Gazette Article - May 29, 2004 Edition

Get your motor runnin' with autocross

By Dale Jones
The Gazette
Friday, May 28, 2004, 10:58:37 PM

Ask Del Long of Cedar Rapids what the attraction of autocross is and he doesn't even hesitate: "It keeps me from playing golf."

Welcome to the wide, wide world of recreation where there's something for everyone.

About 100 enthusiasts have found their recreational endeavor in the Iowa Region Sports Car Club of America, an organization that features a variety of driving competitions. But according to Jeff Ellerby of Marion, Autocross Solo II is the focus of most Eastern Iowa members.

Autocross is a non-speed event on an obstacle course laid out with traffic cones. Cars in a variety of classes compete one at a time, racing against the course and the clock.

"Autocross emphasizes maneuverability over raw acceleration," said Ellerby, a three-time national champion in the Solo II modified D class. "Average speed can be 30 to 40 miles per hour, and you're not supposed to exceed 60 miles per hour in the stock class."

Courses are generally set up to take 45 to 60 seconds to complete. Hit a traffic cone, and it adds to your time. Competitors can walk the course, which is certified by SCCA safety inspectors, but cannot drive it before the competition. Drivers get four runs, and count their best.

"It's a casual to a competitive atmosphere, and it's a friendly competition," Ellerby said.

The Iowa Region hosts about a dozen SCCA-sanctioned events a year, and anyone with a valid driver's license can drive in anything from a street stock vehicle to highly modified open wheel road racers. Drivers 18 and younger must sign a waiver to compete. Ages 8 to 15 can compete in go-karts.

"If you want to come out one Sunday a year in a car you drive 1,000 miles a year, you can do it," Ellerby said. "You can do most everything from driving once a year to trying for a national championship. And we can class just about anything."

Safety is stressed, Ellerby said, noting that helmets and seat belts are required and that a roll-bar is required in some classes.

The money people put into it "is all over the place," Ellerby said. "It could be as much as $20,000 to $25,000. On the national level, you spend whatever it takes to be good."

Ellerby is the regional executive for the Iowa Region organization, which incorporates a large section of Eastern Iowa. It stretches north to the Iowa border, west to Marshalltown, south to Iowa City and east to the Mississippi River north of the Quad Cities, which is in another region.

"We picked up the northeast Iowa region about six or seven years ago and got a funny shape out of that deal," Ellerby said.

The club meets monthly at Ellerby's residence. "That way I'm never late," he quipped.

The club is active year-round and schedules such winter activities as movie nights, game nights and indoor go-karting.

Membership is mostly male, although Ellerby said some young females are getting involved. He said Danica Packingham, 16, of Cedar Rapids is competing extremely well. The oldest active member is 78.