Might as well say "Hi"...

Well it's my first night here and I want to go ahead and say hi before I say something stupid...

My name is Christopher DeShong, 16 years old and I currently go to Durant High School in Plant City, FL (Middle of nowhere. Like, literally. It's in a cow pasture.) Besides hating Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, and being a lazy 16 year old, I guess I can say I'm doing ok. My father does take away track time due to bad grades (C's and D's...) which does hurt me. I am also in the school's marching band which takes time away from my racing too, but I only go through High School once...

Speaking of racing, that is something that I am trying to do once I manage to finish High School or College (I'm currently a Junior taking AP Language and I just finished up a project where I used Tim Suddard's Starting Line from GRM's May, August, October and November issues...). Right now my experience is 4 years in Quarter Midgets, one 3 Day and one 2 Day Skip Barber Racing School classes, one SCCA drivers school and Enduro in a Dodge Neon 4 race weekends in my father's MG Midget, and the 14 Hours of Sebring with a Honda Prelude. And thanks to funding, that's all I can do right now. I can't get any sponsorship for SCCA Club Racing and my father and I do not have the money or the time to finish the project cars we have, but I guess that applies to a lot of guy's on here... And while I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given in racing already at a young age, my inner teenager keeps screaming "More!, More!"

Ill be lurking around on here updating some of the project cars that we have (that is, if we ever get to them) and getting to know everyone on here. Like I said, school takes a lot of time and right now, with me taking 3 AP classes (College level classes in High School) I have a high workload...

So, for now, Cya later!

You can learn a lot from racing, apply that knowledge. welcome

You've got more racing in 16 years than I do in quite literally double that time, so I'd say you're doing well.

Welcome. Good forum here.

welcome. I'm from polk county, so is aeromotive.

Plant City.....mmmmm.....strawberry shortcake.

Thanks for the welcoming party so far

The funny thing is I actually live in Valrico... I'm just on the wrong side of a road so I have to drive 20 minutes to get to Durant, when I could just walk across the street and attend the school there... But no...

Wildchild wrote: (I'm currently a Junior taking AP Language and I just finished up a project where I used Tim Suddard's Starting Line from GRM's May, August, October and November issues...).

Isn't that called plagiarism?

And while I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given in racing already at a young age, my inner teenager keeps screaming "More!, More!"

Never give that one up. Its what keeps most of us going. We all have that... Inner teenager?

Ill be lurking around on here updating some of the project cars that we have

Creeper.

By the way, make sure you know all the explitives so you don't get confused and keep in mind that no matter how much you try, you will never have more posts than Curmudgeon.

Welcome in, bra.

Famed GRM regular and National Championship autocrosser Danny Shields hails from Valrico FL.

And my high school English teacher would just crap himself if he knew someone was using my writing for an English project. Hah!

Welcome to the family. My son, now a 19 year old staffer, started racing and posting when he was about eight.

N Sperlo wrote:

Wildchild wrote: (I'm currently a Junior taking AP Language and I just finished up a project where I used Tim Suddard's Starting Line from GRM's May, August, October and November issues...).

Isn't that called plagiarism?

Well... Not really... Our job was to find 4 articles to analyze and then write out a annotated bibliography. So I said what the hell and used Grassroots Motorsports. My teacher probably has no clue why so many people are as addicted to cars as we are, but oh well.

Tim Suddard wrote: Famed GRM regular and National Championship autocrosser Danny Shields hails from Valrico FL. And my high school English teacher would just crap himself if he knew someone was using my writing for an English project. Hah! Welcome to the family. My son, now a 19 year old staffer, started racing and posting when he was about eight.

Unfortunately I can't say I know Danny. I have been around the club side of SCCA all my life and don't have very much experience in Autocross.

During the Chump Car event at Sebring I wanted to come up and say hello to you and see how the Miata survived the crash at the beginning of the race, but I had to leave at 3 for my school's Homecoming. I was driving a black Honda Prelude and had passed the car that spun out in front of us by a foot or two and when I checked the mirror's it looked like a huge impact. But from the pictures it doesn't look like the Miata suffered very much.

And yes guys I know my name changed. I'm playing with the setting's so I'll get this right eventually...

Welcome.

Welcome!

Man, wish I'd had your seat time when I was your age. I might be... well, I dunno about fast, but it couldn't have hurt...

Welcome!

Have fun.

...and I'm sure you're not the only band-nerd on the board. Very sure...

ransom wrote: Welcome! Man, wish I'd had your seat time when I was your age. I might be... well, I dunno about *fast*, but it couldn't have hurt...

+1 I putter in the garage instead of driving. The OP's already doing the stuff on my bucket list, and I'm >3x his age.

Welcome to the dork zone, you will soon be " one of us "

Jeez! I'm insanely jealous of your high school experience!

I attended a small engines class my freshman year.... that's it. I'd have given my two left testicles to be able to attend a race and have to split early for Homecoming.

Welcome to the Monkey House man. It's an odd collection of people here, but somehow it all seems to work.

-Bill

Wow you've got a good head start, at 16 my only racing experience was in rental karts.

N Sperlo wrote:

Wildchild wrote: (I'm currently a Junior taking AP Language and I just finished up a project where I used Tim Suddard's Starting Line from GRM's May, August, October and November issues...).

Isn't that called plagiarism?

And while I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given in racing already at a young age, my inner teenager keeps screaming "More!, More!"

Never give that one up. Its what keeps most of us going. We all have that... Inner teenager?

Ill be lurking around on here updating some of the project cars that we have

Creeper. By the way, make sure you know all the explitives so you don't get confused and keep in mind that no matter how much you try, you will never have more posts than Curmudgeon. Welcome in, bra.

Check the stats- SF1 ran him down not too long ago.

In reply to mndsm:

I saw that when I spell checked his name. I do that a lot. The google bar is great for making people think I'm a better speller than I am.

Wildchild has had one hell of a head start on us. When I was 16, my dreams were being tested. It was the firs time I had my license taken away by the doctor. I just wish I knew GRM existed back then. It would have filled the spare time I had from not driving. I've moved on, though.

In reply to mndsm:

I wasn't even aware...

In reply to Swank Force One:

Oh, God. Get a life!

Welcome. Impressive start for a 16 y.o. At 16 my racing resume was measured by the number of quarters I had plugged into "Pole Position".

Oh and I LOL'd a little at the "inner teenager" part. Um, don't you also have an "outer teenager"?

kazoospec wrote: Oh and I LOL'd a little at the "inner teenager" part. Um, don't you also have an "outer teenager"?

Now that was funny!

Swank Force One wrote: In reply to mndsm: I wasn't even aware...

Liar.

kazoospec wrote: Welcome. Impressive start for a 16 y.o. At 16 my racing resume was measured by the number of quarters I had plugged into "Pole Position". Oh and I LOL'd a little at the "inner teenager" part. Um, don't you also have an "outer teenager"?

I try to hide that one as much as possible... I'm attempting to make racing my career in the future so I have to be "somewhat" mature...

And to be honest I have been comparing myself to other drivers my age such as Ernie Francis Jr., or Matt McMurry or even Dillon Machavern when I shouldn't be. When I do that I constantly think of what I don't have and how I need it, like a B-Spec Mazda or a GT1 car. When instead I should realize that I have been given more of a opportunity than others my age have been given.

All perspective I guess.