By Pat Griffith

By my count, there will be 33 WDCR members competing next week in the SCCA Solo Nationals in Lincoln, Neb.  Because of the power of the internet, it should be easy to keep track of everything from the comfort of your computer (tell the boss you are researching social relationships or something).

The very unofficial WDCR Solo Nats Blog.  Danny Kao, Clyde Kaplan and I (and maybe a guest or two) will be posting our daily musings.

SCCA Sololive. Based on what I saw during the year, the SCCA should have near real-time results posted online.

Main link to the SCCA’s Solo Nationals page.

Main link the SCCA’s Pro Solo Finale page.

Here is a guide to who’s who from the region and when they will be running:

Tuesday-Wednesday
First heat (9 a.m. EST first car off)
STS – Ian Baker, John Vitamvas
F125 – Danny Kao, Edwin Liu, Mike Kline, Justin Neal, Brian Garfield

Second heat (around 11 a.m. EST)
BS – Your’s truly, Clyde Caplan, Eric Kriemelmeyer, Brendan Bengermino
GS – Andrew Baker, Kenny Sorensen

Third heat (around 1 p.m. EST)
STX – David Ogburn
F125L – Lisa Garfield
FJA – Julian Garfield
FJB – Carson Garfield

Fifth heat (around 5 p.m. EST)
STU – Rod McGeorge, Shane Chinonn-Rhoden, Josh Luster

Thursday-Friday
Second heat (around 11 a.m. EST)
FSAE – Mike Cook, Mike Stanley

Third heat (around 1 p.m. EST)
ASP – Courtney Cormier
SSM – Jason Becker
SMF – Brian Karwan, Little Mike Snyder
FSL – Holly Schwedler
CSL – Learic Cramer

Fifth heat (around 5 p.m. EST)
CS – Andy Thomas, Robert Robeson
FS – Big Mike Snyder, Sam Strano, Terry Baker, Lee Piccione

Complete run order can be found here.

Solo Week actually begins this weekend with the Pro Solo Finale, and many people will be heading out tomorrow for the roughly 20-hour trek to Nebraska.  Competition begins at 10 a.m. EST on Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.

Competitors include:

FS – Mike Snyder, Sam Strano, Lee Piccione
GS – Andrew Baker, Kenny Sorensen
STS – John Vitamvas, Ian Baker
ASP – Courtney Cormier
SSM – Jason Becker
SMF – Brian Karwan
F125 – Danny Kao, Lisa Garfield, Mike Kline, Justin Neal, Brian Garfield
FJA – Julian Garfield
FJB – Carson Garfield
L1 – Holly Schwedler, Learic Cramer

By Pat Griffith

Should the Shelby Mustang drivers in F Stock start looking for new rides?  Although he has committed to driving his new 5.0-liter 2011 Mustang GT for the rest of the year, Sam Strano thinks the power (advantage: new car) and handling (advantage: old car) differences between the two cars will still make for interesting competition.

Despite the electrical gremlins that have hampered the car early on, Sam thinks those problems are behind them, and he Mike Snyder will compete in the car at the Solo Nationals in Lincoln, Neb. 

“We plan on only bringing one car with us to Lincoln,” Sam said.  “I don’t want to leave the new car home.  Even if it’s the same speed as the Shelbys, I’ll drive it.”

Sam picked up the car from Apple Ford the weekend of the D.C. Pro Solo, and two weeks later, it was in competition trim at the SCCA National Tour in Peru, Ind., with Konis and Magnaflow mufflers.  During the Friday test day, Sam and Mike did some tweaking, including adding an adjustable front sway bar, and Mike also brought out his Shelby Mustang for comparison testing.  They decided to go with the new Mustang for competition, but a mysterious electrical issue crept up where the car would cut down on power.  They went back to Mike’s Shelby for the second day of competition.

At the Toledo Pro Solo, Sam drove his new Mustang while Mike drove his Shelby.  While Sam ended up losing to Jason Burns in his Mustang Shelby (by less than two tenths of a second), he felt encouraged because a Ford engineer was on hand data logging the car and likely found the source of the power loss – an intake cam sensor issue that wasn’t even triggering a check-engine light.

