Slipstream - March 2001

Prez Says:
by James Shoffit, Maverick Region President
About four or five months ago, Kevin
Hardison, came to me with an idea called AX
101, or Intro to Autocross. I thought it sounded
like a good idea, and so we started making plans
for it. It took a long time to develop, but we really
didn't know if it would be worthwhile or not.
It is hard to gauge interest in an event that
hasn't been done before, so we had no idea what
to expect. It was possible that everyone who was interested in
autocrossing already WAS autocrossing!
So as the weeks and months passed by, Kevin made more and
more plans and got more and more detailed in his documentation
and materials, and fully expounded his idea. We negotiated
to use the Standridge Stadium parking lot for the event, which
would give us a nice central (in-town) location. We set the price
at $25 fully expecting to lose money on the event (with no known
demand, how do you set a price?). We decided that if we had less
than ten entrants, we would cancel the event and say "oh well."
Registration opened, and within a few days Wendy had 15
applicants. We were elated! Then we got 20. This is great, we
thought; we might not lose so much money after all! 30 people
entered. Then 40? We started realizing that we might not have
enough instructors! Graham Lane started hunting down instructors
and we were able to come up with around 20. To ensure that we
could provide a two to one student to instructor ratio (the level of
quality we wanted to achieve), we found ourselves in the unfortunate
position of having to limit registration, and turn people away! We
had five or six people come to the event "on standby" and hope that
a few people failed to show up. As it turned out, only two of the 40
entrants scheduled to be there were unable to attend, so only two
people on standby were able to participate.
So the event was quite a success, and we will probably plan
another one for next year. It is a great way for our newer members
to come out and see what an autocross is all about! Of course if you
missed the Intro to AX, there is always the Mineral Wells 2-day
school coming up March 31st - April 1st. This school will give you
a lot more seat time as well as do more drills. Yes, it is a longer drive,
but it will be worth it. Space will be limited for that event as well, so
get your registration in early!
For the ladies, we have a special autocross school coming up on
March 10th. This will cover most of the same things that the Intro
to Autocross did, but is geared towards the fairer sex. The few males
in attendance will be required to let their feminine side show and
are not allowed to make snide comments to anyone! So if you were
intimidated by even the Intro to AX, or if you are a lady who
enjoyed it and wants more seat time, this is the place for you! All
skill levels are welcome, and everyone should learn something (even
if it is just the men learning how to be quiet!)
Of course all new members are invited to come to the New
Members Party on the 17th. It will be at the Nuevo Leon in Addison,
and all new members (and their associates) will get free dinners. See
the ad on page 2 for info on how to RSVP.
Come on out, and join the fun!
SINGLE AND MULTI-COLOR PRINTING
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3402 CENTURY CIRCLE IRVING, TEXAS 75062
972-438-8344
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Kevin Hardison driving through the School AX course ...complete with
the very latest in cone technology, the Variable Mobile Slalom Cone.
PRINTER OF SLIPSTREAM SINCE 1982
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