August Autocross Report

With the SCCA classification, the Cayman runs in B Street class. 
As the only car in my class, I guess I'm a class winner!

This past Sunday I headed up to Winston-Salem Fairgrounds for an autocross event with the Triad Sports Car Club. We've done a few events with this club over the years, and they do a good job of running events and having a great time. They are not formally a part of the Sports Car Club of America, but like most clubs they follow the SCCA rules and car classes. This put me in the B Street (AKA: BS!) class, and we ended up with 113 total drivers competing! 

My first 2025 event with the Triad Sports Car Club, so there's a new 25 TSCC sticker on my helmet. I'm pretty sure that helmet stickers are like the ones on your car: each one is worth 5 more horsepower. 

This was my first event since replacing some power steering lines, so I am also happy to report that the car ran smoothly all the way to the fairgrounds (about 2 hours one way,) during the event, and wee wee wee all the way home! Since it was another Sunday event, I would normally have tuned in on the radio during the drive home for a NASCAR race, but this weekend's race was a Saturday night race up in Richmond. Oh well, there were plenty of other radio stations too!

Pro Tip: ALWAYS walk the course before the event so you don't get lost out there in all those cones. 

 

At the end of the four runs for the day, I only managed the 68th fastest time. However, the SCCA also provides multipliers to each class so that you can compare yourself to cars in other classes. Known as PAX time, my PAX placing was slightly better, 59th place. Nothing to write home about, but far from last I guess!

The Porsche club will also be competing at the fairgrounds later this year, so hopefully this also gave me some more practice on the basic figure 8 layout, which is dictated by the pavement available. 

These Lotus cars always look cool. 

Nice Camaro with tons of aero stuff. 

A classic 70s Porsche 911!

These fake "sponsor" brands are hilarious of you know what they are based on. Instead of Hot Wheels, this is "SHOT WHEELS."

There were a couple of karts racing, and they were fast! The stand on wheels makes it way easier to work on these guys, they are so low to the ground. 

The TRIAD club has helmets to loan if you don't own one. This makes it easy for first timers to come out and give Autocross a try. 
I was trying to think of a funny story about this shot, that these drivers are very competitive, and if you run over any cones they chop off your head and put it up on a cone outside their city gates. 

Autocross a truck? Sure!

Something I've never seen before, a club with their logo on the worker's vests, very nice!

The GMC Syclone was a 1991 only model, with a turbo V6 with 280hp and all wheel drive. They only made 2,998 of these!

Concord Cars and Coffee August

Saturday I was in Charlotte, and headed up to Concord for the monthly Cars and Coffee held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. As usual, there were tons of cars, car fans, and cool stuff to see. New car? They got 'em! Old cars? They got 'em! Cars I'd never seen before? YEP!

What a cool metallic red McLaren!

As an extra exciting bonus, Saturday I also won one of the free raffle prizes they give away! Did I win a cool race used tire from a NASCAR race? Nope! Did I win a cool race used NASCAR body panel? Nope! Did I win a cool t-shirt? Not exactly. Did I win the gift basket from Carrabus County? YEP! OK, it was not the Powerball lottery, but still cool to bring home a MAJOR PRIZE!

If you drive a Subaru, you might want to consider this wrap!

Before Porsche invented the 911, they built the 356! If you're not familiar with the story of this rear engine air cooled car, you might want to look up some stuff like Ferdinand Porsche and the VW Beetle!

A Factory Five (kit car company) Cobra engine bay! The red color was nice!

More red car goodness, classic hot rod!

One of 2 Hendrick NASCAR racers on display. 

Another Hendrick team racecar. 

There are a lot of Mustang models, but THIS ONE has the most horsepower, Mustang GTD. Top speed of 202mph, 815HP. Look for prices to start over $300,000. 

Mustang GTD is street legal!

How to make a Cyber Truck look better- version 1. 

How to make a Cyber Truck look better- volume 2. 

Jensen-Healey!

Honda truck from the Japanese market, right hand drive. 

Nissan Cima! A luxury Japanese market Nissan, so think Infiniti Q45. 

A MAJOR PRIZE!

Old school Jeep pickup!

What could this blue car be with Underdog?

GREMLIN!

GREMLIN!

Orange cars!

Looking at a Mini Cooper with the hood up, I noticed that the headlights are in the hood! While that's a bit unusual, it also looks like it makes it very easy to work on the headlights too. 

There were several drag race cars, which is the only reason I know of for having a parachute packed on the rear of your car! Check out the special Drag Race Only wheels/tires on this guy too!