“I got in contact with a Ford engineer last year who lurks on some message forums and saw me post about the Shelby and my old blue Mustang GT,” Sam said.  “When all this started in Peru, he sent me an e-mail asking if I needed some help.  He contacted another engineer who did a lot of work on the development of the car, and he came out to Toledo to datalog the car under race conditions.”

The fault lasted just 32 milliseconds, but they finally had the problem nailed down.

“The Ford guys were concerned, and they wanted it fixed,” Sam said.  As the engineer said to him, “You can sell more cars than I ever will.”  Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.

The biggest difference between the two cars lies underneath the hood where the new 5.0L has the upper hand over the 4.6L Shelby with 93 more horsepower and 110 more foot-lbs of torque.  However, the car isn’t as stiffly sprung as the Shelby, but Sam did note the rear has bigger sway bar and stiffer springs than the previous generation Mustang GT.

Mike’s initial driving impression:  “The 5.0 has more grunt, but the car is a little softer.  You have to lead it a little more into the turns, but it will point and shoot off its nose better.  It’s a little bit harder to drive, but that doesn’t mean it’s slower.  It’s a little bit less predictable – that’s why you have to lead it more.  But it’s very fast when you hit the right pedal.”

“A lot of people won’t like it,” Sam added.  “It’s not a pseudo-ESP car — it moves around a lot.”

At Toledo, the new Mustang weighed 3,519 with about 1/3 of a tank of gas.  On the scales at the Peru Tour, Mike’s Shelby weighed 3,417.

For the exhaust, Sam went with a Magnaflow system that saves about 16 pounds over the stock exhaust.  It’s possible to save even more weight but he wanted the Magnaflow mufflers for the sake of having a relatively quiet sound while on the road — he still wants to drive his new Mustang on the street (Sam’s ESP Camaro still had air conditioning and a stereo, so he doesn’t mind sacrificing creature comforts for a few pounds of weight).  Also with sound restrictions being implemented at various sites, including Lincoln Airpark, he wanted a quieter exhaust to ensure the noise remained below the limit.

The Konis are off-the-shelf adjustables, but Sam has a set of monotube AST dampers to go on the car.

For wheels, Sam got a custom set of Forgelines that along with the Hoosiers saves about 10 pounds per corner.  Since the car has 19-inch wheels, they don’t have any choice for rain tires except the Pirellis that came on the car, but Sam and Mike said the stock tires are really good in the wet anyway.

The rear differential hasn’t been touched — it can be shimmed tighter (and legally on the Mustangs, even the previous generation, in Stock), and it’s something that Mike and Sam are going to address before Nationals.

As for stock options, Sam chose the Brembo brake package with the 19X9-inch wheels – non-Brembo cars have options for 19X8.5” and 18X8 wheels.  He also got a car with 3.31 gears – other possibilities include 3.55s and 3.73s, but Sam figures with the 6,800 RPM limit (“and it starts to lose steam up high”), the lower gears are better for Stock.  Second gear should be good for about 70mph.

So far, the comparison between the new 5.0L Mustang and the 4.6L Shelby reminds me of when the later third generation F-Bodies were in the class with the fourth generation F-Bodies.  On paper, the LT1 cars and then the LS1 cars looked like they were easily the F-Body to have, but people like Paul and Lynne Kozlak kept showing that their dinosaur IROC Camaro wasn’t extinct yet.  The older car didn’t have the horsepower, but it had plenty of low-end torque, not to mention handling that made it easier to drive fast out of the box.

“I think the car can get it done, but it won’t crush everybody,” Sam said.

By Pat Griffith

Now is the time of year autocrossers around the country start thinking about going to the Solo National Championships at Forbes Field Heartland Park Nebraska’s Lincoln Airpark.  For many, it has become a can’t-miss annual ritual to attend the world’s largest amateur motorsports event.

This year’s event will return again to Lincoln Airpark Labor Day week, Sept. 7 to 10.

If you have never been but are curious about attending, I caught up with a few of the locals who have made the trek for six minutes of seat time in the middle of the country.

Danny at last year's Solo Nationals

Danny Kao
Danny admits he doesn’t really have a shot at a National Championship, but that hasn’t stopped him from making the trip to the heartland for the past three years.

“If you go thinking you’re going to win, you’re crazy,” he said.  “The people there are so much faster.”

The advantage for Danny comes when he returns home to compete in local events.

