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Moving to TEXAS!

Last post 02-26-2008, 6:29 PM by STS3gCivicSi. 34 replies.
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  •  11-16-2007, 1:56 PM 273774

    Moving to TEXAS!

    Hello all!

    My name is James Wilson, and my family and I will be moving from San Diego CA to the Austin area in July of '08. I hear that there is not much going on in solo directly in Austin, but a good long drive is okay by me.

    A little background, I have been autocrossing since 1999 in various classes (CSP, ES, GS, STS, STS2, HS). In 2004 I trophied a few times at some Tours in CA and AZ, and had a solid 8th place trophy at Nationals in STS. Skip to 2006, won a ProSolo in STS2 in CA. In 2007, in the new HS Subaru, I have won 3 Tours and 3 ProSolos (and a 2nd at the Houston NT this year) and finished 2nd at the Pro Finale in HS, and a decent 6th place trophy at Solo Nationals.  Conversely, I stink at local/Regional events and usually finish no higher than 3rd...we are usually pretty rushed in San Diego, there is not much time to focus on the "driving" part of the event :(

    I do not have my tire contract for next year (not good enough?), so I will be laying a bit low while we move our lives "back" to Texas. My wife and her family are from Austin, and we have a young daughter, so it is nice to come back to a place with family and settle down.

    My wife is a 5th grade teacher for a private Lutheran school in San Diego, and will be looking for a new job in the same field out in Austin. I have been a consultant for automotive and motorsports businesses for a few years, including JMC Motorsports, Chase Product Development (ChaseCam), and Speed Dynamics (MotorsportsData.com). I do not have any leads in TX yet for work, but it would actually be a nice change to NOT do something involved with racing or motorsports....so if there are any openings in local companies that might be "interesting", please let me know.

    I hope to get to know my new Solo Family in TX so that I won't feel like a stranger :)

    Thanks!

    James Wilson
    HS Subaru Impreza
    jamesnwilson AT hotmail.com

    *Banned Again* Permanently
  •  11-16-2007, 2:25 PM 273778 in reply to 273774

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    James - Good job at Natl's!

    Wish I could have been there to help out.  Good luck with the move and transfer to Texas.

    Keith R

    JFF Racing - SCCA BS BMW M3 / HS BMW 318i

  •  11-16-2007, 3:30 PM 273786 in reply to 273778

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Oh great...another Californian coming to spoil our laid-back Austin party.  Wink

    Just kidding...

    Anyway, welcome to Austin.  Its a great place to live...just don't tell anybody else.  Getting too crowded already.

    As for autocross in Austin, you really only need to know one word: Spokes!  Well, you might need to know "beer", too, as the two tend to go hand in hand. 

    The Spokes web site shows where we run and when. 

    You'll also want to go here: SASCA,  for the club that runs in San Antonio.  Good-sized asphalt lot, but a tad on the "undulating" side.

    And then there's the Texas A&M folks (Aggies), which run on a large concrete WWII bomber base.  Its a college club, so organization and quality of event varies accordingly.

    If you are willing to drive some more, there are tons of clubs that host events at Mineral Wells, west of Fort Worth.  Figure 3 hours for that drive.  Or in various other parts of the DFW Metroplex with Texas Region.

    Or you can go to Houston and run with the Houston Region, BMW club or PCA.  Again, about 3 hours.  Gulf Greyhound Park (site of the Tour) and the Police Academy (concrete, semi-road course north of town near the airport). 

    In short, you can run every weekend, if you are hard-core.  Or a couple of times a month if not.

    See you soon. 

    --Andy 

    PS: Gas here is just under $3.00 right now... 

  •  11-16-2007, 3:42 PM 273790 in reply to 273786

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Thanks guys!

    Anyone have any Rental/Investment property available, preferably in S. Austin?
     


    *Banned Again* Permanently
  •  11-16-2007, 6:05 PM 273805 in reply to 273790

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    STS3gCivicSi:

    Thanks guys!

    Anyone have any Rental/Investment property available, preferably in S. Austin?
     

    Go to the Spokes web site and join the mailing list.  Introduce yourself and ask the questions.  There is a surprising amount of OT stuff that gets discussed periodically and Spokes folk tend to help each other out with stuff like you are asking.

