Autocross Shootout

The top 5 season points holders from each class of the Massachusetts BMW Retailers Autocross Series were invited to participate in a shootout to determine the Autocross Hotshoe of the Year. Of the 42 invited drivers, 23 attended the event at Rockingham Park on Sunday, November 7. While the sun was mostly out, the day was cold and windy. Stan Jackson Sr. was on hand to tell us this was "good practice for ice racing" weather. Indeed, just as Justin Hughes and I finished packing up at the end of the day, a small flurry of snow came down to see us off!

The concept of the shootout is to eliminate classes and have all cars run against the other. Normalization factors were used to level the playing field, so that the final score would theoretically be based on driving skill rather than vehicle performance. Drivers were ranked according to the average of their 2 lowest normalized times. The average of 2 lowest times, rather than the single fastest time, is used in Boston Chapter autocrosses to emphasize the importance of driver consistency rather than a single "lucky" run.

For BMWs, the normalization factor was derived from the relationship between the lowest time of the year for each BMW vs. the performance points assigned to those cars according to the Boston Chapter BMW Autocross Classification System. A fourth order polynomial was fit to the data, generating a curve that predicted the best possible time for each car as a function of that cars performance points. The BMW normalization factor was then defined as the ratio of each cars predicted time to a 60 second run time.

Non-BMWs were classified according to SCCA rules. The PAX Factor system, used by the SCCA to compare times between different car classes in SCCA autocrosses, was used to normalize times for the non-BMWs.

Fred Beck edged out Scott Casagrande's normalized average best time by 0.159 seconds to take the BMW Hotshoe of the Year award. Jim LaTorre bested Billy Bacon's adjusted time by 0.927 seconds to take the non-BMW Hotshoe of the Year award. Dave Spragg took BMW FTD with a 74.169 second run, and Billy Bacon took non-BMW FTD with a 74.908 second run.

My thanks to all the top drivers who showed up for the event, and to everyone who participated in the autocross series this year which made this all possible. A special thanks to John Mansfield and Justin Hughes for co-chairing the event with me. Stay tuned for Autocross 2000!

January 2000 BIMMER

Behind the Wheel: National Elections This Month by Fred Beck

Under the Hood: I Didn't Go Blind by Greg Scott

January 2000 New Members by Barry Tarr

Turns To Take: Stronger And Bigger! by Maria Anggraeni

Fourth Quarter General Meeting: An Awarding Experience by Justin Hughes

1999 Fourth Quarter General Meeting: An Awarding Experience Photo Gallery by Dan Mull and Ron Sisco

Sixth Annual Leaf Peeping Fun Rally: Therapy Behind The Wheel by John Sullivan

Sixth Annual Leaf Peeping Fun Rally: Therapy Behind The Wheel Photo Gallery by Dan Mull

Driving School at New Hampshire International Speedway: One's Passion For School by Richard M. Shrier

Driving School at Lime Rock Park: I'm Addicted To School by Justin Hughes

Driving School at ime Rock Park: I'm Addicted To School Photo Gallery by Ron Sisco

Charitable Contributions: Bucks for Bristol by Stan Jackson Jr.

Boston Chapter Autocross Series: It's All About Kicking Cones! by Fred Beck and Justin Hughes

Boston Chapter Autocross Series: Autocross 8 Photo Gallery by Allison Feldhusen

1999 Boston Chapter Autocross Series: Autocross Shootout by Fred Beck

November 1999 Boston Chapter Board Meeting Minutes by Will Farnsworth

More Boston Bimmer articles by Fred Beck

President's Page: Mr. Beck Goes To Washington November/December 2000 Bimmer

President's Page: Calling All Members October 2000 Bimmer

President's Page: Bonjour, Chapitre de Boston! September 2000 Bimmer

President's Page July/August 2000 Bimmer

President's Page June 2000 Bimmer

There are 51 more Boston Bimmer articles by Fred Beck