“I enjoy the local event a lot more, because I’m no longer tense to try and finish first or second or third,” he said.  “I know there are just much bigger fish out there. You just concentrate on improving, and that’s all I do.  As long as I drive faster than expected, that’s all I care about.”

It’s hard to believe, but Danny was the introverted kid on his first day of kindergarten the first year he went out with Mike Neary to drive Danny’s Mitsubishi Evo in STU. 

“I didn’t know anybody, so I tagged along with Neary the whole time,” he recalled.  “The second year, I started knowing everybody.  Now the complexion changes – it becomes a big party.”

Adding, “It’s the funnest time ever.  You see a whole bunch of people you haven’t seen in months.”

Danny is going to drive F125 this year in Lincoln.

Josh at last year's Solo Nationals

Josh Luster
Josh’s first Solo Nationals was last year when he drove his Subaru Impreza in Street Touring Unlimted (STU).

“If you haven’t been out before, you have to go and get it over with,” he said.  “Quite honestly, it’s a lot to take in.  If you want to go in the future, you need to go to learn to get used to everything going on.”

For Josh, he went “to see how I compared against the best.  I thought I had a chance to compete.”

Unfortunately, he finished 23^rd out of 46 drivers and was disappointed with the result and left with a feeling that the whole experience had overwhelmed him to a point that it affected his driving.

“I think what happens is that when you go out there, being such a big event, you have the tendency to put too much pressure on yourself,” he said.  “Really, it would have been better just to go out and have fun.”

Even if you don’t think you are going to compete for a trophy, it’s worth it, Josh said.

“It’s one of the most fun times I’ve ever had,” he said.  “Yeah it’s a long trip, it’s a long drive, but you know what?  If you love autocrossing on the weekends, where can you go to autocross with twelve hundred of your closest friends?  Especially if you stay the whole four days.  There’s so much entertainment to watch, there’s so much to be involved in.  It’s an absolute blast.”

Josh is going to compete in Lincoln again this year in STU.

Eric getting ready to hit the test and tune course at last year's Solo Nationals

Eric Kriemelmeyer
Eric first attended the Solo Nationals in 1999 when people encouraged him after seeing him drive in his G Stock Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. 

“People told me I should go because I was fast around here, and I should go out there and see how I compare to everybody.  I wasn’t dead last, but I was pretty far back.”

That first trip opened his eyes to not only the level of competition but how much people put into their cars to maximize the rules, and he was in awe of how much people were into it.

“Everything was at a level I had never seen before,” he recalled.  “People take things to the next level, and out there, there were people a dozen or maybe 15 levels beyond where I was.  Bob Endicott won G Stock that year, and he was getting ready to go run World Challenge races.  I was like, ‘I just started this in May!’”

Since then, he has been every year but two, but those lessons from the first year still ring true.

“That’s when I first realized you had to have the right tire, and you can’t get by doing a couple things,” he said.  “You have to do everything you can to win a National Championship.  Any modification you can make, you have to make, and of course you have to drive really well, too.”

But like Danny and Josh said, there’s more to the Solo Nationals experience than just competition.

“It’s a race, but it is also a social time where you meet friends from all over the country that you don’t see too often,” he said.  “If you’re new, you make new bonds.  If you run midpack in the D.C. Region against good competition, that’s about where you can expect to finish at Nationals.  You shouldn’t have to feel like you got to go out there only if you have a shot to win.”

The courses are also very different than what’s seen at FedEx Field or Blue Crabs Stadium where the WDCR and Autocrossers, Inc., holds events.  The site at Lincoln Airpark is concrete, so it has more grip than the asphalt lots around here, and it is flat with no elevation changes at all.

“It’s a different surface, it’s a different feel,” Eric said.

Eric is going again this year to drive his Solstice in B Stock.

Steve and Evanthe Salisbury
The Steaks have only been to one Solo Nationals, 2006 the first year at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan., competing in A Stock and AS Ladies, but would have attended more if not for the birth of their two children.  Still, the decision to make that first trip was an easy one.

“All of our friends were going.  A large contingency of WDCR and Autocrossers, Inc., was going to be out there,” she said.  “We were going to be surrounded by family.”

They were in awe at the level of preparation of the cars, such as real Modified and Prepared cars.

