The Family 4-Door Takes to the Track
By Lenore McKenzie-Morris
The 1977 VW Rabbit was one of two race vehicles the Zimmer family brought to Myrtle Beach's Freestyle Music Park on Dec. 5 for the autocross event, but it's the one with the longest race history.
"We have national championships every year in the Midwest and this car and I have been there every year for the last 15 years," said Geoff Zimmer. "This car is dedicated to racing."
The Lexington, S.C. family came to the Myrtle Beach area for the final Fairway Subaru South Carolina Auto Club points event.
Geoff's son Nick can't run a car on the course for another six months, but that doesn't stop the 15-year-old from racing.
"I race a 1991 track cart," Nick said, adding that he started racing with the Sports Car Club of America when he was 11. "I'm hoping for first in the cart."
Nick got his first and Dad finished with a respectable time in an event that basically allows drivers to race against themselves for points that are tallied at the end of the nine-month season.
The Sports Car Club of America holds events throughout the year all over the country. Racers bring their family car to a parking lot where organizers measure out a track and use traffic cones to mark the course. It typically takes about minute to run the course.
It is an affordable and addicting entry into the adventure of car racing.
"For most people, if we can get them out on the course they are going to come back again because it's not a lot of money," said Tom Mezzapelle, a club member who served as the racing steward for the Dec. 5 event. "A lot of people drive what they brought. They take the extra stuff out of the trunk and the extra stuff out of the car that might fly around."
Mezzapelle said the cars vary from Hondas to Porsches, with variations in class based on any modifications that might be made to the cars. Passengers often go along for the ride, donning helmets just like the driver. Everyone - drivers, passengers, onlookers - signs a waiver to get into the event.
"It's the most inexpensive racing you can do and it's for anyone at $20," said Michael Jones, a racer who also serves as a novice driver instructor. "We have an average of 15 novices in a race, mostly kids who are 18-25 years old. Our membership has doubled in the last three years; we signed 100 new members in the '09 season.
"Autocross is a very small step into racing," Jones said. "It can be a step or it can just be a hobby."
For Melanie Murray, autocross is a hobby. The mother of four arrived with her husband and all the children from Mt. Pleasant to race her 1983 Mazda RX7 in the C Street Prepared Ladies class. The car barely had time to cool off between runs, however, since her husband Allen, daughter Ariel and son Kevin all used to the car to compete in their own divisions. Ten-year-old Joseph donned his Match Box cars hat and gloves and a helmet to ride along, but will have to wait to get his own cart before he can drive the course.
And he'll have to be trained like his sister was before he'll be allowed to compete.
"My daughter started driving after she did our teen survival course," Murray said. "She caught the bug real fast. She was driving before I was."
Mezzapelle said the group offers a teen survival course to teach young drivers how to run a course in the car they drive on a daily basis. The survival course comes with a trial membership to the organization and the teens can return to race in points events throughout the season.
Older brother Kevin is so addicted to autocross that he married his bride in June after the races were completed just a few yards away from the course. Melanie provided the Cars-themed wedding cake.
The results for the Dec. 5 event are posted at this Web page.
The next meeting of the Coastal Carolina chapter will meet on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. at Bumstead's on 11th Avenue in Myrtle Beach. For more information on upcoming events, visit the club's Web site.
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