The SCCA Time Trial program has been grabbing some participants from other disciplines, including longtime autocrosser Danny Kao.
Despite 11 trips to the SCCA Solo Nationals, Danny Kao is rather new to track events. He figures that he has run 15 or so in total. He ran some motorcycle track events back in the ’90s, but the SCCA’s Track Night in America program is largely responsible for his recent involvement.
Danny and his 2014 Mazda MX-5 Club made the trip to NCM Motorsports Park for the Time Trial Nationals this fall. “I would say TT Nats was one of the best SCCA events that I have been to,” he tells us. “It was a great learning experience yet got all my social activities fix–even though we all had to wear a mask.
“I was lucky. I paid for a garage space, so everything was easy. I can walk upstairs to check out the action. I am right next to the food truck and dinner. I am 50 yards to tech or registration and grid. Bathroom is next door. It’s like a luxury national experience for very little money. We rented an entire Airbnb house and split it among the three of us, so we didn’t have to deal with the fear of COVID of staying at a hotel.
“Onsite food was awesome. I had Buzz Thru Coffee every day. Had Shogun, which is an Asian food truck on site, and that was good. Also had subs from Which Wich just outside of the Corvette museum, and that was delicious. The town was clean, and people are friendly.
“Lots of first-timers, and I didn’t get into the mix with a lot of ‘serious business’ people. So it was a fun and zero-stress event. Ann Hollis gave me some awesome homemade cookies. We had glamour shots and aero drone shoots Friday and Saturday night and got to walk the track twice. Even in damp conditions, the track had lots of grip.
“After this event, I didn’t miss Nationals. In fact, personally, I prefer this more than Nats.”