Connecticut Autocross and Rally Team autocross # 12 Snake bit

For the twelveth time this year, the Connecticut Autocross and Rally Team sanctioned a autocross. The event was held at the LAZ lot in Hartford, Connecticut, our home for the fall season. Just one more event remains on the autocross schedule, and several class championships are still not decided. To win a class in CART, you have to have competed in at least 5 events in your class, and we count only your best nine finishes. Last year, a championship was decided by one point. This year, we may have it happen again.

We had ninety eight drivers, including eighteen novices sign up, slightly less than normal. It rained very lightly in the morning. Since we're in drought conditions, the rain was welcome, but it raised havoc on the highways. Rain + dry, oily roads + wet leaves = spin cycle on the highway. Almost everyone who came to the event passed an accident or an incident on the highway. As an added complication, we were sharing the lot with tractor trailers that were there to disassemble an aviation show at the Convention Center. We would have trucks entering and leaving the pits all day long.

Bill Evans took the cone cart out for a walk, and came up with a course that ran faster than it looked. I thought it looked like a "W", Jay Bode said it was a snake. I think Jay was closer, as what seemed to be a simple layout bit many people with multiple off courses.

You started off traversing the lot from right to left. A ninety degree right brought you to a slight right kink and then a sweeping two hundred and seventy degree right. The left that followed started off tight and then opened up as it continued almost in a three hundred sixty degree left. The final right one eighty finished up in a rough letter "C" to the end. It seemed to be straight forward, but it didn't turn out that way at the end of the day.

It certainly was a day for upsets. It was fitting that we not only had a new name at the top of the FTD standings, but also had a tie for second. James Velgot in a STI scored the FTD with a time of 23.241. Kevin Shea and Nick Fandacone recorded identical times of 23.560 in Nick's 350Z. I was announcing at the time, it was the first time I ever saw triple zeros in the time difference box on the computer.

For stock class results, in AS it was Joe Solury's chance to pick up some quick points, as most of his normal competition was absent. The best Joe could do was second to Justin Lau's STI by six hundredths of a second. Noel Russell-Smith (Europa) had an easier time of it in BS, beating Albert Yin by 1.5 seconds. CS was a little closer, as nine tenths separated Michael Koloniaris and Quinn Kizis, both in Miatas. In ES, Jeff Guerrera did the rude thing: he beat car owner Rob Carter by just over six tenths in a shared Miata. GS was a barn burner, as the newly refurbished Joe Rathbun (Neon) took the win away from Todd Kean (Impreza) on the last run by only 18 hundredths of a second. In HS Pat Huxley (Civic) beat class leading Tom Cavuoto (Jetta) by less than seven tenths. My two car Subaru team finished third and forth, but we looked good with the matching checkered flag color scheme.

Jeffrey Wooten (STI) won BSP over Peter Agapoglou (BMW) by less than three tenths. Congratulations to Stephanie Zadrozny for leading the class for the first time this year. The Paul Omichinski / Chris DiFiore war continued in CSP, as Paul's Porsche beat Chris' MR2 by less than four tenths of a second. FSP had another shared car finish first and second with Matt Cummings beating Liam Dwyer in a Jetta. In CP Bob Peplow beat Marc Boerma in a Mustang. Marc wasn't even born when Bob's Corvair rolled off the production line. EP featured sibling rivalry, with Travis Lariviere taking family bragging rights, beating brother Duane, both in Civics.

Todd Doiron took AM in his Fiero, as expected. It was expected, because Todd was the only one in the class. DM was bump city, as several classes were combined in one big fir ball. Dean Cusano (XJS) beat Tom Mak in the debut of his new Corvette. STS was won by Timothy Kong (Impreza) over James Reinle (Civic) by exactly two tenths of a second. STU was another solo class, won by Kris Schreimer (Evo). SM2 was the home of FTD. As related earlier, James Velgot won the class over Kevin Shea and Nick Fandacone, who tied for second. Y Novice was won by Richard Parazan, Z Novice was won by Eric Carlson.