Our sport of autocrossing is a fun way to learn about and experience vehicle dynamics. The school at the beginning of the year will teach you what you should have learned in high school (about driving). The season that follows, will let you perfect your skills.

The school consists of classroom and in-car instruction that covers a variety of topics, including:

• How to sit and hold the steering wheel to properly control the car
• The proper way to accelerate, brake and turn
• The variables of tire adhesion with the driving surface
• Weight transfer, skid control and dynamic vehicle balance
• Autocross psychology and diagnosing the course

Safety is the prime concern of an autocross. The course design and layout are done by experienced autocrossers. A trial layout is done in advance. It is run and modified as necessary to ensure off-course excursions can be done without incident. The course layout for the school has extra controls for safety.

An autocross is actually a series of accident-avoidance situations. Your running of this obstacle course takes about one minute. Because this is a timed exercise, you tend to hustle. As you hustle, you begin to place your car's systems (brakes, tires, suspension, driver, etc.) nearer to their limits. The closer you and your car approach these limits, the more noticeable a mistake (by you) will be.

As you drive near the limit, you learn that certain behavior has rewards and other behavior carries penalties. To maximize car control (read: accident survivability) you must drive smoothly and you must anticipate. [Driver moves slow, car moves fast. Don't jab the brakes - squeeze them. Look as far ahead as practical. You must slow down for the turns. Don't "saw" the steering wheel.] You get the idea... You will soon recognize the importance that tire pressure plays in your car's handling, and that this is the cheapest way to make minor adjustments in vehicle dynamics.

Participation in more and more autocrosses will move you toward becoming an integral part of your car instead of just a casual passenger. Assuming your car is in a reasonable state of repair, you will quickly realize that its most debilitating performance flaw is your lack of driving capabilities. The slope of your learning curve to achieve oneness with your car is up to you. Let your common sense and competitive spirit decide. There is no institutional effort to make you go fast, we want you to go "smooth". We will, however, dismiss you from an event for violating safety rules. The experience and expertise you get from autocrossing will serve you well once you leave the parking lot and merge into traffic.