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Forty-one competitors participated in the St. Marys Autocross last weekend.
While many residents of Camden County were attending the Scarecrow Stroll and related activities downtown this past Sunday, some may also have noticed some cars around town with numbers and cryptic letters on their sides. If so, that’s because the Jacksonville-based North Florida Corvette Association (NFCA) was conducting their first-ever autocross event at the old airport.
An autocross is a timed event where one car at a time negotiates an “obstacle course” defined by traffic cones, and this event used the southwest taxiway and western portion of the east-west runway. Some people compare an autocross to a miniature road race (think Monaco Grand Prix), but the course design changes from event to event and there is no passing. While drivers want to complete the course in the least amount of time, safety regulations require the fastest cars cannot exceed approx. 70. This is accomplished by placing different elements on the course that the drivers must negotiate. Hitting a pylon adds two seconds to one’s time and missing a gate entirely results in a Did Not Finish (DNF) for that run, so staying on course is paramount. And while viewing areas are well outside the competition surface, the entire course was visible from just about anywhere inside the airport gates.
This past Sunday, Oct. 24, 41 drivers from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina participated at the first-ever autocross in St Marys. While there were a number of local drivers in attendance, including several who are stationed at Kings Bay, many entries came from outside Camden County. Altogether there were more than 250 people on the property at one point or another during the day. The location got rave reviews from all the drivers, and many local residents who participated were pleased to see the airport in use.
There were 22 Corvettes but also 19 non-Corvettes ranging from other American muscle cars to Porsches, Fiats and Hondas, and each driver was allowed to make up to 14 timed runs. The Fastest Time of Day (FTD) of 42.559 seconds came from the open ranks and was turned by Kyle Younger of Fernandina Beach in his much-modified “Naked Vette.” Younger's vehicle originated as a production ‘98 Corvette, but over the years he has proceeded to remove many non-essential parts (including the body), added a huge rear wing, and moved the radiator behind the rear axle. Despite the dune buggy appearance, Kyle’s car remains street-legal, and he actually drove it to the event while many competitors came in on trailers.
By comparison, the fastest Corvettes of the day were Steve Goodbread of Melrose, Florida, in his 2002 Z06 with a best run of 45.200 followed closely by NFCA President Harry Way in his C7 coupe with a 45.321. Had Goodbread and Way started nose-to-tail on their best runs they would have been about 10 feet apart at the finish line. NFCA also recognizes the fastest time of the 11 women drivers participating, and that went to the 47.650 turned by Veronica Duys of Merritt Island, Florida, in her 2012 Grand Sport Corvette. And finally, the fastest non-Corvette was St. Marys resident Bill Traub, who clocked a best of 46.531 in his 2021 Mazda Miata MX-5.
For those interested, NFCA is hosting a two-day event at the airport on Dec. 4-5 and details will be announced soon. No firm plans exist yet for 2022, but both NFCA and the Jacksonville branch of the Buccaneer Region SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) have expressed interest in using the site. As mentioned, many of the participants are coming from outside Camden County, and will be spending money on food, entertainment, and lodging in the area.
(Article contributed by host organization NFCA.)