     --Andy

  •  11-16-2007, 6:24 PM 273810 in reply to 273774

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    STS3gCivicSi:
    A little background, I have been autocrossing since 1999 in various classes (CSP, ES, GS, STS, STS2, HS). In 2004 I trophied a few times at some Tours in CA and AZ, and had a solid 8th place trophy at Nationals in STS. Skip to 2006, won a ProSolo in STS2 in CA. In 2007, in the new HS Subaru, I have won 3 Tours and 3 ProSolos (and a 2nd at the Houston NT this year) and finished 2nd at the Pro Finale in HS, and a decent 6th place trophy at Solo Nationals.  Conversely, I stink at local/Regional events and usually finish no higher than 3rd...we are usually pretty rushed in San Diego, there is not much time to focus on the "driving" part of the event :( James Wilson

    You forgot "banned from SCCAForums," too.  Smile Eventually, you'll make it back to the Northeast.


    Matt Murray

    I am perfectly capable of learning from my mistakes. I will surely learn a great deal today.
  •  11-16-2007, 8:26 PM 273826 in reply to 273774

    • sm2dan is not online. Last active: 10/11/2008, 7:25 AM sm2dan
    • Top 100 Contributor
      Male
    • Joined on 12-26-2000
    • Round Rock, Texas. y'all
    • Posts 650
    • Points 8,260

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Welcome to Austin, James!  Gas here is only touching $3.00/gallon

     We're sorry you're moving to S. Austin, all the cool people live in Round Rock

    dWink
     


    Dan Pedroza
    CS 72/172
    2008 Nationals CS first loser
  •  11-16-2007, 9:31 PM 273830 in reply to 273826

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    sm2dan:

     We're sorry you're moving to S. Austin, all the cool people live in Round Rock

    dWink
     

     

    Welcome James.  South Austin is where is waaaaaaaaaaaay more fun than the boring north suburbs of Austin.Big Smile


    Steve Hudson
    DP Miata
  •  11-16-2007, 10:31 PM 273837 in reply to 273830

    • sm2dan is not online. Last active: 10/11/2008, 7:25 AM sm2dan
    • Top 100 Contributor
      Male
    • Joined on 12-26-2000
    • Round Rock, Texas. y'all
    • Posts 650
    • Points 8,260

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    stevemhudson:
    sm2dan:

     We're sorry you're moving to S. Austin, all the cool people live in Round Rock

    dWink
     

     

    Welcome James.  South Austin is where is waaaaaaaaaaaay more fun than the boring north suburbs of Austin.Big Smile

    Unfortunately and apparently the educational system down there is lacking Stick out tongue 


    Dan Pedroza
    CS 72/172
    2008 Nationals CS first loser
  •  11-17-2007, 8:14 AM 273880 in reply to 273830

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    stevemhudson:
     

    Welcome James.  South Austin is where is waaaaaaaaaaaay more fun than the boring north suburbs of Austin.Big Smile

    So why do you live on the west side then? 

    --Andy "west side also, but my kid lives in S. Austin" 

  •  11-17-2007, 8:57 AM 273882 in reply to 273880

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Andy Hollis:
    stevemhudson:
     

    Welcome James.  South Austin is where is waaaaaaaaaaaay more fun than the boring north suburbs of Austin.Big Smile

    So why do you live on the west side then? 

    --Andy "west side also, but my kid lives in S. Austin" 

    And how is where I live relevant to the discussion?

    To get this thread back on track.....as Andy said, join the Spokes mailing list at www.spokes.org and welcome to TexasParty!!!


    Steve Hudson
    DP Miata
  •  11-17-2007, 8:52 PM 273943 in reply to 273882

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    HAHA yeah we haven't settled on where we will end up exactly.  The in-laws live in S. Austin (Circle C, Mopac & Slaughter), but we have been looking at Round Rock and as far east as Bastrop.  ANYTHING is cheaper than where we are now, and I think we have one of the least-expensive home rentals in ALL of San Diego County.

    Concordia University Austin is moving to Lakeway (?), and my mother-in-law works there, my wife might go back for some graduate studies and I would like to finish up some schoolin' from Concordia Irvine (CA, $$$$$$$$$$$$$$), fortunately everything transfers, and we get fairly substantial discounts if we have family working there.  So we'll see.

