----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Salem" <eric@mail.brown911.com>
> If we get to count pre-birth AutoX, I can go back to '66 when mom was,
> she says, 8 months pregnant with me. Would have been in an MG or 912.
I can beat that.
I was also thinking of what my parents were doing back then. Dad
started a sports car club while in college (UW-Milwaukee) in the early 60s.
He had a Pontiac Tempest. I've seen the old films of something resembling
an autocross run on an open field. IIRC, dad graduated in 1964 so he beats
Rocky. He also was a corner worker at Road America and similar places. He
rode long distances in small cars (eg. Volvo P1800) to places like Watkins
Glen. Then Dad went deeper into the military and somewhere along the way
met Mom. :-)
I know that my parents together did something like autocrosses in the
mid-60s. They did stuff at a base in VA called Dahlgren or something like
that (it's too late to call them tonight for details). They were married
there in 1966 with full uniforms, swords, and all the other cool things
officers do. :-) I bet Mom can still tell us how many cones you can stuff
into a TR4 with a big dog riding shotgun. :-)
War came along and then I came along in 1971. Dad was then a poor grad
student in WA so I doubt any car fun happened then. I only got to hear the
cool stories of the 60s. I had a subscription to Road & Track before I
could read. Lamborghini Countaches were drool-worthy. :-) We then moved
around a bit and did the typical young family stuff in CA and LA.
In the 70s, the sportiest vehicle my parents had was a Volvo station
wagon. I didn't get to DO any of the cool things I heard about until I did
a TSD rally in high school (IIRC, 1988). Dad and I went out in my new-to-me
1980 Spitfire and we got well and truly lost west of Houston. Mom and I did
some gimmick rallies back when Houston Region had a series of them.
Back then, you had to be 18 to autocross. My senior year in high school
was very busy so I didn't autocross until I started college at Texas A&M.
We have a large club there (TAMSCC). I ran the Spitfire in CSP or DSP and
was always DFL. Then I got my first Miata in 1990. Woohoo! Now dad
autocrosses and is an avid road race corner worker. Texas World Speedway
pales in comparison to Road America and the other places but it's better
than nothing. Mom's arthritis keeps her away her from motorsports. :-(
Mike Lowe -- Houston Region SCCA
94 Miata Turbo in SM2 and some other sports cars throughout the years
p.s. I cc'd my parents so maybe I'll get more details on the stories I grew
up with. :-)
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