“The line of F Mod cars!” Evanthe said.  “There were lines and lines of cars, exotic and fully prepped.  It was cool to see all the different kinds of truly prepared cars.”

Even the level of competition in A Stock was impressive.

“Somebody showed up with two S2000s, the first generation and the second generation to see which would be better on the surface,” Steve said.

They ran their Subaru WRX STi then, and after surviving each other for 20 hours in the car, Evanthe barely survived her first day.  She heard a “clunk” on her first run, and overdrove and/or underdrove and was DFL (an acronym that we can’t spell out here) after the three runs. 

“The disappointment was suffocating. I broke down into a sobbing mess,” Evanthe wrote on her blog then. “Eventually I dried my tears, but I was silently inconsolable because I was going to be DFL of the class no matter what happened during the next day’s runs.”

It turned out a bolt on one of the front swaybar end links broke, but they didn’t discover it until changing back to street tires after competition was over.  Evanthe somehow managed to overcome this and drive within a second of the leaders on the second day.

“If you have the time and the disposable income and even the slightest inclination, you should go,” Evanthe said.  “It really is fun, and the fact of the matter is, you’re out there with people who are so experienced, there’s no way you can’t have a good time.  If you even think you might want to go, you need to go at least once.  Unlike the Runoffs and Club Racing, you can go!  You don’t have to qualify.”

When both of the kids are old enough for Formula Junior, which was added to the Solo Nationals three years ago, they might be there again.  Steve has already figured the date at 2016.

What now?

So now you’re convinced to head out to Lincoln and give it a try, so what’s next?  First you need to figure out what you are going to drive.  Of course you can drive your car.  If you’re worried about its competiveness, as others said here, the first trip to Nationals might not be just about being competitive.  Get the first one out of the way then worry about taking home trophies.

If you’re worried about driving by yourself halfway across the country, find somebody to co-drive with you and share expenses for the trip out, possibly sharing a hotel room as well.  Or ask around to see who’s already going and if they want a co-driver.

Learic Cramer and Clyde Caplan share a ride on the return trip from Lincoln last year

Many people who have arranged to drive another car also fly out if they can’t work a 20-hour drive into their schedule.  Lincoln Airpark is an active airport, and Omaha’s airport is about an hour up the road.  Rent a car for the week or find somebody to pick you up.

The SCCA has also posted which classes run on which days so you can figure out when you will be driving.  The courses are set up for walking that Monday, so keep that in mind if you are driving Tuesday-Wednesday.  Even if you’re driving later in the week, you might consider showing up early to take in the whole Nationals experience.

Once you figure out what you’re driving, you have to register on the SCCA’s Web site.  The cost is $150 until 4 p.m. Aug. 11, then that rate will go up to $300, so needless to say, it’s a good idea to figure out your plans early.

Also, there will be a short test course set up starting on Friday Sept. 3 and running until Wednesday.  The cost is $45 for an hour session and you can register on the SCCA’s Web site as well.  The Evolution Performance Driving School will also be running on the same course from noon to 2 p.m. from Sunday to Wednesday for $50 per session, and registration is available on the school’s Web site.  Evolution School instructors will be on hand to give tips and ride along to get you ready for the big show. 

Other activities scheduled include a welcome party at the Museum of American Speed Monday night (which I didn’t go to last year and immediately regretted the next morning after hearing everybody rave about the museum), and awards ceremonies Wednesday and Friday nights after competition.

Don’t forget a hotel room and what you want to do for food and drink for the week.  Right by the entrance to event site was a grocery store and a couple of restaurants.

The Steaks’ tips for surviving Solo Nationals:

• Find out your work assignment and what it entails.  Although the job title might be the same as what you might find in the DC Region, duties might be slightly different.
• Don’t drive straight through after work.
• Find a hotel room.

Also, check out Heyward Wagner’s “8 Tried and True Tips for a $500 Nationals Budget” from the SCCA’s Solo Matters newsletter.

For a taste of last year’s Solo Nationals, check out the WDCR’s (very unofficial) blog.

The WDCR crew at last year's Solo Nationals

By Pat Griffith

Several WDCR members made the trek to Peru, Ind., Independence Day weekend for the SCCA National Tour at the former alert facility at Grissom Air Reserve Base, and leading the way were Sam Strano and Carrie Snyder, who won in F Stock (FS) and Street Touring Sport (STS) Ladies, respectively.  Ian Baker took home a trophy for his second-place finish in STS.

