Autocrossers, Inc., will have six events at Blue Crabs Stadium in Waldorf, Md., in 2011.  Additionally, the club will host the Evolution Performance Driving School for a weekend in April.

April 16 to 17 Evo Schools
April 23 (Saturday)
May 14 (Saturday, lunch in stadium, eight-run format)
July 10
Sept. 18
Oct. 9 (Saturday, lunch in stadium, eight-run format)
Oct. 23

School information will be released shortly.

The math has been done, and the following are class champions for the 2010 Autocrossers, Inc., season:

Stock classes
SS – Howard Leikin
BS – Katie Kriemelmeyer
CS – Les Banyas
DS – Steve Mitchell

Street Touring
ST – Jason Hubbard
STS – Alan Claffie
STR – Joe Brannon
STU – Shane Chinonn-Rhoden

Street Prepared
ASP – Jim Harris
BSP – Jennifer and Eric Eskandari (co-champions)
CSP – Franklin Dam
FSP – Philip Emad

Street Modified
SM  - Aaron Lee
SSM – David Lane

Prepared
XP  - Fred Kelley
CP  - Dave Mapes

Karts
F125 – Justin Neal

Pro
Pro – Brian Karwan

The trophies will be given out at the WDCR Solo Awards presentation before the region banquet on Jan. 29 at the Washington Convention Center.

Thanks to WDCR member Fil Sibley for sharing this tribute video about Sam Strano, one of the most successful autocrossers in the SCCA and a WDCR member.

See the full HD version here

Sam Strano – Solo driver from DIGIFIL on Vimeo.

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 Danny Kao

Pre-event Chatter

Coming into this event, I have received numerous complaints (numerous complaints from one person) about not covering Mr. Bob Hausmann’s dominating win in XP’s six-cylinder class.  I decided to give Bob special coverage for this event, but he was a no- show.  I am wondering with just one eye, Bob might have had trouble finding the way to Fedex Field in the rainy day.

What about Bob?

Early Morning News

Ms. Karen Kraus woke up early in the morning and announced on Facebook that she “will not be flaking out of autocross today.”  That is almost like Babe Ruth calling the homerun before the pitch. 

The new course configuration threw everybody into a loop.  But folks didn’t realize mother nature was about to put everybody into many loops.  The registration at the timing trailer was located right next to the stadium, and the competitors could park all the way up next to the course, but had to walk a half mile to registration.  You should see the joy faces of Rob Kiernan and Franklin Dam when I told them they could park right next to the course; but they quickly turned sour faced when they had to walk to registration.  Franklin needs some exercise anyway – he needs to lose weight for karting.

All day, the novice competitors were treated and taught by the best novice coordinator ever.  The tips given by the novice coordinator were so good, that every novice ran the faster than the coordinator.  That’s some serious novice coordinating.

Morning Competition

First heat started out a little damp, but quickly dried up.  By the third run the course was completely dry and people were putting down their fastest times of the day.  Pat “Nice Tan” Griffith set the tone in the morning with the fastest run of the morning at 60.907, just edging out Eric Kriemelmeyer with Eric’s car.  It’s still kind of premature, but I think we are approach caution territory of calling the black Solstice “Nice Tan’s car.”

Steve Mitchell and Rob Kiernan both drove their lights out to edge fast young Tommy Radford in D-Stock.  It’s nice to see Steve representing us old dudes.  Stu “Paula Abdul” Fain finally got revenge on Jim Harris’s in ASP action.  I think Jim already held too many trophies this past weekend and decided to be charitable.  Jason Zapol, my hero and my best buddy, won in dominating fashion in CSP.  (Oh Jason, I still have your trailer tire, I can just keep it?  Buddy?)  Mr. Thomas Bleh walked away with the DSP win.  I think Mr. Bleh is so fast, he scared Kevin Henry to beat up on a couple old dudes in D-Mod instead.  (The other two old dudes crushed Kevin in D-Mod, but that’s a later story.) 

