Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 18, 1994 TAG: 9407180104
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"We need the rain," he said. "But we don't need it now."
Driving in the rain can be hazardous. Racing through a puddle-and-pylon obstacle course, competing against the clock and some of the best drivers in the area, is enough to test even the experts' nerves.
The autocross event, which drew 67 entries from as far away as Greensboro, N.C., and Kingsport, Tenn., was held on a spacious Norfolk Southern parking lot on Kimball Avenue.
The competition was divided into four divisions, with several classes in each. Each driver received three runs to post a best time. A two-second penalty was assessed for every cone that was knocked over.
The event was run under Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) rules, with the organization's Blue Ridge Region serving as the host.
Toyotas and Mazdas, Porsches and Fiats, Fords and Chevys, the range of body styles, engine set-ups and paint jobs ran the gamut. The common thread was driving skill, as nearly all of the cars had one wheel off the ground on sharp turns, yet only a handful lost control.
Most recorded times fell between 60 and 75 seconds, and the fastest time of the day (Roanoke's Gary Woodford, driving a Formula Ford in the Class A Modified) was turned in before the rains came.
Woodford, an engineering technician for Appalachian Power Company and the 1993 champion in his division, recognized the advantage of running early. His second attempt, on wet pavement, was three seconds slower, and he hit a cone.
Event coordinator Greg Hastings, an optician from Roanoke, took his turn at several tasks. He helped design the course, handled the announcing and timing duties and competed in Class D Modified. He took no responsibility for the weather, however.
"Autocross requires reflexes and depth perception," Hastings said. "You want to take the cones as close as possible; you don't want to pass them by 10 or 15 feet. If you want to go faster, drive a little slower."
After the first heat - part of which was run under dry conditions - Hastings was two-hundredths of a second behind his longtime friend and competitor, Tom Guthrie, a Roanoke mechanic.
For his second run, Hastings replaced the slicks on his Formula V with rain tires, seeking to offset the elements. Hastings' time was a tenth of a second slower than his first run. Guthrie, who did not bring rain tires, saw his time increase nearly five seconds.
"These type of conditions bring out a driver's skill," said Hastings, who has been running autocross for 20 years. "It sort of negates the car's advantage. You've really got to be on top of it."
"I think I can still beat [Guthrie]," Hastings said, preparing for his third attempt. "I know I can take some time off through the slalom. Let's put it this way: I'm either going to win or I'm going to spin."
Just as he came out of the chute on his third try, Hastings knocked over a cone. Seconds later he did a 180-degree spin.
by CNB