In FS, the big news was going to be the debut of Sam’s new 5.0-liter 2011 Mustang GT.  Mike Snyder brought his familiar black Mustang GT, and after back-to-back testing and a little tweaking on Friday’s test course, Sam and Mike decided to go with the new car.

Also competing in FS was Lee Piccione, who was on the “arrive and drive” program co-driving with Ohio Valley Region’s Jim Zeisler in his blue 2008 Shelby Mustang.

On Saturday, Lee set the pace with a best of 49.609 that came on his second run.  Sam and Mike were having problems with the new Mustang mysteriously cutting out power in one section of the course.  Sam, who recently switched membership to the WDCR, could only muster a best of 50.009 with Mike about four tenths in back of that.

On Sunday, Sam and Mike switched back to the more reliable Shelby.  Sam’s first run turned out to be his best, a 49.324, which gave him the overall lead.  Unfortunately for Lee, his 49.902 on his first run turned out to be his fastest time.  He coned a 49.5 on his second run that would have given him the win, but Sam finished at the top by less than two tenths.  Lee did end up in second in the only other trophy spot in FS.  Mike held on to finish third overall and complete the WDCR podium sweep in the class.

In STSL, Carrie found herself in second place after Saturday by just under two tenths of a second.  Carrie was driving her 1988 Honda CRX Si and couldn’t match Central Kentucky Region’s Cindy Duncan in a 1991 Mazda Miata.

But Sunday was a different story.  Carrie came out on fire and took the overall lead on her first run.  She knocked off another nine tenths on her second run with a 50.770.  She slowed down on her last run, but Cindy’s best of 51.6 on her last run wasn’t enough to regain the overall lead, and Carrie took home the win by 0.649.

In the CRX-Miata battle in STS, the Miata had the upper hand there.  Ian, driving Carrie’s CRX, had the early lead Saturday, but Indianapolis Region’s Geoff Chambers ripped off a 49.843 to Ian’s best of 50.192.  On Sunday, Geoff and his Miata were again too much as he again set fastest time in class to take the overall win by 0.677 over Ian.

Other WDCR members competing included:

Learic Cramer, 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, fifth, ASP
Andrew Baker, 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, fifth, GS
Holly Schwedler, 1988 Honda CRX Si (Carrie’s, not Ian’s, car) fifth, STSL
Me, 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R, fifth, FSP

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 22, 2010) – A hearty crop of 238 Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo® competitors descended on the Nation’s capital for the 2010 Washington, D.C. ProSolo, June 18 – 20 in the parking lot of FedEx Field. When the competition concluded, Corey Ridgick, of Allentown, Pa., stood atop all competitors, winning the Gumout Super Challenge over WDCR member Brian Karwan, who was the top qualifier.

In the Ladies Challenge, Carrie Snyder took the win in her (not Ian’s) 1988 Honda CRX Si.  Carrie pulled through after finishing second in Ladies 1 behind WDCR’s Learic Cramer in her 2009 Nissan 370Z.

The D.C .ProSolo began with questions on how much grip the newly-sealed asphalt at the home of the NFL’s Washington Redskins would offer under the scorching sun. In reality, there was plenty of grip to be had, but the alternating surfaces challenged drivers to find the mix and added to the course’s difficulties.

To further complicate matters, the ProSolo layout led competitors onto the sealed right side, but the older pavement on the mirrored circuit left drivers battling throughout the competition.

As typical of any difficult conditions, driver skill clearly shone through, and there was no shortage of talent this weekend on the east coast.

For the eventual winner Corey and his 2006 MODERacing Mitsubishi Evo, the initial competition came from Cy Lee, of Glenmoore, Pa., his teammate in the B Street Prepared class. Corey topped the class by 0.707-second, and won his first three rounds of the Gumout Super Challenge to advance to the semifinals.

Michael Johnson’s path to the penultimate round of the Super Challenge took him through the Bump Class in his 2002 EvoSchool.com/OS Giken Chevrolet Corvette Z06. The Glen Allen, Va. racer topped teammate and WDCR member Courtney Cormier and scooted past the early rounds to set-up the Corvette versus Evo battle for a shot at the finals.

