APRIL 2012 In this issue... Featured Members John & Christina Ortiz ...

Feature Losing Control:
(Continued from Page 9)
Lined up at Irvine’s Cars and Coffee
was witness to a transformation and
probably wondering what had gotten into
her husband.
Around that same time, I attended
Fontana’s Festival of Speed with a few
friends. I parked in the display area and
enjoyed being close to the action. My
friends and I test drove three different,
mid-engine Porsches in the miniautocross
area and took track tours with
professional Porsche drivers. I even drove
the track in my car during the lunchtime
tour… a memory I can best equate to a
first kiss.
Lunchtime track tour at Fontana
Back in the display area, I met a
gentleman that took a liking to my car.
After chatting a bit I realized that this
guy drove the red SC I had spotted in my
neighborhood. And so it was, I had finally
met Ken “Fast Freddy” Fredrickson.
Like Dave, he was quick to invite me to
Autocross at El Toro. Since then, I’ve
seen Ken at several PCA events and I
can genuinely tell you that there are few
people friendlier than him.
It’s now June and I’m idling in the
autocross grid with my first instructor
Eric Monroe. We’re chatting about
my car and he’s preparing me for how
much fun I’m going to have when I hit
the course. I nervously pull into the start
position and all seems fine. As I drop
the clutch I think I hear Eric say, “Save
your rubber for the course.” I’m off to a
quick start until I round a set of cones and
realize I’m completely lost. Eric directs
me to look ahead and with some effort
we make it through our first run. It’s
a warm day but I’m feeling refreshed
and excited about driving the course
again. I do better the 2nd and 3rd times
around and I even get a high-five from
Eric as I continually shave seconds off
my time. Looks like his, “FASTER,
FASTER, FASTER!” cheer is working.
When we finally get to the timed runs,
Eric gives me the green light to run the
course solo.
Jon Perino’s photo of me at El Toro
Early on, I heard a few drivers say
successful autocrossing comes down to
two variables: Good driving and good
tires. As my car wasn’t getting itself a
new driver, I opted for the latter. James
at Cape Auto oversaw the new tire
purchase, installation and subsequent
corner balancing of my car. These may
seem like simple things but I can honestly
tell you that it was as if my car had been
reborn! It’s hard to believe a car from
1983 can handle so darn well.
In the months that followed, my wife
Christina endured several conversations
that either began or finished with some
mention of autocross and she has become
accustom to my early morning alarm that
gets my tail out of bed, showered and
down to El Toro in time for a proper tech
inspection.
I’m now enjoying my second season
of autocrossing, and I’ve recruited two
of the employees from my advertising &
design business to participate. Jon Perino
and Isrrael Hernandez have shot and
assembled a few videos that have been
posted in the PCA/OCR autocross forum
and hopefully by the time this article
publishes, I will have another video from
the February event posted. And, not to
leave anyone in the office out, I’ve had
Christina and I getting ready to roll
designer, Eric Hollandsworth, create
me a poster of my car for the office.
In all, I have had an awesome
2011. I’ve met several great people
through PCA and have come to learn
how to keep the tail end of my car
where it belongs. Whether you’re new
to autocross or a seasoned driver, stop
by my “camp” and say hello. You’ll
most likely find Dave and I struggling
to upright a blue shade canopy in the
pit area.
Cruising in Fountain Valley where I both live
and work
Standing with Christine Newcomer after
receiving an autocross award at Walter’s
APRIL 2012 17