    I will join Spokes, might be time to transfer my membership from NER? 

     

     


    *Banned Again* Permanently
  •  11-18-2007, 12:40 AM 273964 in reply to 273943

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    SASCA has a forum to keep track of events in San Antonio, DFWmiata is a good place to keep tabs on DFW events, houscca.com/forum is a good local houston forum, and Spokes for Austin. Between those 4 you should be covered for all of texas :)

    We got a events year round here too so you will feel at home. Well except for the lower cost of living and the people in Austin who "keep it weird" as they say :)  Also the Biergarten is a beautiful thing....you'll see at the Divs and Tours :)


    David Hedderick
    Pearland (Houston), TX
    01 CRG YZ125 (FOR SALE! $2500)
    08 Mazda 3s
    02 Mazda Protege (automatic tow vehicle)
    92 Miata SE - Fun half-arsed STS2 Car
  •  11-18-2007, 7:14 AM 273972 in reply to 273943

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    STS3gCivicSi:

    ...might be time to transfer my membership from NER?

    You better.

    Californians are bad enough.  Texans really don't take too kindly to YankeesBig Smile

    I keep having to explain that MD is south of the Mason-Dixon line to avoid being tarred and feathered...

    --Andy


     

  •  11-20-2007, 3:38 PM 274342 in reply to 273972

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Locally in LA and San Diego, we have regional classes that are for Solo Stock cars with basically street tires (STS rules for treadwear, etc.), and are Indexed.  Any such animal exist in Texas?  I am trying to work out my tire budget for next year, and I am trying to see if I should continue on the MR2 project or the Subaru.

    *Banned Again* Permanently
  •  11-20-2007, 3:48 PM 274344 in reply to 274342

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    STS3gCivicSi:
    Locally in LA and San Diego, we have regional classes that are for Solo Stock cars with basically street tires (STS rules for treadwear, etc.), and are Indexed.  Any such animal exist in Texas?  I am trying to work out my tire budget for next year, and I am trying to see if I should continue on the MR2 project or the Subaru.

    Spokes runs a "Tire" class which is *any* normal class, except you run on Real Street Tires.  ST classs are not eligible since their PAX already includes the street tire bit and there's no way to factor it.

    --Andy
     

  •  11-20-2007, 8:51 PM 274404 in reply to 274344

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Andy Hollis:

    STS3gCivicSi:
    Locally in LA and San Diego, we have regional classes that are for Solo Stock cars with basically street tires (STS rules for treadwear, etc.), and are Indexed.  Any such animal exist in Texas?  I am trying to work out my tire budget for next year, and I am trying to see if I should continue on the MR2 project or the Subaru.

    Spokes runs a "Tire" class which is *any* normal class, except you run on Real Street Tires.  ST classs are not eligible since their PAX already includes the street tire bit and there's no way to factor it.

    --Andy
     

     Does the region give an extra index bump for the street tires?  For example, I think HS is 0.789 but the Street Tire HS is 0.779
     


    *Banned Again* Permanently
  •  11-20-2007, 10:24 PM 274418 in reply to 274404

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    STS3gCivicSi:

     Does the region give an extra index bump for the street tires?  For example, I think HS is 0.789 but the Street Tire HS is 0.779
     

    No.  Everyone in the class runs on street tires, so its all even.

    And I don't even think that class is included in the overall event PAX.  If you are running in an indexed street tire class, you aren't really running seriously for overall PAX anyway.  Besides, you'll find that the # of heavy-hitters here is way less than in SoCal.  Not with respect to quality, just quantity. 

    --Andy 

  •  11-21-2007, 1:24 AM 274436 in reply to 273972

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Andy Hollis:
    You better.

    Californians are bad enough.  Texans really don't take too kindly to YankeesBig Smile

    I keep having to explain that MD is south of the Mason-Dixon line to avoid being tarred and feathered...

    --Andy

     

    The Mason-Dixon line is just the beginning of no man's land, to truly get out of the Yankee category you need to be south of the Red River Big Smile
     

  •  11-21-2007, 9:53 AM 274462 in reply to 274436

    Re: Moving to TEXAS!

    Andy is obviously a transplant. Down here we don't call them Yankees. They're Foreigners.
    Aut tace aut loquere meliora silentio.
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