I autocrossed my Sentra for more than two years. First in H/Stock, and then in G/Stock, where I won a championship in 2003. Over the off season last winter, I prepped the car to move into STS. That allowed me to move into a deeper, more competitive class and, as an added bonus, compete head-to-head against my brother. To be blunt, I mostly got my ass whupped in STS.
In September, the SWVR ran its second even of the year in the northern part of the state in Clarksburg. It was a smaller event that normal (the weather sucked - hurricane remnants hit the day before), leaving STS to be contested just between my brother and I. He did, by about a second and a half. I took one fun run in his Neon and immediately chopped 7/10ths of a second off my best time. This meant something. Was my lack of results this year due to my driving or my car?
For our October event, I co-drove my brother's Neon to try and help answer that question. At the end of the day, it was answered emphatically. After a season of being in the second division of STS, I finished second in class (out of 13), ahead of my brother, and just 1/10th of a second off the lead. So I decided that the time was right to retire the Sentra from competition. It's a great car (I highly recommend one, either the 2000 or 2001 SE version), but it's a little portly for a class dominated 0n a national level by featherweight Civics and in my region by much lighter (not Civic light, but still) 1st-gen Neons. So the search began for a new toy.
That search didn't take long, thankfully. I had a long list of potential cars (old Civics, Sentras, Integras, etc.), among which was a 1st-gen Neon. It just so happens that one of my fellow SWVR board members was looking to sell his second Neon, a 95 Sport Coupe, as he was readying his ACR version to go road racing. In the process, he was willing to unload several STS upgrades he could no longer use. We agreed on the deal last weekend, and after some wrenching this weekend, I took delivery.
The new Legal Eagle Racing Neon (pixs above): 95 Sport Coupe with Mopar Extra High Rate springs, Ractive front strut tower brace, Chikara (nee Hedman) header, Enkei 15x6 wheels, custom intake, Unorthodox Racing underdrive pulley, ACR-spec front and rear sway bars (polyurethane bushings in front), air conditioning removed. All I need are some Konis and a fresh set of Ecsta MXs and I'll be set for '05.