Well, Pat’s FTM (Fastest Time of the Morning) was short lived when Ms. Karen “Babe Ruth” Kraus swung for the fences (or slap shot a puck into the net for you hockey freaks).  Karen destroyed Brian “Big Enos” Burdette with the FTM of 60.555 and took the ESP win.  In STR action, Brian Hair edged crazy fast Eric Simmons for the win.  You STR guys should be ecstatic because you just did something I haven’t done before – out run reigning F-Mod National Champ Sal DiPompo at an autocross, but I am sure that’s a freak occurrence so enjoy it while you can.

The "Babe" is FTM.

The rain came before the end of the first heat, and paused for about 20 minutes at the beginning of the second heat. Mr. John Nicolaysen took the E-Stock win while Justin Neal watched nervously at his MR2 spun piloted by DJ Sneeringer and Laura Buch. Mark Liller once again won the F-Stock/Other-Than-Mustang class. The normal F-Stock class was again taken by Mr. Sam Strano. I think Sam was missing a couple of hood stripes though.

In STS, two of the top STS drivers in the country were duking it out in the rain; but none of us care — we were all wondering how to steal John Vitamvas’ nine-pound rims. I wonder how many shirtless autographed pictures John had to sell to afford those puppies.

Dave Edsinger mastered the rain with a big win in CP. I think it must have been all that off-season indoor karting that Dave was doing. In Street Touring, AJ Aviles, made famous by Lady Gaga, refused the help graciously offered by the novice coordinator and still took the win somehow. Steven Brown just edged Patrick Olsen in Street Mod, while Scott Blair blamed his third-place finish on the paint job of his front bumper. In Street Mod Female, Brian Karwan easily won the class because David Rittenhouse could not decide whether to look through the windshield, or look through the sunroof during his runs.

Over or under?

The rain really came during the later half of the second heat, and the condition got really sloppy. Everybody was getting a soaking. Mr. Larry Olsen, our master safety steward, was constantly monitoring the weather station for thunderstorm warnings; and here is a conversation between Mr. Olsen and your’s truly:

LO: Danny, any beeping on the weather monitor?
ME: Yes, and it says “Warning, Asian approaching!”
LO: * Speechless *

Beautiful Yenko whachumacallit getting a car wash

Lunch

Lunch was Italian sausage with pepper and onions, plus a Diet Pepsi.

I also discovered during lunch it was impossible to have a normal conversation with David Sann. It was only possible if we are both on walkie-talkie channel 1.

FJ Heat

The FJ heat went by so fast, I didn’t even know what happened. I heard it was a Klosky sweep; and I overheard Josh Luster say: “Man, this is the easiest work assignment ever! I am going to celebrate it by drifting the entire top section and sideways across the finish line.”

Afternoon Competition

The rain really separated “Real Men” from Wusses. Since no one in the ladies class changed classes, the ladies are considered Real Men today. The battle of the Real Men class showed Holly Schwedler out-duel Katie Orgler. Learic Cramer, who is really a man and not a “Real Men,” took C-Stock by over a half second.

Bunch of F125 wusses wimped out of the class at the last moment. Some went to the Geritol class, some decided to work only, some decided to bail, and some decided to run later. After the smoke settled, Vic Buenconsejo Madrid dominated the field with a 2.437-second win, with Josh “the Hurricane” West finishing second, his career best.

Buenconsejo two wheeling

In D-Mod (Geritol class), young Scott Lentz showed absolutely no respect to his elders (If my mom found out about this, she would spank Scott until he apologized; a good Chinese boy will never do that) and won even with a cone penalty. In FSP, after trying out tire combinations 16 times, Darren Mass won by three seconds in “Darren’s” Civic. In XP, Larry Casey, after beating up on some poor dude in Friday’s Cumberland shootout, continued his domination on Sunday. Poor Fast Freddy Kelly once again finished second again this weekend. In SM2, my other Chinese brother Jason Becker won, but what else is new?

