Slipstream - September 2020

Driver Profile: Reid Cloud, White 2015 Cayman S
by Mark Schnoerr, Region Autocross Chair
Mark Schnoerr: Reid, you really smoked
the class and were first quick in the
Performance Index of all the Porsches
at the first Autocross you attended with
us. Can you tell us a little about you,
your driving background and how you
prepared your 2015 Cayman S?
Top: Reid getting his autocross game face on
Bottom: His 2015 Cayman S being put to good use
Reid Cloud: “I am a 26 year old
DFW native who graduated from
the University of North Texas with
a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
I’ve had a passion for the automotive
world for as long as I can remember
thanks to my dad who always had a
project he was working on while I was
growing up. My favorite was his 1937
Ford Fordor that was restored from
the ground up.
My autocross experience is actually
fairly limited compared to most people
out there with us every week. I got my
first taste of autocross when I was a
member of UNT’s Formula SAE team
from 2014-2016. It was always a blast
to drive the FSAE car and I could
never get enough of that experience.
After I graduated, I fell off the wagon
and didn’t do much in the way of
autocrossing for the next three years.
After I got hired and had been
working for a couple of years
at Peterbilt Motors, one of
my buddies who I knew from
SAE invited another friend
and myself out to an SCCA
autocross event. I can’t recall
why, but I would always have
plans or other obligations
almost every time he asked.
After about three months, I
finally was able to go to my
first non-SAE autocross with
my Cayman in the summer
of 2019. After I experienced
that first event, I couldn’t get
over how
much fun
it was.
After a
couple
of SCCA
events I
learned
about the
different
groups in
the DFW
region
and started going
to as many as I
could until the
end of the season.
I got a couple of
events into the
start of the current
2020 season when
everything was
shut down and I
just started back
up with the SCCA
event in July and
PCA/ER in the
beginning of August.
So my total experience with autocrossing
a full size vehicle is somewhere around
nine months to a year.
My car is a 2015 Cayman S and its
setup is pretty basic as I have it classed
in SCCA A-Street or P3 in ER. All I’ve
really done to the car is an alignment
and wheels/tires which ended up being
around -1.5 degrees in the front/rear
and about 1/8” toe out in the front and
0 toe in the rear. I believe the wheels
are OZ Alleggerita, with 245/40 and
275/40 Nexen NFera SUR 4G 200
tread wear tires. My ideal setup would
include a set of 255 and 285 width tires
and the X73 suspension package. As it
sits now, the car is awesome to drive
and loves being driven to the limit.
I am signed up for the event on 8/23
and I can’t wait to see the course you
have made for us.
Mark: So there really is nothing to it!
16 September