Cooler Air? - Hot Competition in AZ Region

Fall 2006, Event 2 of 4

By Jeremy Galo

Firebird International Raceway – October 8, 2006

Winter is near approaching (ha!), but don’t let the drop in temperature (90F) fool you as the competition is only just starting to heat up as the second autocross event of the Fall 2006 series comes to a close. The outcome of this event will ultimately set the pace for the following events as it gives each competitor a clear picture of what is needed to win. Four runs in this event… four chances to win… four different excuses.

Rob Rockefeller

Competitors were given a special treat on this event since the Bondurant skidpad was open for duty. A large span on asphalt at our disposal allowed more room for different lines and more creativity (when it came to cultivating reasons for losing). Darrell Covert in the Realty Executives corvette leads this event’s SS class with a 31.272 time, edging out Gary James in his Lotus. Darrell will still have his work cut out in front of him if absentee Kevin Cote makes it to the final two events. The Boxster of lone AS competitor Jason Alger puts down a blindingly fast time of 29.928 on the sticky pavement.

Nothing screams “I hate you” more than another driver putting down a faster time than the owner as Mark Johnson shows how the Ted Lewis Elan should be driven. He not only takes the win in ASP class, but also beats Ted by just under a tenth of a second. Double trouble for Ted as another Elan in the form of a yellow bullet takes the top PAX for the day. Mark Huffman in the yellow DM Elan manages to anger the rest of the field as he annihilates PAX for all. The DSP Integras battle it out but Clint’s R prevails over the Clement GSR (The GS in this case may have stood for Going Slow J).

Rob Rockefeller

With the exception of STS driver Travis Gianelli in his 240SX, Street Touring competitors hang their heads in shame on this event. The “R” in R-compound must stand for “rewarding” as the remainder of the street-tire-shod field fail to break a 900 PAX. Indeed, there is a hidden message in the times that tempt those to move to the dark side. STX as always is a tight race, but Chad Mizner takes the win on his third run of 33.112. Dan Martin ties Chad for PAX but falls just short with a 33.130 to get the outright win. 10% Mo’ Jeremy finds cone trouble throughout the day, finally settling for a lowly third place. Justin Markiewicz takes his Subaru STI to the winner’s circle on this event for the ST1 category with Jason Smith close behind. Mark Shaw in his Turbo Beetle uses the extra horsepower from his windup key to slip past Jim Rohn by just under 3 tenths to snag the ST2 win.

Chris Black quickly learns that four drive wheels are better than two as he is left in the dust by three Subarus and a pesky Evo. Francis Miller shows no mercy in his Mitsubishi as he leaves the rest of the SM field in his dust.

Rob Rockefeller

The Sportsman class is jam packed with competition with 19 drivers. Competition is sure to be present… but only for second place. Disappointed that he could not participate in Nationals due to “extenuating circumstances,” Brian “baby daddy” Peters decided to take out his frustration on his competitors. Mr. Peters proves that he still knows where his priorities lie: going fast and looking good (well, maybe not so muchJ). Doug Rowse’s BMW makes consistent improvement throughout the day with a final PAX of 956 on his fourth run giving him second place, leaving Nationals trophy winner Tage Evanson behind at third. Full results for all classes can be seen here

Rob Rockefeller

The race has only begun as the season is only halfway over. Faster times and better excuses will yet to be seen and heard. Two more events to go in the series and the winner of each class can still change at the drop of a dime; that is unless of course you’re in a single car class, in which case, this article was not written for you. But for the rest of the autocross field, leave the excuses at home and get ready to bring your driving to the next level.