Welcome to the Second Gear Racing Blog.

The 2012 Autocross season is in full swing here in Maryland.  My name is Alex, and this is my first year doing autocross.  I have been an automotive enthusiast since I was a kid, and the focus around cars has changed since that time.

I used to be focused on muscle cars and drag racing.  I have owned two Mustangs, and lived in the world of straight line performance for a long time.  After college, my motorsports knowledge blossomed into a much bigger world of racing.  Top Gear is mainly to blame, in conjunction with my personal desires to try more than  drag racing.

I started to do some research about autocross.  I had heard of it of course, but had never participated or watched it in person.  I found a few local clubs in my area who run events, and decided that it was something I wanted to try.  I looked at the Mustang I had, a 2000 GT Convertible, and decided that I needed a better tool to tackle the seas of cones I had seen in various videos.

The natural choice, a Miata.  I bought all three of Keith Tanner's books, started reading forums, and watched many videos on what the little roadsters were capable of.  I then started looking for a car, following Autotrader and Craigslist religiously to find the right one for me.  Armed with the knowledge I had picked up, I knew the one when it showed up.  It was a Race Red 01' LS, with the 6 speed, sport suspension, and low miles.  I ended up picking it up for a great deal, trading in the Mustang at the same time, and was ready to go!  The Miata has received several upgrades since then, which I'll likely cover in later posts.

The purpose of this blog will be to share experiences and learnings from the area autocrosses I participate in.  There may be some general automotive banter, as well as posts about upgrades and changes to the car.  I may incorporate some additional authors as well over time, so look for that.