DAVID HUNTER, Post Contributor
Posted: Sunday, July 25, 2010 3:28 am

On Sunday, July 11, many different types of vehicles showed up to the Nashville Superspeedway wanting to push their limits in terms of control.

The parking lot was turned into a test center that featured tight cornering, heavy braking and fast times. By the way, some of the drivers let me go along for the ride.

According to the Sports Car Club of America’s website, autocross or Solo II is defined as a driving skill contest that emphasize the driver’s ability and the car’s handling characteristics.

This is accomplished by driving a course that is designated by traffic cones at low-hazard locations, such as a parking lot or inactive airstrip. While speeds are no greater than those normally encountered in a legal highway driving, the combination of concentration and car feedback creates an adrenaline-pumping experience. It is like being in a movie car chase scene, only you are holding onto the steering wheel instead of a box of popcorn.

The Tennessee Region of the SCCA held the event and assistant solo chair and Murfreesboro native Doug Jackson created the course for Sunday’s event. He decided to bring his 1990 Mazda Miata, and I got to go along for the ride.

Some of the drivers said the course was very technical. Early on, many of their runs were disallowed because of a missed cone during one of the crossover portions of the track. Even Jackson had trouble when he spun out in the same area, but he amazingly did not miss the cone during his first run.

At that time I was in the scoring tower preparing to ride along for his second run and joked I hope it does not happen when I’m riding along side. I, however, had total confidence in his driving ability. On his second run, he did not make a mistake, but at the end I was speechless.

“Anyone who autocrosses regularly will become a much better driver,” Jackson said.

The next car I rode in was a 2010 Corvette driven by Janet Schuster. She also serves as the organization’s secretary and has more than 10 years experience in autocross.

Schuster, however, has only had this car for about a month. This time the ride felt different, but I was still speechless at the conclusion of the run.

The cars that were used in the event are sometimes part of their normal driving habits, like Brentwood’s Tony Wellinghurst, who uses his rear-engine 2009 Lotus several times a week. That was the first time I had ever rode in a rear-engine car.

Another car I rode in was a 1997 BMW driven by Bowling Green’s Ken Pierce. He likes coming here because of the longer course and more runs he gets than in other competitions.

One of the best drivers in the area, Smyrna’s Jason Collett was also decided to play the role of passenger. You see, Collett, is a two-time national champion in the racing series. Last year, he won the event in Lincoln, Neb. driving a 2003 Chevy Corvette.

“The level of competition is remarkable,” Collett said. “It’s the fastest of the fastest. Drivers show up from around the nation and Canada. It’s a humbling experience.”

Collett bested 21 other drivers in the A Street Prepared Class to become champion. He also won it 2007 driving a 2001 Honda S2000 in the A Stock Class.

The final vehicle was a 1985 Toyota Corolla driven by Mt. Juliet’s Justin Marlow. He said the car has more than 300,000 miles on it, but he had just put on new tires the day before the event.

Most of the cars took nine runs on the course with one on the track at a time. The vehicles were divided up into 14 separate classes based on skill level, type of vehicle and the extra work and parts that was put into it. The fastest time around the course was around a minute depending on the class.

Autocross returns to the Nashville Superspeedway regularly. Visit trscca.org for a schedule.

David Hunter can be contacted at sports@murfreesboropost.com.