A little variation...in support of my local Tucson Corvette Club I participated in their annual “Beat the Heat Autocross” held in the huge parking lot of the Southwestern International Raceway. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it there today (Sunday) but I did both sessions yesterday.

It was an NCCC sanctioned event with a small group of some fairly serious autocross enthusiasts...local Club members as well as Corvettes from Phoenix and the Sierra Vista, Arizona area. I was placed in the Exhibition class with about 7 other modified Corvettes including some very nice C5 and C6 Z06’s.

I've only done one other autocross last year. I was there more to have fun and for the experience but I did OK. I believe I had the fastest time of the first session and the second fastest time in the second session. The course layout was changed in the second session and I constantly spun my rear tires exiting one particular tight corner.

I encourage all C6 owners to find some venue to run your car...Corvettes are made to be driven. Go to a test and tune night at your local drag strip...take a HPDE course...find a road course venue...do an autocross. Autocross racing isn't my preference but it's fun...it's safe and teaches excellent car control techniques. It was a fun day; good people and a great experience.

Not all the Vettes there were red but there were quite a few...the herd mentality I guess


My car with its 11 x 18 CCW track wheels:

 

Cool, I love seeing Corvettes raced.

 

 

Sounds like you had a BLAST Wayne !

Thanks for sharing your story . . .and your counsel to others is right on target-- it can be a safe, constructive way to enjoy the real power of the car.

Thanks!

 

Did they allow convertibles to race there as I see in the one pic? Looks like alot of fun.

 

Very Nice

 

Never raced my C3's but I've had a blast at the drags and autox with the C6.

 

 

Good goin' Wayne! Looks like fun.

 

I heartily agree with the Orignal Poster, if you haven't autocrossed your car yet, you should definitely consider doing it. I have a stock C6 with the base suspension and I now autocrossed it 4 times and have had an absolute blast.

If you've never done a high performance driving event before, you can learn two very important lessons at an auto cross, and it won't cost you anything except some tire rubber.

Lesson 1
Learn about the handling of your car in a safe environment. If you push the car past your or its limit, the only causualty will be some comes.

Lesson 2
You'll probably learn that your not nearly as great a driver as you thought you were and you'll see some really good driving. Not only that you'll be able to ask the other drivers for tips and perhaps even ride along with them.

Most Autocrosses have different classes for different cars to keep things competitive for everybody, so don't worry about having to compete against a guy with a Z06 if you've just got a plain old C6.

And truth be told, its more about the driving than the car

 

Hope you did ok, but the intent was to have fun for a good cause. Great!!!

 

Yes, there were a couple convertibles running and I saw at least one coupe running without the roof panel on. I'm not sure if the verts all had little roll bars or not though. They did a tech inspection and even required each car to have a fire extinquisher, approved helmets, etc.

My modified engine may have had something to do with me being in the Exhibition class (with Z06's and some obviously modified cars) but it may also have something to do with non-stock wheels and tires. My friend has an older Yenko Corvette with a modified engine...he ran in the other group. It seemed there may have been some modified cars in the other group as well...maybe they had stock size wheels and tires? I just haven't done this enough to know. I just ran where they told me to.

You made some good points. It's always good to ride with other more experienced drivers or have them ride with you. I always figure I can use all the help I can get.

 

 

I've got to try that sometime. Sounds like a good time and a good place to learn.

 

Agree with WayneO - Vette's love the track.



I had the fun of taking part in a Performance Driving Experience (PDX) put on by the local chapter of the SCCA. Basically you get track time with a pro-driver riding shotgun. You go as fast as you feel comfortable around the track without banging fenders with anyone else and the pro tells you where the apexes are, where to turn in, brake, etc.