Arriving At The Event

The day starts early. Most autocrosses start between 8:30am and 9:00am. You'll want to give yourself sufficient time to get to the event and have time to unpack, setup, have your car teched, register and walk the course. I recommend getting there by 6:30am. Upon arriving, you must sign a waiver and are provided a wristband that you must wear at all times.

Here, my buddy and I have arrived and I have mini-cones to mark my spot and to save enough space for my friends and all my stuff. You won't always have the luxury of parking under a bridge, so I recommend bringing an EZ-Up or other form of shade.

Getting Your Car Teched

Make sure to thoroughly remove all loose and heavy items from your car. This would include change, spare tire, jack, etc. Once done, head over to the "TECH" line. This area is usually marked and is where officials at the event will inspect your car to make sure everything is in order for racing. They'll make sure your battery is tied down, your lugnuts are tight, there are no visible leaks or excessive tire wear, etc.

When in the TECH line, you must complete a Registration Card with your personal and vehicle information. When your car passes tech, the official will mark it so, assign your car class and you can proceed to the REGISTRATION area.

Event Registration

The REGISTRATION area is usually a tent or desk. There's either a sign or a line of people there. This is where you will submit your Registration Card, pay the fee, and receive your Run group and Work assignments.

The "RUN / WORK GROUP" is the color that you are assigned and is the group that you will be driving with as well as working the course with. This is VERY important! Throughout the day, the event coordinators will be announcing who's working or running.

For example, they'll call out: "Blue Drivers, please report to the pre-grid. Red drivers, please report to work." Everyone works - that is, they spend some time during the day picking up cones, waving flags, writing down scores, etc. Everyone is required to help. You may optionally receive your lunch ticket here as well if its provided.

Get To Know The Course

After TECHING and REGISTERING your car, its a good idea to WALK THE COURSE, if you can. Course walking is usually available from 7:30am to 8:15am. Note: some courses are so big, that walking is not an option, so you either use the 1st lap or a parade lap is provided. In any event, the idea is to familiarize yourself with the course and determine where you're going to shift, slow down and accelerate. I recommend walking the course at least twice and also to bring a pen and paper to map the course if possible. ( Pictured is a sample map that was provided at the event ). Do your best to visualize how you're going to be driving through the course and look for the racing line you'll be using

If this is your first time, ask at Registration if they have a novice course-walk. If they do, then its a good idea to join that as usually its led by an experienced driver or instructor.