Slipstream - April 2004

Autocross 101
by Zack Napier
Iam a proud owner of a new 996 Targa that I bought a couple of
months ago. This is my first Porsche, my dream car since childhood,
and my baby. I'm a mild mannered accountant who believes
in saving and investing for the future, therefore, this purchase was no
small endeavor.
I joined the PCA because my Porsche salesman, John Hrad at
Park Place, recommended it (if you'll allow me to plug here, I've had a
great experience with the guys and gals at Park Place, thanks for being
so understanding and patient with a Porsche virgin). At the time I
thought that at least there would be some coupons that should cover
the cost of membership. When I received the PCA membership
material I read about all of the activities and thought there would be
no way I would ever submit my baby to the rigors of autocross or the
racetrack. My car might someday see a concours competition, but that
was about it. However, my thoughts began to shift over the following
weeks as I noticed that PSM
seemed to be engaging quite a
bit, possibly saving my butt on
a few occasions. I had never
driven a real sports car before,
and I began to think that
maybe I wasn't such a great
driver. I heard that AX was
good for learning what your
car can and cannot do, so I
decided to try it out. Besides, I
could always leave early if I
John Leto’s best cone impersonation! thought it was too much.
Upon arrival at Pennington Field, I thought I was at the wrong
place. There were cones everywhere, but every car seemed to be an
S2000. I spotted a couple of Boxsters and 911's, so I went ahead and
checked it out. I learned that the S2000 club was having a big competition
the following week so they were out in droves to prepare for the
event. This was my first real taste of the fanaticism that I would come
to better understand by the end of the day. I just assumed it was some
addictive personality disorder.
The event began with a series of exercises in the morning. I met
my instructor, Professor Jerry Sutton. What a guy! He and his family
brought a classic 1973 911T, in my humble opinion the most awesome
car on the lot. I was shocked that he was letting his college-aged
daughter and her boyfriend drive it in the event. Shouldn't it be
garaged and admired by future generations? My god, it was Jerry's
daily driver! Not only that, the boyfriend had just learned to drive a
stick the day before!! This was the first of many lessons I would learn
during the day. If a 30+ year old Porsche could handle the stresses of
AX, then these machines really must be built to handle the abuse.
The slalom exercise was first. Jerry took the wheel first. My car
handled pretty well. Jerry made it seam so easy. Then it was my turn.
With great confidence and vigor I attacked the course, then all of a
sudden, AHHHH, I can't make that turn! DNF! What is that? Jerry
then explained to me that I did not finish the course, having missed a
couple of the turns. He then told me for the first of many times that
day that the car can do much more than I think it can. By my fourth
time through the slalom I found that to be very true. It was now time
for the braking exercise.
We were having fun now. The braking exercise involved a jack
rabbit start, getting up as much speed as possible, then slamming on the
brakes in time to stop your front wheels between two pylons that were
about 200 yards from the starting line. Jerry made it seem easy, of
course. On my first try I got up an incredible amount of speed, I
thought I was so close to the cones I would fly right by them. I slammed
Photo by Kevin Hardison
Photo by Kevin Hardison
on my brakes thinking I blew it. I did blow it, but about three car
lengths short. Whoa, baby's got some BRAKES!! My adrenaline was
pumping, I had to get more of that. By my third time I was so excited
I was well past due for my next humbling event, which came right on
cue. Yea, for those of you who were there, I was the idiot who burned
through about 5,000 miles worth of clutch plate trying to get off the line
on my fourth run. You could smell it a quarter mile away. Luckily, it
came back with plenty of time to spare for the afternoon AX course.
In the afternoon the great volunteers set-up a full AX course. By
this time I was pretty confident in my abilities. I couldn't help but to
Shelly Burbank leaning her way around the skidpad.
think about how my car stacked-up against the rest of the field. I
figured that I was sporting the second highest horsepower in the group
behind a Corvette Z-06, which had to count for something. When I
saw the Z-06 in action I thought, no problem, a Clydesdale amongst
quarter horses! Besides, how can a rice-burning S2000 compete with a
911? Well, about time for another humbling event, which came in the
form of my times for the afternoon. I did so poorly, at one time I did
so many things wrong in such a short period that Jerry locked up,
unable to help me at all. When I tried to break my habit of palming
the steering wheel my arms became pretzels. Although my time was
in the forth quartile, I am proud to say that I was in the first quartile of
cones displaced. I still have pylon blood on my car.
In the end, the event far exceeded all of my expectations. I learned
a great deal about my car while testing its limits, and now understand
that I have a lot to learn about driving. The 911 is a performance car to
be enjoyed, not just looked at. I also had a blast. But most of all I enjoyed
the people I met and hope to get to know better as I attend future
events. That, above everything else, is what hooked me. I just hope the
humiliation prepared me enough for DE the following weekend.
Driving Schools - Thank You!
All five schools this year enjoyed good weather and great
support from the students, workers, instructors and organizers.
The schools seem to get bigger and better each year due to the
incredible efforts of so many people. More and more students are
continuing on to become regular autocrossers and often return to
help work at the schools in the following years.
Space prevents me from naming everyone who deserves
special recognition but here is a much too short list: Cody Sears,
Wendy & James Shoffit, Mitch Williams, Charlie & Teri Davis, Matt
Platts, Noby Takahashi, Mark & Lisa Steele, Keith Olcha, Chuck
Machala, Bill Miller, Ed & Jan Mayo, Mike Lockas, Joel Nannis, John
Leto, Carl & Fran Ussery and all of the helpers, workers, techs and
instructors. We couldn’t have done it without all of you!
Kevin Hardison
15