Road Racing

Photos by Rich Lavigne

So what happens when the guys at Speedlounge get a weekend off?? We go to the race track, that’s what… The NNJR (Northern New Jersey Region) of the SCCA was running auto-x this past Saturday on the road course at Raceway Park, so we decided to take a ride down to see what it was all about. For those of you not familiar with auto-x, it is essentially road-racing for the every day man. The organizers set up a course (usually in a parking lot) using cones. You start from a stand still and race against the clock to complete the course in the shortest time possible. Sounds easy, right? Well, here’s the kicker… there is a 2 second penalty for any cone you know over and things get competitive real quick. If you knock over a cone, kiss that run goodbye, cause chances are, you’ll need a “clean”, fast run to be a winner. Remember that i said they normally set up the course in a parking lot? Well, every so often the organizers of the NNJR region get access to the road course at Raceway park and set up a really killer track. They take advantage of the elevation changes and great corners, and set up some cone challenges to keep speeds in check and your senses sharp. Don’t get me wrong, auto-x is by no means a slow motorsport… most tracks will utilize all of second gear and depending on the car, you may even get into 3rd. The name of the game here isn’t raw power, but rather consistent speed. The driver that can control his car, whether braking, accelerating or corning is going to be the fastest and bring home the coveted cone trophy. Are you worried that you don’t have a full-fledged race car? Don’t! They have a class for every car and instructors that can make you competitive after just a few events. Take a look at the pics. If this sounds like something you might be interested in check out www.autox4u.com to get the schedule for any of the local tri-state area auto-x organizations.