Jinx Jordan, of Terrell, N. C., scooted away from the F Street Prepared field by 1.464-seconds in his 1993 Hoosier/SoloPro Driving School to advance to the Super Challenge, also advancing into the semifinals.

It was in that semifinal match-up that he would meet Street Modified FWD class champion Brian Karwan. In addition to a trip to the finals, the Honda Super Challenge title was also on the line with Brian behind the wheel of his 1994 Karcepts.com Honda Civic.

Brian grabbed both the Honda Challenge victory and the trip to the Super Challenge finals, where Corey would earn his victory.

Just to advance to the Gumout Super Challenge was an honor, though, as class competition was fierce all weekend long. Two classes were decided by less than a tenth of a second, with 0.126-second separating the winner from the runner-up in a third class.

The 19-car B Stock field hosted the closest competition of the weekend. WDCR member Pat Griffith laid down some times early in the weekend in Eric Kriemelmeyer’s 2008 Studio 553 Pontiac Solstice GXP to set the bar in B Stock. Two by two, the field tried to chase down Pat’s runs. When the dust settled, Paul Kozlak came the closest in his 2007 Red Haus Racing Pontiac Solstice GXP, but fell just 0.026-second short.  Eric finished third while WDCR member Brendan Bengermino took the sixth and final trophy spot in his 1989 Chevrolet Corvette.

While Eric didn’t win, he was the only person with two class-winning cars.  In addition to the Solstice in B Stock, Kenny Sorensen took the victory in G Stock in Eric’s familiar 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V.  Kenny won by 0.239 seconds and also advanced to the second round of the Gumout Super Challenge.

In F Stock, it was like a normal WDCR or Autocrossers, Inc., event with Sam Strano and Jason Burns trading punches for the top spot. Sam, driving a 2007 Strano Performance Parts Ford Shelby Mustang, scored his best runs on two of his final four circuits of the weekend.  Jason, in a 2007 Strano Performance Ford Shelby Mustang (his is white), one-upped that drama with keepers on his final two trips around the layout. In the end, however, it was Sam with the class win by 0.093-second over Jason.

In Street Touring Sport, WDCR members swept all three trophy spots.  Ian Baker took the win in a 1988 Honda CRX Si and Greg Olsen and John Vitamvas finished second and third, respectively, in John’s 1990 Mazda RX-7 GTUs.

In Street Touring Xtreme, WDCR’s John Willemin cruised to a 1.4-second win in his 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX.

The Garfield clan swept the three karting classes.  Brian won Formula 125 in his 2000 CTS Honda shifter kart, Julian won Formula Junior A in a 2006 Arrow AX-9 4S, and Carson took the win in Formula Junior B in a 2007 CRG Cadet.

Other WDCR members finishing in trophy positions included:

Marshall Cone, 2nd place, H Stock
Jason Becker, 3rd place, Bump 2 Index Class
Mike Snyder, 4th place, F Stock
Mike Kline, 5th place, Formula 125

See full results.

Autocrossing events for the WDCR as well as Autocrossers, Inc., will be back on the usual E/F lots for the remainder of the season’s dates at FedEx Field. This includes Sunday’s Autocrossers, Inc., event as well as the SCCA Pro Solo the following weekend.

By Pat Griffith

AJ Nealey is another WDCR member who has entered his second season racing in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, and he feels a new approach to this season will help him in the championship chase.

“This year, I’m a lot more relaxed,” he said. “I’m working more on the mental approach and getting my head straight at the task at hand. Last year it was the fear of failure, and it affected how I was driving.”

AJ is also trying to copy the path Timmy Megenbier took to the series championship last year – staying clean and trying to accumulate points.

“He and Andy Lee [series runner-up] ran smart, methodical races, and that’s what I want to do,” he said.

Through the first three rounds, the plan has worked – he finished third and fourth in the opening two races at Virginia International Raceway, then two weeks later at New Jersey Motorsports Park, he finished fifth after qualifying 10th.

He also thinks the year’s experience will help him as well because, except for running a new configuration at Miller Motorsports Park and a race in Mexico at Autodromo AMOZOC, it’s a similar schedule this time around, and the cars are exactly the same.