Geritol class participants

The sun came out in the beginning of the last heat, which made everybody that ran earlier very upset. Since I am one of the people that ran earlier, I decided not to give the last heat any press. All I can say is Ayodeji Oshinnaiye won Super Stock, James Sheridan won A-Stock, Ron Shurie won G-Stock, Justin Neal won STX — so now the entire STX class wants to shoot Justin now — GREAT!

There are a couple of exception that I would like to report: Peter Appell was so fast in H-Stock, my camera couldn’t even pick up the car under daylight. There is no way Marshall Cone can beat Peter; but since Marshall works as the timing chief, I can understand.

Was that a car just went by?

For you fifth heaters who are complaining about being called off course erroneously, here are a few pieces of hard evidence:

Not Sam's car

Rubber ducky, you're the one

Days after the competition, Josh Luster was petitioning to have the autocross scoring system to include “artistic impression” as a part of total scoring. Last news I heard: Shane Chinnon-Rhoden still won STU, and Josh is starring in the new movie “Blades of Glory II” with Will Ferrell.

Final Tally

Top PAX of the event was Mr. Pat Griffith. Unfortunately by winning top PAX, Pat will be punished by sleeping on the sofa for the rest of the seven weeks until the next event.

Pat "Nice Tan" Griffith, driving Eric's car by night, sleep on the sofa by night

Our BD Craig Garfield is the best course safety steward in the business. He personally tried to make the biggest spin so he could to see how close to get to the poles. No one else will do that in his own car.

And this:

Tells you that 118 of the of us have done all we can accomplished in our autocross career. It’s our best autocross showing ever! Enjoy and see you after the Nationals.

By Danny Kao

(Editor’s note: Thanks to Google translate, we are able to provide Danny’s recap of Sunday’s WDCR autocross.)

Pre-Event Hype

Coming into the WDCR Championship Event No. 5, the biggest buzz was the weather.  People jockeyed for heat positions to avoid forecast thunderstorms and went though the extreme to change from open-wheel stuff to roofed cars, and/or getting unprepared Civics running in Street Touring Unlimited (STU).  All that effort just to avoid a grand total of four rain drops at precisely 2:22 p.m.

The second biggest buzz was everybody tried to run “flat out” and bragged about their Koenigsegg and their GT2s; and there were also a few attempts made on driving a Caterham at 200 mph in the dark and rain.  Those Caterham did go about 65 mph, but it was overcast and dry.  We also found out Jim Harris is the Miata instructor, and the “Exterminator’s” real name is Richard Alistair.

The least buzzed is someone (who will remain nameless to protect the innocent) knocked over the port-a-john the day before the event. 

Morning News

Apparently everybody had a rough night on Saturday.  Over 95 percent of people who came through the gate looked sleepy; even the normal hyperactive Shane Chinnon-Rhoden was in sleep walking mode.  However Shane quickly recovered when the ladies arrived, and once again took the STU title.  If this continues through the end of the year, I will officially name 83 STU “Shane’s car” to follow the tradition of 64 STU as “Neary’s car”.

With that said, Darren Mass continued to lead FSP in “Darren’s car”.

All that talk of the rain really made me want to take my newly acquired 2002 Focus SVT a shot at H-Stock; but I saw Jason Burns, the lovely Heather Burns, and Marshall Cone all registered, so I gave up.

In G-Stock, Kenny Sorensen must have thought he had mastered the wheelie on Eric Kriemelmeyer’s SE-R and took the win by 0.4 seconds.  But the true story is Ron Shurie was having problems fixing the timing computer, and his final fix backfired on him.

Ron’s computer fix also messed up A Stock:  The normal two-car field went to six cars for some strange reason, but  James Sheridan’s domination continues.

There were a bunch of cars in C Stock (CS), Street Touring Xtreme (STX) and X Prepared (XP), and that’s all I am going to say about that.  There is no news coverage in CS because Andy Thomas told me if he didn’t win, he doesn’t want hear anything from me.  No news in STX because John “Buttdyno” Wilemin refused to give me free Phillies tickets; and nothing for me to say about XP because little Mike Synder didn’t win, so now he is going to charge me double on wrapping my trailer – thanks a lot Brian Karwan!  (And you too, Larry Casey!)

