My first autocross was in 2010 at Bremerton Raceway in Washington State. Back then, I owned a 2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, the one with the V8 up front, and I felt cocky as all hell…I could canyon-carve, I’d been doing that ever since my first Monte Carlo SS ten years prior, when I was wringing out a well-worn G-body in the mountain passes of Colorado. What happened at my first autocross? I performed a smoking launch that earned me a talking-to from the race organizer, and learned just what “plow” truly could be and how bad it was in a nose-heavy GM W-body. I’m just grateful that the SS didn’t have to be yanked out of the scotch broom bushes that lined the track! The Subaru people I was racing with were quick to point out their superiority with their all-wheel-drive…right up until too much throttle and not enough experience with snap oversteer put one of their cars into the hedges. And the one time I took a RWD car to the course, weight transfer and poor braking lines didn’t help matters.
The drive type of the car you put on the track sets the tone for everything you do, and all three variations have their own patterns that you must recognize, learn and master if you don’t want to be the guy kissing the Armco with the front bumper. Just because it’s got all-wheel-drive doesn’t mean that a Mitsubishi 3000GT can’t be spun like a top if you botch the entrance to a corner, and go tell the Fiesta ST guys that front wheel drive can’t handle…let us know how that one goes. Pro wheelman Randy Pobst is back to dispense more knowledge for you here, so give a click down below and enjoy the lesson!
