Post by Imprezivblue on Aug 8, 2006 17:05:16 GMT -5
Read the newspaper article found below. I'll also copy and paste for those with blocked sites.
www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/sports/wb/76938
Oh and you must click the link to see pictures.
And I wish I knew what an industrial and customs engineer was???
www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/sports/wb/76938
Oh and you must click the link to see pictures.
And I wish I knew what an industrial and customs engineer was???
Ever been stuck in rush hour and imagined the possibility of your Honda Civic zig-zagging full-tilt through the bottle-necked traffic?
Or how about that shiny red Corvette you spoiled yourself with later in life? Ever thought how it might handle a tire-screeching hairpin turn worthy of a Hollywood movie car-chase sequence?
The Blue Ridge Sports Car Club of America's regular autocross competitions don't offer exactly that, but they offer something pretty close.
These regional races help exorcise the participants' inner Steve McQueen demons nine months out of the year, and are open to drivers of all skill levels and for an array of vehicles. Participants race against the clock on coned courses that are plotted out on large paved surfaces, such as abandoned airfields and parking lots.
"I'm normally a sedate driver, but I like the way a car feels when it's working," said Blacksburg's Mark Eisenbies, 37, who has been racing his 1996 Saturn in autocross events for seven years. "You can't do that on the roads. Autocross gives you the opportunity to see what your car will do at its limits.
"And the worse thing you can do is spin out."
Not spinning out too much and not knocking over the cones are two key elements required to post a competitive time. Each cone that is run over incurs a two-second penalty, which can be devastating because most courses are traversed in less than a minute, and winners are often decided by fractions of a second.
"The name of the game is not racing, it's precision driving," Eisenbies said. "Oftentimes you don't get out of second gear."
In an autocross event, emphasis is placed more on driver skill and car handling than sheer horsepower, which allows vehicles such as Eisenbies' Saturn to compete. Speeds rarely reach above 60 mph.
Participants, who usually number anywhere from 60 to 150, also help manage the events, volunteering to set up cones, helping keep time and engaging in the other responsibilities that come with holding an autocross event.
For Blue Ridge autocross competition, entry fees are $20 for members and $25 for newcomers.
"It's motor sports for people of moderate means," said Ray Schumin, 54, who helps register competitors at the beginning of BRSCCA events. He also competes with his BMW Mini Cooper. "It is racing for people like me. I'm just a regular working kind of guy. I take my street car, make a few modifications, go out and have a great time."
Virginia Tech industrial and customs engineer student Tara Knoll, 22, is one of the younger competitors at the autocross events. Knoll, a native New Yorker who lives now in Blacksburg, grew up watching road races at Watkins Glenn and Lime Rock Park. She placed second in her class at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships held in Topeka, Kan., after less than two years in autocross.
"In autocross, they say the most important thing is modifications you make to the driver, and not to the car," said Knoll, who races a 2000 Subaru Impreza. "You have to pick the right line, and look ahead."
Don't expect to see only Subarus and Saturns at an autocross.
Longtime Radford orthodontist Maury Hamill, 74, now retired, started running in autocross events when he was an Air Force pilot in Panama City, Fla., with a 1956 Corvette. Over the years he has also raced a 1969 Triumph Spitfire, as well as a 1972 Porsche 914.
"It takes decent reflexes, good vision, hand-eye coordination, and the secret is looking far ahead, not where you are, but where you'll be," said Hamill, who now races a new Porsche Cayman. "It's all about putting it where it needs to be."
For most autocross drivers, it is also all about the adrenaline that comes after a great run. "It's such an adrenaline rush, you're hyped up a bit," Hamill said.
Schumin elaborated: "Even though you're not going over 60, it is the maneuvering of the course that feels a lot faster. Our hearts just pump, when you get out of the car after a good run you just shake, your hands are shaking, your arms are shaking."
Or how about that shiny red Corvette you spoiled yourself with later in life? Ever thought how it might handle a tire-screeching hairpin turn worthy of a Hollywood movie car-chase sequence?
The Blue Ridge Sports Car Club of America's regular autocross competitions don't offer exactly that, but they offer something pretty close.
These regional races help exorcise the participants' inner Steve McQueen demons nine months out of the year, and are open to drivers of all skill levels and for an array of vehicles. Participants race against the clock on coned courses that are plotted out on large paved surfaces, such as abandoned airfields and parking lots.
"I'm normally a sedate driver, but I like the way a car feels when it's working," said Blacksburg's Mark Eisenbies, 37, who has been racing his 1996 Saturn in autocross events for seven years. "You can't do that on the roads. Autocross gives you the opportunity to see what your car will do at its limits.
"And the worse thing you can do is spin out."
Not spinning out too much and not knocking over the cones are two key elements required to post a competitive time. Each cone that is run over incurs a two-second penalty, which can be devastating because most courses are traversed in less than a minute, and winners are often decided by fractions of a second.
"The name of the game is not racing, it's precision driving," Eisenbies said. "Oftentimes you don't get out of second gear."
In an autocross event, emphasis is placed more on driver skill and car handling than sheer horsepower, which allows vehicles such as Eisenbies' Saturn to compete. Speeds rarely reach above 60 mph.
Participants, who usually number anywhere from 60 to 150, also help manage the events, volunteering to set up cones, helping keep time and engaging in the other responsibilities that come with holding an autocross event.
For Blue Ridge autocross competition, entry fees are $20 for members and $25 for newcomers.
"It's motor sports for people of moderate means," said Ray Schumin, 54, who helps register competitors at the beginning of BRSCCA events. He also competes with his BMW Mini Cooper. "It is racing for people like me. I'm just a regular working kind of guy. I take my street car, make a few modifications, go out and have a great time."
Virginia Tech industrial and customs engineer student Tara Knoll, 22, is one of the younger competitors at the autocross events. Knoll, a native New Yorker who lives now in Blacksburg, grew up watching road races at Watkins Glenn and Lime Rock Park. She placed second in her class at the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships held in Topeka, Kan., after less than two years in autocross.
"In autocross, they say the most important thing is modifications you make to the driver, and not to the car," said Knoll, who races a 2000 Subaru Impreza. "You have to pick the right line, and look ahead."
Don't expect to see only Subarus and Saturns at an autocross.
Longtime Radford orthodontist Maury Hamill, 74, now retired, started running in autocross events when he was an Air Force pilot in Panama City, Fla., with a 1956 Corvette. Over the years he has also raced a 1969 Triumph Spitfire, as well as a 1972 Porsche 914.
"It takes decent reflexes, good vision, hand-eye coordination, and the secret is looking far ahead, not where you are, but where you'll be," said Hamill, who now races a new Porsche Cayman. "It's all about putting it where it needs to be."
For most autocross drivers, it is also all about the adrenaline that comes after a great run. "It's such an adrenaline rush, you're hyped up a bit," Hamill said.
Schumin elaborated: "Even though you're not going over 60, it is the maneuvering of the course that feels a lot faster. Our hearts just pump, when you get out of the car after a good run you just shake, your hands are shaking, your arms are shaking."
See, I'm not the only one that has noticed you Tara.