In B Street Prepared, aka “Battle of the Sexes,” Eric Eskandari edged Jennifer Eskandari to take the win.  This is particularly upsetting to me because Jennifer was doing just fine until I gave her some driving advice.

In the lawn mower class, Formula 125, Brian Garfield took one run and left to feed some hungry kids. Mike Kelly Kline and Don Miller’s karts were sabotaged by themselves.  So this gave a rare opportunity for old geezers like me (King Yang) and Vic Buenconsejo Madrid to move up.  Unfortunately Justin “The Natural” Neal ruined the AARP sponsored party, and took the class win and FTD.  The punishment for Justin’s win is you won’t hear from him again until he is in his mid-40s. 

Lunch Break

My Italian sausage sandwich was very good, except the bun was too big and the sausage was too small.  It kind of ruined my Adkins diet, which gives me an enormous advantage on my racing ability.

Afternoon News

The Garfield boys got the mowing down pat with their little lawn mowers.  Mommy Lisa Garfield must enjoy her perfectly manicured lawn. 

During the Formula Junior heat, if you happened to see nothing but a helmet driving a little kart, that’s little mean Mac Klosky.  Little Jack Vracar took the FJ title this weekend, but “Mac Attack” will be back in full force at event No. 6.

After using the online PAX calculator, I am pleased to announce that Katie (Shawn’s boss) Orgler just edged out Vanessa Farret Martin by 0.531 second for the Ladies class win.  I am glad I took calculus in college.

The “soft-PAX” Street Touring Sport dominated the afternoon session.  Ian “The Squirrel” Baker took top PAX win for the event with an impressive 46.230.  The smooth sounding Scott Blair was not smooth enough to catch the Squirrel after eight attempts, so he had to settle for second. I think it’s time for Johnny Vitamvas and Greg Olsen (the better looking one) to lose some weight in order to catch the Squirrel, but John and Greg at 85 pounds might ruined their popularity with the ladies as them topless would be unsightly.

In B Stock, it was Eric Kriemelmeyer that spun more than Pat Griffith, which is unusual.  I think Pat has been working on that nice tan of his and is softening him up somewhat.

Folks in E Street Prepared (ESP) rejoice!  There is a serious attempt to steal Brian “Big Enos” Burdette and Sam Vassallo from ESP to the Lawn Mower class; so “Dr. Phil” Knowles, please come back – now you have a chance to win and have your own racing show on TV.

Every time I took pictures for Street Modified, I have this overwhelming urge to cut up Mike Towery’s fender and put Domokun stickers all over his car for some reason.  Mike’s car is missing something and I just can’t figure out what.

If Shelby Mustang wasn’t invented and Mark Valera wasn’t born, Mark Liller would win F-Stock this week. 

For some reason I get Street Touring R (STR) and C Street Prepared all mixed up.  It’s must be because both classes induce big tire smokes under braking, and follow up a big spin.  Since I can’t make out who won in all that smoke, I am going to assume the ragin’  CRX won because it’s the loudest, and all the STR guys pointed at Christopher Lin with a frown face so the answer is clear there.

I am sorry I have nothing to report for the rest of the classing during the afternoon session.  I was busy checking out the paint job on Dave Scheel’s Evo 8 in B Stock, which matches my intimating looking helmet so you know.

Post Race Wrap Up

The rain was over rated.

If you want to move to the advance autocross group, do not have Lee Piccione as
your driving instructor.  

Paging Mr. Steak (Steve Salisbury):  Please make the gates less than five-feet wide so Sammy Strano and Squirrel can’t dominate the next event.

Now “Robert Redford Junior” rules DC with the FTD – Until next time, of course …

Note:  95 percent  of this report is fictional, so please don’t sue me.  If don’t like any of this writing, please blame “The Natural”, he made me do it …

Caterham at 20.0 mph, in a dry and nice day

Kenny got the wheelie bug.

Phillip driving Darren's car.

Richard Alistair and his instructor.

Christopher Lin spins his way to victory.

Dave Scheel's colorful Evo 8.

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