Drag race only tires!

Nice Ford pickup, let's look at those hubcaps!

I just think this V8 logo is very cool. 

Safety tip: Don't drink and drive. 
If you've never tasted Jagermeister from Germany, my advice is DON'T BOTHER!

Pontiac Fiero mid-engine.

One more Japanese market car, the Toyota Aristo V300. Think Lexus GS in the rest of the

Packing List

If you bring your Corgi, I'm sorry but they may not be allowed to drive!

For driving events like track days and autocross events, I like to check my packing list just to double check that I don't forget something important. You know, important stuff, because forgetting your car would be bad! Now if you have a car trailer, you can probably just leave your important items (like the car!) in the trailer from event to event. For the rest of us that drive our car to the event, our important stuff has to fit inside the car. Or on a small trailer. Or on a roof rack. Or in your friend's car trailer!

Helmet? You only get one head!

1. Helmet, good for safety!

Check those brake pads and tire pressures. 

2. Tire pressure gauge, handy for maintaining tire pressures all day. Or you might have a car with onboard TPMS that tells you the pressures on your dash!

3. Tire pump, for you know, pumping up tires! I tend to lower my tire pressures for autocross, and then when I leave the event the tires have cooled off and my pressures are too low. Before leaving is a good time to check those pressures for the ride home. 

Make those numbers easy to read! 
PRO TIP: Don't use blue painter's tape on your blue car for numbers!

4. Car numbers, I've used magnetic numbers, plastic ones that cling, and just used blue painter's tape for numbers. Any system works if you don't have a permanent number on your car. Pro Tip: If you have a fiberglass car like a Corvette, you might want to go with something besides magnetic numbers!

5: License. Some groups say to have your regular drivers license, and others might want to see your club membership or racing license if that applies. Whatever the homework assignment is, just follow the directions and avoid having a problem. 

Check with the event organizers to see if there will be food on site!
At the track weekend we did in Alabama they provided dinner on Saturday night!
Our local Porsche club provides pizza at lunch for autocross. 

6. Water/Food. Since a lot of driving events are in the hot summer, it's important to stay hydrated. If you can't get hydrated, just drink a lot! Along with this one, don't drink and drive, have some food, and just take care of yourself for many more years of fun filled driving. NMS prefers the PBJ sammich along with some water! PRO TIP: Put the peanut butter AND the jelly INSIDE the sandwich!

7. Chair. There just might be some down time, and you may not want to sit in your hot car, so having a folding chair is handy. Another good solution is a big 5 gallon bucket, which can also be an emergency drain pan if someone has a car leak. If you have a lid for your bucket, it's a good place to store your owners manual and other papers if it's a rainy day. 

8. Camera/Data system. If you have a cool Go Pro camera or a fancy data device for recording your performance, or just your cell phone, it's worth keeping track of your events, sharing videos, and reviewing your performance in between runs to make improvements the next time out. From the free Track Addict app on your phone to very expensive transponders and other gear, there's something in your budget. 

9. Torque wrench. Before and after your event (at a minimum) it's important to make sure your wheels are torqued to the proper setting. If you're traying to go fast, I'll guarantee you that your car is faster on 4 wheels than 3!

10. Breaker bar, goes with your torque wrench just to make sure those wheels are on. 

11. Clothes, hat, jacket, as needed. DON'T DRIVE NAKED! If you're on a track you might go with the full protective driver's fire suit, gloves, shoes, etc. For autocross, a t-shirt with shorts and a helmet is fine.  Keep an eye on the weather!

12. Trash bags, for storing your gear in the rain. For any competitive driving you will empty your car of all those napkins, floor mats, spare tires, and etc. Throwing it in a storage bin, bucket, or at least a big trash bag is just a handy way to keep it together and dry on a rainy day. 

13. Sunscreen/bug spray. I don't think I've had any problem with insects at an event, although we spotted some fire ants at an event in North Carolina last year. Use sunscreen even if it's cloudy, and your cancer free skin will thank you later!

If you're changing wheels on site or before the event, the Milwaukee 1/2 inch impact will get 'er done every time. 

14. Gas/tools. Kind of a catch all category, but if you need any special tools and fluids, bring those along. If you need a tool, ask your neighbors in the paddock if you can borrow theirs. Make sure you've got enough gas for each driving session. You might think that's a funny one, but I have seen OTHER drivers run out of gas on track. 

Good news! The track you're at has gas pumps!
Less good news: $10.99 a gallon.