While most of our team was busy fighting in the comfort of a sim racing seat and the joys of air conditioning, part of our team was busy fighting on track. During our exhibition race, some members of LSR attended the Spokes Autocross event, where our very own officer George Lawrence raced in his racing class, snatching a podium against other extremely talented drivers.
Spokes Autocross was unimaginable – it was a community of car-loving, race-loving people who gushed about the upgrades and modifications of their cars, offered tips and tricks to everyone (regardless of whether or not they were competition), and most importantly, shared a genuine passion for the thrill of driving.
Our day began at the excruciatingly early time of six AM, driving out all the way to Selma, TX to beat the registration time of 8:15 AM – my eyes were struggling to remain opened all the trip down, and there wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to convince me that staying awake was a good idea. Even so, we arrived on track, immediately taking out every gram of extraneous mass within the car – as we so lovingly dubbed it, weight reduction. And yes, the two rolls of tape we removed were completely necessary to be eradicated, don’t question the aerodynamics.
At Spokes Autocross, you are introduced to the track for the first time at the event; you are given the opportunity to take a track walk within a given time frame, then given only five laps to perform a best time. I now understand why Max Verstappen hates track walks – the track didn’t even reach a kilometer and I was already dying under the sweltering sun, dust in my eyes, already begging to be exposed to the modern technology of fans (which did not in fact happen). I too would want to look at a track from Google Maps – imagine walking the entirety of Spa-Francorchamps, seven kilometers of twists, turns, straights, and the punishment of the weather. Nevertheless, George went directly into analysis, taking in the corners, contemplating the slaloms, already (correctly) predicting which segments would create the most trouble. Before we knew it, the first heat of racing was starting, and the day was only just beginning.
Should I have been in a car suddenly braking and triggering debilitating vertigo when I ran out of Dramamine (my motion sickness medication)? No. Did I still put on a helmet and witness racing from the passenger seat? Absolutely. It is completely normalized at Spokes to ask for ride-alongs, and my first one is an experience I will never forget. I was in a GT1, and before I could even process that the car was racing, we had already crossed the line – in first, fastest time of the class the GT1 was in (D street class, for anyone curious), cheering so loudly from the passenger seat you would think I drove the car across the finish line (I’m enthusiastic and dramatic, I hold no apologies). It was beyond fun; I have never been in the car while on track, and all of a sudden, I was given some of the best 46 seconds of my life.
Then it was George’s turn to race. Prior to this, we had worked on magnetic vinyl stickers for his car, battling Adobe Illustrator and exporting files I never knew existed (what even is an .eps, I’m still not sure). We so excitedly place them on the car – for future reference, never place two STEM kids without an ounce of arts and crafts skills in charge of sticking vinyl on magnets. It was, for lack of better words, traumatizing.
First lap: the magnets fly off. Quite literally, flying off. On top of that, he knocks down a cone (the bane of everyone's existence at this point). Call me the NASCAR pit crew the way I came sprinting with two rolls of tape, ready to tape up anything needing fixing.
Second lap comes by, triple duct taped numbers on his car, George goes absolutely skyrocketing through his lap, knocking off two seconds (and not a cone) from his previous time.
Third lap comes and goes, and amazingly, he drops another two seconds, just above third place by hundredths of a second.
The fourth lap had to be near perfection for first place. The pace begins well, tight corners, proper braking, avoiding cones to avoid penalties. He pushes the throttle, basically impersonating Andy Jankowiak (I need to ask if he ever saw God). Then the final turn hits – his car swerves, his racing tires screech under the stress (I wasn’t even aware racing tires could do that), but under some miracle, he corrects the car, grasping onto third place.
To this day I genuinely believe I panicked more than he did seeing his car swing in all directions. Mark Webber has nothing on my screaming.
Nevertheless, our very own George Lawrence grabs a comfortable third place, podiuming against some national champions and qualifiers of other racing leagues. His performance was beyond amazing, and we are so proud of him for representing LSR in the best way possible.
Spokes is a day to remember for the rest of my life – I experienced racing the closest I possibly could (I refuse to go behind the driver’s wheel), I was surrounded by dozens of motorsport loving individuals, and I saw our very own members thrive under motorsport conditions – the very thing LSR thrives to do one day. Connect our sim racing experiences to those outside.
I can’t wait for the next one – and trust me, we’ll have better magnets (and vinyl sticking skills) next time around.