My friends that autocross a lot know that there are a lot of factors that go into posting a fast time on course. Once you get past basic car setup and have some experience with driving lines and car control, it really comes down to just finding a way to get those last few tenths you can get out of the driver and the car. Those few tenths can sometimes mean the difference between a win and second place. Sometimes it’s a course design that fits your particular driving style or one that benefits your car setup, sometimes it’s a good night’s sleep the night before, and sometimes you can’t find your rear end with both hands while out on course. I’ve had plenty of those types of days the past year or so, changes to my car requiring changes to my driving style and trying to tie it all together led to a frustrating year in finishing results last year.
Those results carried forward to our Test n Tune last Saturday, I was trying to get used to some new suspension parts and some new power under the hood while in a non-points, lots of runs type of scenario on a course that should have been big car friendly…and I was a few tenths off all day. It seemed like nothing I tried worked any better than before, just the same old same old from last year. Then sometime Saturday night I had an idea, something I could try with my shock settings that was different than anything I had tried before. The knowledge I gained from Ron Suttons suspension workshop last fall gave me an idea and I texted Ron Sunday morning with my idea and asked his thoughts. He replied right back with a “sure, give it a shot”.
I had 4 shots Sunday at a track I’d never seen before so I figured I’d try the new settings for a run or two and if it wasn’t working I’d go back to my basic set up. I went halfway with my new shock strategy on run 1 and I liked it, it seemed to help the issue I was having and I put down a pretty good time. So I went the same amount again on my second run and picked up over a second. This is where I was trying to go with my point though… watching my videos back Sunday night, I realized it wasn’t the shock settings that gained me that second, it was the driver nailing two key elements on the course. On my subsequent runs 3 and 4 after, I blew both of those elements and never got close to that time again. That’s how fickle autocross can be at this level. Those drivers that are always on the top of the charts no matter what car they are driving, they are the ones that nail all of those elements continually, and it is a LOT harder than it looks.
That second run netted me a class win for the first time in over a year by 2/10s of a second on a 43 second course. I could not have done that without my fantastic #Ridetech shocks, #RonSuttonRaceTechnology suspension tune, the new #UMIPerformance rear sway bar, and the Yancy Shepard power under the hood, but in reality it came down to the driver and car fitting the course, the weather on my side, and maybe it was just my day. Regardless it felt great to get a win again…finally!
We had 142 drivers post times yesterday, 10 were in CAMC cars, 6 in Junior Karts, and competition was fierce in many of the other classes. It made me happy to see all of the active participation continuing to grow in this sport.
Here's a video of all 4 runs in order...
See if you can figure out which two elements are the two that made all the difference.
