It was 7am. I was heading to my first autocross event. I buckled up in my GTI, cleaned out the trunk, and grabbed a coffee before heading towards the Circuit of the Americas parking lot. With zero experience and no inhibitions about looking like an idiot for a day, I was ready to start dodging cones. After all, everyone starts somewhere. Fortunately, my autocross origin story started at the second event of the year with the Texas Spokes Sports Car Club. 

Before I jump into the event, you might be thinking, “What is Autocross?”. Autocross is basically a time trial, usually in a large parking lot, where drivers drive around cones. If you hit a cone or miss a gate, there are penalties against your time. Most drivers are attracted to autocross because of the low barrier to entry. You basically need a car and a helmet. When I tell people to try it, I hear “I don’t have a race car” or something to that effect. It’s untrue to think you need something fast to have fun. Autocross is more of a race against yourself. Each time there is a new layout, you are challenging yourself to find the fastest line you can. At my first event, one of the quicker cars was a 9^th gen civic that was pretty much stock. I loved that someone was racing what is most likely their commuter car. This sport really is about the fun of driving and not much else. You can check out Spokes’ newcomers’ guide here for anyone interested in more details.

Anyway, back to the story! Once I arrived, I made my way over to the trailer to check-in and get my car taped up. The stewards track your time based on your number and car class. I ended up in “STH” class with the modifications to my car, and I got to have a giant “N” on my car, so everyone knew it was my first time. After checking in, it is time for the track walk. You are allowed to walk it as many times as you like. This experience would have been significantly more rewarding if I had brought a notebook. Walking gives you the time to see the intricacies of surfaces and grading. It gives you space to envision your car in the space ahead of your first run. This is hugely important, as I would learn later. Only getting 5-6 runs during an event, the first 3-4 are the ones where you figure out your line, then the last 1-2 is where you really refine it to get as close to the edge as possible.

Knowing literally no one in the state of Texas, let alone at the event, I was itching to get in the car. Feeling overwhelmed, I couldn’t wait to get started. Luckily, I was in the first group. I headed to my car and drove over to the staging area. What surprised me the most about my entire day was what happened next. As I was sitting in my car waiting, a random guy came up and asked if he could ride with me on my first ride. I said, “Sure,” and he jumped in the passenger seat. I found out later that this is standard practice on the first few runs. The experienced drivers hitch rides with the newbies to get a better line of sight on the track. And simultaneously, the newbies get to pick the brains of the veteran drivers while they are riding with them. It was unexpected but more than welcome to gain knowledge and advice from multiple drivers during their ride-along. 

As I did my runs, I made good progress each time, constantly shaving time off. Everything was going great until I made my last run. I was literally the last car to go in my heat, hit some gravel, and spun out a front-wheel-drive car while the entire 170 car paddock watched. Go big or go home, right? At least that’s what I told myself. Even though it wasn’t the best ending, I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the event. You can see the final times here; I placed 4^th in the novice class. Not bad for a first-timer! Below is a video of my second run; unfortunately, my GoPro battery died, so it’s the only good run I got.

The remainder of the day was not as exciting. The groups are broken up into what is called work/run. Generally, there are 2 groups, and you are either running your car or on the course working. When the cars hit a cone during the run, someone must set it back up and notify the stewards that a cone was hit. It’s good to socialize and chill with the other workers, but you are standing in front of cars going 40 mph, so you can’t relax too much. It’s not super dangerous, but not the place to stop paying attention. 

Once all the competitors finished, everyone headed back to the parking lot for some R&R. The Spokes event staff handed out some trophies for the top finishers, and everyone else grabbed a beer and started tailgating a bit. It’s a fitting ending to chill and chat cars with like-minded people. Attending an autocross was one of the best decisions I have ever made related to cars. The bang for your buck is unmatched, and I unexpectedly enjoyed the social side as well. I paid 26 dollars to show up and got more than my money’s worth. I felt like I understood my car better as well. I wish I could go every weekend. Unfortunately, due to some misaligned days, I can only attend a few events this year, but you will find me at the next one if I can make it. As Magnus Walker says, “Get out and drive!”.