Part II, into the Mach I

It's a C Prepared car.

I left with click-bait on my last post. Rewinding back to the Cone Killer Classic where my car smoked and almost went up in smoke, there was still an afternoon session. I actually worked the first heat in the afternoon when I could have just bailed.

Paul encouraged me to fold into his Camaro in an attempt to drive it in the afternoon heat. I tried to fit into his car a couple years ago, and with the seat position and rollbar, it was no bueno. I'm a little taller than him and have longer legs -- he's like a taller version of Mike "Junior" Johnson with more torso than legs.

He said he made a couple changes since then and thought I might fit. I think he just wanted to laugh at me trying to pretzel into his car. After several minutes (I'm not sure, but maybe Paul was secretly videoing this), I did manage to fit in the car. But then he attached the steering wheel, which I think he got off a Kenworth, and there was no way I would be able to shift and steer and hit the gas or the clutch or the brakes. NA/NB Miatas with no tilt wheel are actually a better fit for me.

I am too large to fit in Paul's Camaro.

Funny that my 1982 Camaro is almost completely different from Paul's 1981 Camaro.

A few years ago, I would have unhitched the trailer and driven the Lightning, but that truck is long gone. The current F-150 is more of a real truck and probably would really, really suck to autocross. My only option was to troll for a ride. Let's see, who else did I know?

I still have this shirt ... somewhere.*

Yes, the other guy was there with his F Stock Street Mach 1. Sam and I have known each other for almost 30 years [yells at cloud] and co-driven a few times. Our origin story started on the old Sentra SE-R mailing list, and he gave me my first taste of thirdgen F-Bodies driving his old blue 1991 1LE Camaro at an autocross at Virginia Motorsports Park in the late 1900s. 

Aye! What's everyone doin' around my car! I'll kick you in the nuts!

We even co-drove a fourthgen Camaro at an Autocrossers, Inc., event at FedEx Field where the owner of the car wasn't even there! Also, if he wouldn't have won a national championship in my car before it was my car, I might never have bought it.

"So Sam, you wouldn't let me drive your car would you?" The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach 1.

And he reached for his key fob without saying anything.

The only stipulation was that I would help change tires afterwards, just like the old F Stock days!

I drove Clyde Caplan's 2020 ILE Camaro a few years ago, and I struggle with getting up to speed in modern "pony cars." They have fancy buttons, track modes, air conditioning, bells, whistles, and independent rears. They are almost too good compared to all the log-axle Camaros, Firebirds and Moostangs I have piloted over the years.

My fast time in Sam's car was on my second run, a 40.6. The third run was better, but I bailed when getting loose transitioning across the airport offsets. The third run was a couple tenths slower than that. Sam's best time was a 39.3. He did a 39.3 on his very first run and went "only" four thousandths quicker after that. Walk the course like him and have a game plan from the very first run.

But thanks to him for making my six-hour round-trip somewhat enjoyable, and thanks to Polish Oborski for not throwing paperwork at an IRS car running in C Prepared.

A full recap back to the previous post, I am on an odd streak with only four dirty runs at the last four autocrosses. Not four clean runs, four dirty runs, and I haven't even coned my fastest raw time. I think I had started the season with only a handful of clean runs and coned my fastest run.

I just jinxed myself.

Looking at the calendar, there are only two WDCR autocrosses left, and that might be it for me for the year. I didn't sign up for UMI King of the Mountain, and I'm continuing my streak now up to 11 years of not travelling for Solo Nationals.

* The origin story on this shirt, somebody made "I know Billy Brooks" T-shirts, jeez, 20 years ago? That year, Jason was dominating F Stock and didn't get a mention in the "Who Will Win?" article in Sportscar. I thought it would be funny to make T-shirts to commemorate their achievements.

Bonus story, just after Sam bought his 2001 Camaro, we were at an autocross at VMP. He walked up to me and said, "Hey Pat, drive my car!" I was changing tires on Karen's car or something. "What?" "Just drive it out the gate and onto the road. I want to hear what the exhaust sounds like."