“I didn’t really think I’d be eligible to compete again because of my age, but Volkswagen grandfathered returning drivers in,” he said. “I looked around, and the TDI Cup is a good professional series for the money. It’s a legitimate series and has a lot of notoriety. It was the best decision for me.”

TDI Cup drivers begin each race weekend with a track walk where they go corner to corner with tutelage from one of the series driving instructors. “We’re all vigorously taking notes and writing stuff down. It’s input, input, input.”

Drivers are contractually obligated to not drive on track at all before the race weekend – no races, no trackdays, nothing. For AJ, he watches YouTube videos, and even for a track that he knows well like VIR and Mid-Ohio, he still spends time studying videos leading up to the race.

He said one of his most memorable races last year was on a track he had never been to – Road America. It was a wild race with a frantic battle up front and remembered for WDCR member Devin Cates (who’s racing this year in the Grand Am series) rolling his Jetta, and AJ ended up on the podium in second place.

“It was Saturday evening at dusk, so the lights were on around the track, and all the cars looked really good,” he said. “As far as atmosphere and track layout, Road America was a fun weekend. It’s an awesome track.”

Helping with sponsorship this season is Brimtek, which provides technical products to the U.S. government and military. Headquartered in Ashburn, Va., AJ was introduced to the company’s CEO, Dave Tilton, at a MARRS weekend at Summit Point by Tristan Herbert, who races a Brimtek-sponsored ITB Golf in the series. AJ showed Tilton his sponsorship proposal, and “he liked what he saw” – Brimtek came on board for the last few races of 2009 and agreed to continue support in 2010.

“Some may call it luck, but it was really opportunity meets preparation,” AJ said. “I sold everything – my truck, my racecar, my motorcycle – to finance last season and use it as a front to approach sponsors.”

With Brimtek’s government audience and Tilton’s background as a Navy SEAL, AJ is supporting the Wounded Warrior Project this season. Before each race weekend, he calls to veterans centers and invites wounded warriors to the track for what he called “full hospitality access.

“They sign a star on the hood of the car and get the red carpet treatment,” AJ said. “It’s just really cool to support them.”

Although AJ plays online in iRacing, which has many of the same tracks that the TDI Cup visits, he mainly focuses on physical training to prepare for racing. He started doing Bikram Yoga, which he said is “pretty intense – you can burn up to 1,200 calories a session. You experience the same heat as behind the wheel of the car, and it pushes your body to its limits.”

AJ began his motorsports career in 2002 autocrossing a turbo Civic in Street Modified, and he quickly realized it wasn’t the car for the class. He kept it simple by finding a second-generation Honda CRX for G-Stock (“after I de-riced it,” he said with a laugh) and famously missed his senior prom to autocross at the SCCA Pro Solo at Virginia Motorsports Park. He did 40 events his first year and then co-drove with WDCR member Mike Neary in his D Street Prepared Acura Integra.

“Autocross contributed heavily on my car control skills,” he said. “It’s a cheap, low-risk way of learning the limits of the car.”

For the three years after that, he raced shifter karts all along the east coast.
“I raced at Road Atlanta – all the big tracks – and that was an awesome way to get into road racing,” he said. The “chess game” of drafting on the bigger tracks helped hone his racecraft.

Next, AJ dabbled in the open-wheel ranks after attending a Skip Barber School (where he was classmates with Frankie Muniz of “Malcolm in the Middle” fame), but after doing a few regional races, he realized he couldn’t take the financial burden.
“I dreaded getting in the car and I was so happy to get out of it,” he recalled. “I was racing against these CEOs who didn’t care about contact and could just write a check if they wrecked. That’s when it hit home.”

He went back to a familiar — and inexpensive — car, a Honda CRX, finding one that had been used for autocross and track days. It had a rollcage and other safety equipment and was pretty much just a turn of the key away from Improved Touring. And since he worked as a mechanic at Hondamans in Pasadena, Md., which if you can guess is an independent Honda repair shop, he said he was excited about racing a car in which he had “all the parts for in the shop.”

He drove it to an ITA MARRS Championship and third place at the American Road Race of Champions at Road Atlanta, and then came the TDI Cup.

As for after the TDI Cup, AJ said he’s researching on what’s the best next step. He wants to stick to sportscars and ultimately race in the American LeMans Series and at the 24 Hours of LeMans, but for now, he’s comfortable just making that next step that makes sense logically as well as financially. Most of all, he wants to continue the enjoyment of coming to the track.

