Defensive Driving and Autocross           by Nancy & Bob Rece Saturday, June 13, 2009, was a great day for the Defensive Driving and Autocross event hosted by the Indianapolis 500 Section, joined by six members of the Cincinnati Section (Eric Goodrich, Martin Wilhelmy, Doug Myers & Jan Harrison, and Bob & Nancy Rece).  We met about 9:00am at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, IN, which proved to be a great venue with plenty of space.  After registration, Ken Salter, Indy Section President, reviewed the types of hazards of the Defensive Driving track.  All participating vehicles then went through a tech check – lug nuts secured and tire pressure checked.  There were at least 18 cars participating, including Ken’s Ford truck, a Jaguar, Lincoln , Mustang, and one hot little Dodge Neon.   All drivers maneuvered the Defensive Driving course with an instructor to get the feel of the course and learn proper handling.  Each made about three runs through the obstacles.   During our break for lunch, the course was transformed into an Autocross, using cones to mark the route and directional cones for guidance.  We all walked the new course to become familiar with the nuances:  a slight curve, a slalom, 270 degree turn, tight curves, another slalom, more turns and tight curves, ending with a 90 degree turn to stop in front of the final cone.  In groups of three, each driver maneuvered the course trying to reach their best time.  For the second slalom, drivers had to figure out the best path to cut off costly seconds.   By the end, you could really see improvement by each driver.  The smile on the faces of those who really "got it" when they realized what their car could do and what they could do with their car, was really worth every minute.  A real favorite was Jan Harrison’s two-arms-up WooHoo as she beat her own best time.  Congratulations to our own Martin Wilhelmy, who won a really cool green glass, engraved trophy for best time in the Novice Class.   Many thanks to Ken Salter, Dave Wilson, Andy Toth, Randy & Terry Patee, Terry Fenimore and everyone else involved for hosting such a great, fun event.   For photos, click here .