Mid-Ohio sports car club hosting autocross event Sunday in Shelby
By Rob McCurdy
May 7, 2010The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Club, no affiliation with Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, was founded in 1956 and once claimed to be the oldest and largest sports car club in the state.
Like the track which was built in 1962, the club is still going strong.
On Sunday it will open its seventh decade with an autocross in the parking lot of Pioneer Career and Technology Center in Shelby. On May 31 they'll hold another one at Mansfield Lahm Airport.
Gale Makeever, president of the club, would like to see its membership expand from its current 35.
"We're not for spectators. It's for participants only," Makeever said.
With autocross, a course is marked off with cones. One at a time, competitors take laps with the fastest time in each class winning.
"It's basically about car handling and trying to get the best time you can," he said.
Participants don't have to be members of the club to compete, but they must follow the same rules which includes wearing a helmet as well as getting their vehicle looked over for safety and classification purposes. Drivers must be 18 and those younger must have parental consent.
It's not just for sports cars. Makeever said there are classes for all sorts of vehicles.
It is $25 for non-members and $20 for members. Sunday's meet starts at 8:30 a.m. with registration at 9:45 a.m. for a mandatory drivers meeting. Competition begins at 10 a.m. and drivers will get anywhere from four to six runs.
"It teaches car-handling skills and lets you know the capabilities of your vehicle," Makeever said.
At its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, the club conducted autocross competitions, hosted hillclimbs near Lucas, ice autocross runs at Lake Silverstone in Ashland County and economy runs where cars were filled up with gas and weighed, then weighed again at the end of the drive.
As for 2010, the club will host autocrosses on June 13 at Pioneer, July 18 at Lahm, Aug. 15 at either Pioneer or Lahm and Sept. 6 at Lahm. Call Makeever at 419-512-9495 if interested in joining the club or competing.
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