combination paths. Most are obviously pretty slow. I've
shown 3 possible paths in the diagram, but there may be a better one? Good
hunting! Mazey Doats is located in front of the timing trailer, so it might
be instructive to watch other drivers. The boxes are labeled A, B, C, & D
and the "doors" are labeled 1, 2, 3, & 4, both in a CW direction. This might
help communicate various path options (the blue path on the diagram is
A14B23C34D43) or it may just confuse you? Be aware that some paths through
Mazey Doats can be quite fast...in the 30-50 MPH range...it only LOOKS slow!
Good hunting... BACK
Texas 2-step...You don't do the Texas 2-step? Well, you will! At least you
will if you get to the Keyhole... BACK
Keyhole is there to make everyone honest at Pinch...no big curves to the
sides to set up. BACK
Pinch is VERY close to a gravely section to the East...this is on purpose.
It's so positioned to make the penalty for overshooting the braking zone a
big one. Pinch can be driven in either direction. Advice for Pinch: Slow
down and take it easy. BACK
Lambsy Divey is a slow box...didn't want anyone spinning out and hitting the
fence (or carrying too much speed into Whoa!). It's far enough from the
fence (the braking zone starts 450 feet away from the fence) that a car
going 80 MPH can spin and hopefully escape without damage. BACK
Stemmons...Just get on the freeway and travel North... BACK
Whoa! is a classic 3-gate chicane, designed to slow everyone down before the
timing line (and the trailer, spectators, and cars). It can be navigated at
speeds near 30 MPH. Slow down early and remember...the fence is covered by
YOUR insurance. BACK
Finish...When you finish a run, stay on course through the next 2 gates, as
shown on the diagram. Don't eliminate these gates as it will be recorded as
a Did Not Finish (DNF) if you do. Slow down gradually...you should have
plenty of time, as the finish speed is about 40 MPH. BACK
Note 1: The name "Funbeam Screwmaster" is a take-off on the original
Sunbeam Mixmaster electric kitchen mixer. I worked on a project for the USPS
back in the '70s...it was a complicated mail sorting thingie and one of the
modules was affectionately known as the "Funbeam Screwmaster". It was fond
of removing human body parts (if you were slow to remove them from it's
innards). Somehow, this course design reminded me of the machine. Hopefully,
the AX course of the same name will not leave a trail of carnage in its
wake! Drive carefully... BACK
Note 2: The names Mazey Doats and Lambsy Divey (with a little artistic
license) came from a hit WW2 song (Dec 13, 1943) by the Merry Macs, written
by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston. The song was later
recorded by many other artists, including Bing Crosby and Burl Ives. It was
not originally a children's song. BACK
Note 3: These Statistics are only approximate. The length of the course is
fairly accurate, but the others are hopefully median values, useful for the
organizers and Safety Czar. BACK
Note 4: The big arrows mark approximately where other cars are located when
Grid personnel start the next car. There will be 3 cars on course most of
the time if we are doing it right... BACK
Note 5: To understand the name, try "Waist Eight"? BACK
Jerry Mouton mailto:jerry@moutons.org Laissez les bons temps
rouler!
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