My buddies inspired me to travel to Toledo for the SCCA Toledo Champ Tour, where I was dead freaking last in class. So why am I OK with that?
Well, for one, a Fiesta ST in STH is going to be a severe underdog no matter who is driving. I ran 205-series tires when others were running 245 and even 265-series. I was on cheap coil-overs with questionable tuning, while others were on shocks that cost more than my car. (probably) The cost of mods on some cars was about equal with the value of my car...when new! So yeah, I was not in the right car for class.
For two, I was up against people with National Wins and runner-ups on their portfolios. I have been improving over the years, but I know these guys are faster than me. Heck, two of them are in my class back at home and are way faster. So yeah, I was not the right driver for the class.
So why go with no chance of victory?
One, it was a ton of fun. We had almost 20 people come in from Pittsburgh, and we got to hang out, eat together, swap stories, walk the course, etc. Lots of great food, a beer or two in the evenings, and even some spontaneous electric scooter racing. It was a cure for COVID blues for sure.
Two, I learned a ton. My co-driver knew a lot about car setup and helped me adjust things and improve the car a lot. My fellow drivers helped me on finding the right line and position on course. And watching the pros out there made me see that I was on the right line, just going slower LOL.
The biggest improvement I made was mental. I am used to sub-30 second courses. A course that was almost 80 seconds (for me) was a new experience indeed! I did not prepare mentally enough on day one and did not do well. I don't care about losing as long as I feel I did my best, but I struggled to remember the line and braking zones. So for day 2, I committed that course to memory and remembered all my important cones and did pretty well. (First among the cars that were actually evenly matched Ha Ha Ha)
Thanks to Tire Rack and the SCCA and the NOVR for an amazing event that was well-run with great courses. (I did the TnT on Friday as well) I came away a better autocrosser, and maybe someday I'll be the car out there gunning for top PAX.