NMS: 10 Years of Autocross!

Dirty Rotten Bloggers

Today we're taking a moment to celebrate the 10th anniversary since Brian Nixon and I started competing in Autocross events. You can send any gifts at any time, might we suggest tickets to the F1 race in Austin Texas this October, where part of the weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track will be a concert from the band Queen! Hey, it just happens to be on my birthday, so, no pressure!

24 Hours of Lemons Class C WINNERS!

But seriously, somehow we both were interested in trying this driving thing and signed up and just went out and did it. At that first event at Darlington Raceway, we both entered in the Novice class. Was it fun? Well, after that first event we decided to forget about being Novices and just jump into the next event in the regular competition classes. We haven't regretted that for a second. 

Brian (2nd from right) and Team Coronautski with Randy Pobst (3rd from right)

For that first autocross event we had a Miata and a FIAT 500 Abarth, and while the Miata has been replaced with a series of other Miatas and other cars (check out the page on this blog about our cars), the FIAT was replaced with my current Cayman. Along the way we have also driven at track day events, Time Trials, 24 Hours of Lemons races, Lucky Dog, the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience, Lexus demo day, Jaguar demo day, Evolution Autocross School, instructed at the Tire Rack Street Survival school for teen drivers, the BMW performance center in Greer SC, and other fun filled events. 

Kimi Raikkonen stopped by for Christmas one year!

Track wise, we call Carolina Motorsports Park in SC our home track. Between the two of us we've also driven at Darlington Raceway, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Atlanta Motorsports Park, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Roebling Road, Barber Motorsports Park, the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research, Virginia International Raceway, Pocono Raceway, Autobahn Country Club, Watkins Glen International, New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Palmer Motorsports Park. Throw in a few go-kart tracks and lots of autocross events in at least 7 states, and that's about it.

Tough Day at Work With Skip Barber at Lime Rock Park

While we'd like to list all the world championships and how many millions of dollars we've won, well, we haven't! But, some pretty reasonable achievements include Brian and Kyle and Luke (as the Bunch of Idiots racing team) WINNING last year's Lucky Dog race series, Team Coronautski winning their class in a 24 Hours of Lemons race, 2nd overall in another Lemons race, Brian competed at the Sports Car Club of America national Autocross Championship in Nebraska and other regional events one year, Robert winning 5 class championships and finishing Top Ten overall for the season in a couple of clubs, and I think we've both taken a top 2 or top 3 PAX in an individual autocross event or two. 

The 3 guys on the right (Brian, Luke, Kyle) are the Bunch of Idiots racing team.

The key thing is that we've had  a TON, yes, exactly 2,000 pounds of FUN! We've met a lot of great people, learned a lot about driving and taking care of automobiles, and likely boosted the economy so much that we should be totally broke. There are cheaper hobbies out there, so I guess we're just not smart enough to do those instead!

One minute you might get a trophy, the next minute you might have a heart attack. Take care of yourself!

Thanks for following along on our FIRST ten years. Don't worry, we'll keep driving!

Brian's NMS Tip of the Day: Make the Car Go Faster!