“I have the mentality that I’m here to have fun,” he said. “I don’t get that aching feeling of nervousness before getting on track.”

You can follow AJ on Facebook, Twitter and his personal Web site.

Autocrossers Inc. held the first event of their 2010 season on April 11, with 118 drivers competing. Several PAX based classes were scored, with 16 drivers choosing to compete in the Pro Class, and seven drivers in the Novice Class, and one driver, Holly Schwedler, competing in the Ladies Class. The remaining drivers competed in regular SCCA Solo classes.

The Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) was run by Salvatore Dipompo at 55.028 seconds in F125 (shifter kart). Fastest PAX time was scored by club member Sam Strano running an A Stock Corvette in Pro, with a RAW time of 60.456 and a PAX time of 51.629. The other Fastest Times were:
Stock Class: Scott Weir
Street Prepared: Stuart Fain
Prepared: Fred Kelley
Touring: Shane Chinonn-Rhoden
Modified: Jason Becker
Junior Kart: Ethan Kriemelmeyer
Novice: James Newman

The course was a fast and sweeping, started with an uphill set of offset transitions, into a left handed 270-degree, long set of turns, that brought you back through the uphill portion and a crossover gate. Following this was steep downhill slalom followed by a 180-degree turn that sent you uphill again and through more offset transitional elements. At the peak of the lot the course turned right and swept back downhill into a fast left hander that was both in a valley and off camber, making a difficult setup to the next portion of the course. A long right hand decreasing radius turn led you directly into a left hander of about 160 degrees with the finish lights at coner exit. Overall the course was quick and technical, requiring drivers to look ahead and be aware of camber and elevation changes.

The next Autocrossers, Inc., event is scheduled for May 8 at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, Md. Registration is now open on DLB Racing. Simply search for Autocrossers, Inc., club events.

Autocrossers Inc. has a swag store on Cafe Press. Find the latest swag at www.cafepress.com/autocrossersinc

Autocrossers Inc. was founded in 1971 and is a Chapter Club of the Washington D.C. Region SCCA.

Brian Garfield put together these video’s of the 2009 WDCR Solo Championship Series. Thank’s for sharing via YouTube.

Enjoy these while you prepare for the start of 2010.

Autocrossers Incorporated hosted a 6 event championship series in 2009, The Yokohama Tire/Radial Tire Championship Autocross Series presented by Autocrossers Inc.

The championship series visited the vast stretches of pavement at Fed Ex Field and also hosted the first ever autocross events at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf, MD, better known as the Blue Crabs. Tackling adverse weather conditions became a necessity if you were to secure a class championship in 2009. With 3 of the 6 events featuring rain, sometimes heavy rain, the competitors had their work cut out for them. When the puddles receded, 17 classes qualified competitors for the Championship. Awards were handed out at the WDCR Region Awards Banquet in Jan. 2010.

Here are our 2009 season championship winners.



A Stock – Jerry Byrd

C Stock – Les Banyas

D Stock – William Marsteller

E Stock – David Sneeringer

F Stock – Kevin Parlett

H Stock – Adrian Arco



BSP – Stuart Fain

CSP – Lee Wood

DSP – Philip Emad

ESP – Jim Harris

FSP – Phillip Yates



XP – Daniel Hill

CP – Dave Mapes



STS – Brandon Yezarski

ST – Alejandro Aviles

STX – Ray Ramirez

STU – Jon Moon

Additonally, the club ran a consistency cup that awards the winner with a tire contingency from Yokohama. During event 5 at the Blue Crabs Stadium, Consistency Cup winner William Marstellar in D Stock had a variance of only 0.11774999999999913 from 4 times (47.527, 47.304, 47.716, 47.468)
A second tire contingency was awarded to Travis Finlay from Street Touring X class.

Congratulations to all the Class Champions and thank you to all the competitors for making 2009 a successful autocross season! If you did attend the banquet and did not receive your trophy it will be available for pickup at either of the first two events in 2010.

We look forward to your participation in all the great A.I. events in 2010!

We’d also like to especially thank our sponsors, Yokohama Tire and Radial Tire co.!

Autocrossers Incorporated is a Chapter Club of the WDCR.