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May 18, 2009

Autocross a chance to test driving skill

John Walker

DUNCAN — The track may have been soaked from the overnight rain and a soft mist may have been coming down, but that didn’t stop die-hards from testing their racing skills on a track that was set up in Duncan.

Immanuel Baptist Church on the corner of Second and Oak set up an autocross course in their parking lot, designated by plenty of orange safety cones.

As the racers sped through the turns and puddles of water, their back tires lost traction and their car careened out of control for a milli-second before the rubber caught hold of the pavement again.

Loren Swor, who helped design the course the past two years, said that they hoped a few hundred people would show up and test their mettle around the turns Saturday.

At 10 a.m., when the event started, there were only a handful because of the pouring rain. An hour later, a few more cars showed up. The event lasted until 3 p.m. Saturday.

“We’re praying the rain will slow down a bit today,” Swor said at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday. “We knew it was gonna be a killer with all this rain. It has slowed us down, but we’re getting there.”

The event was free to the community and was merely meant to help the community have something fun to do on a Saturday, Swor said.

The event was timed and included multiple categories for a person to enter a vehicle.

Jan (pronounced “Yaun”) Bouma of Duncan and who helped Swor design the course on the back of a napkin said that the rain made the course nice and slick.

“I did it in 41 seconds yesterday,” Bouma said Saturday. “But it was dry then. Today is different. I’ll do it in 50 plus seconds.”

Adam Neer, who helped officiate the race, said the rain was affecting their ability to effectively maneuver the course.

“The logistics is a nightmare,” Neer said. “We have to tell the people to just work with us.”

Neer said that some drivers want to go fast, but the course is so slick, it could be dangerous for them to do so.

“The logistics are killing us, but other than the water on the track, it’s a fun race,” Neer said.

The race brought people of all age groups to participate Saturday. Eighty-three year old Dan Wiseman drove his Mazda Miata around the course.

“I won it last year in my division, but I didn’t have any competition,” Wiseman said. “But they tell me I might have some competition this year.”

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