“World class sprinters, ski racers, and Olympic swimmers train a lifetime to compete in a 10 to 60 second race. That’s autocross,” explained Bob Davis, the Autocross Chairman for the New England Region SCCA. As the Chair for the autocross speciality since 2010, he took over from Bob Lang and has dedicated the last eight years to improving novice retention, establishing a pro class, and improving operating efficiency to increase participation from 120 to 160 drivers per event.
As his tenure as the Autocross Chair winds down, Bob shared what brought him to SCCA and Autocross over a decade ago, educates members on the role of the Chairman, shares advice for newcomers and those considering getting involved in autocross, and what the future holds for this form of motorsports.
Bob Davis and his son Billy – Solo Nationals 2017
“World class sprinters, ski racers, and Olympic swimmers train a lifetime to compete in a 10 to 60 second race. That’s autocross.”
Bob, Billy, and Pam Davis celebrate Bob’s 3rd place and Billy’s 4th consecutive national CSP Championship at the 2017 Solo Nationals Banquet in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Keisel Guitar on the table is awarded to the top PAX performance at nationals each year. This is Billy’s 3rd consecutive guitar.
From Gymkhana to Autocross
“When my son Billy was getting his license, we started talking about motorcycles and racing. I remembered when I was a kid I watched something at a local parking lot called Gymkhana. People took their everyday sports cars and competed on a closed course of cones,” Bob began. “A little research brought me to autocross.” So Bob and Billy bought their first BMW E30 in 2007 and the two of them took it to a BMW Club event in 2008.
From that first event, the Davis’ were hooked. The duo quickly determined that SCCA offered the best autocross competition. In 2009, “Billy and I settled on an E Stock Miata and attended our first Solo Nationals that year. We then moved to a higher preparation class, CSP (C Street Prepared), and have competed extensively at the regional and national level for the past six years.” Just last fall, Bob’s wife Pam decided to not let the boys have all the fun. She purchased a new Subaru BRZ and outfitted it for the Solo Spec Class, getting into the heart of the action herself.
Bob adds with a touch of pride, “Billy won the CSP National Championship for the last four years in a row and has won top PAX at the last 3 National Championships.” The NER family will follow the family as they head back to Lincoln, NE for the 2018 Solo Nationals coming up next month. “I enjoy the variety of people we have met, both in the New England Region and across the country. NER is one of the biggest, most competitive regions on the national scene so there is always a familiar face at national events.”
Being Chairman
“The role of the Chair is to set the overall direction for the program, recruit and mentor volunteers for all key chief positions, and establish and maintain the level of teamwork for the event to run well and members to have a great experience,” explained Bob. When first taking on the Chairman role in 2010, Bob spoke with many members about what worked and what they wanted to see work better. With a professional background in managing and growing organizations, Bob welcomed the opportunity to use that experience in developing the Autocross program. Over the past eight years, he feels his team has achieved those initial goals they set: to improve novice retention, establish a pro class and improve the competitiveness at a national level, and increase operating efficiency so that events can manage 160 drivers. “Our team is terrific. We are to the point that each chief knows their job so well that I usually don’t have much to do at an event. I mainly chat with members and novices and keep an eye on the overall flow of the day.”
With the current team and processes in place, Bob is ready to hand over the reins as Chairman next year.
Get Racing: Advice for Newcomers to Autocross
Calls from newcomers with questions before attending their first Autocross is a common occurrence for the Chair. “The first thing I tell them is to relax! Enjoy yourself! There are lots of people, both event officials and fellow competitors, available to show new folks the ropes. There is a formal novice program which will guide new participants through everything they need to know on their first day, and they can approach anyone, especially officials with a radio, and ask for guidance and help.”
Other advice Bob offers to first time autocrossers includes:
- It is a blast! Try it, you’ll like it!
- Anyone can do it. In virtually any car. Many people compete in their daily driver.
- It is an extremely safe form of automotive competition. Relatively slow speeds without any passing.
- It is the best way to learn car control without risking damage to your car.
- There is a great community of fellow autocrossers ready to help.
- There is time for socializing, both at events and after.
“You don’t have to be hyper competitive to enjoy yourself and progress in the sport. We are an all-volunteer organization so there are many ways to help out. This aspect of the sport is fulfilling in itself,” Bob concludes.
The Future of Autocross
“Autocross is an incredibly large sport nationwide, with larger participation than any other form of racing in the SCCA. Low cost and low risk to our vehicles combined with the high level of car control skill levels needed to be truly fast makes it a very strong competitive environment with some national championships being decided by .001 or .002 seconds.” While some racers have utilized Autocross as a stepping stone into road racing or rally, that is a minority of the participants. As Bob mentioned earlier, Autocross is a sprint that requires a unique set of motorsports skills and abilities.
Besides the normal turnover with car classifications, “The move to street tires for stock classes has led to very large, robust street and street prepared categories,” Bob advises those looking for what’s on the horizon with Autocross. “There are a relatively large number of classes with small numbers of competitors in race tire classes now. We are kicking around ideas to better balance class sizes in these categories.” As a member of the national Solo Events Board, Bob is excited about how SCCA is emphasizing #funwithcars and how that dovetails with the competitiveness of Autocross. “I can see a greater emphasis on fun in the planning for 2018 Solo Nationals. Mike Cobb, the new president of SCCA, seems to be keenly aware of the factors that will grow autocross and is actively pursuing some interesting ideas in this area.”
For more information on the NER Autocross program, contact Bob or any of the Autocross speciality chiefs. The next NER Autocross event is our RAL event, the Jeff Gordon Challenge on Sunday, September 23. We hope to see you there!
