What was your first Autox or track car?

So this will date some people I'm sure.. But I'm kinda bored and curious to see where. People started. 

My first autox was in 2013. I don't have any photos of my 2013 fit going around on paper plates. 

My 2015-now foray began with my 2013 Mazdaspeed3 and I met Mazdeuce at the first event in that car and the rest was history.. 

This photo was from an SCCA event 3 months later. 

First autox I ever did would have been sometime around 1999 or 2000, I forget.  It was in a 1986 Toyota MR2. 

First HPDE track day I did was 2002 or 2003, and it was in a FFR Cobra

First wheel to wheel race was 2012.  To show what a small world the racing community is, I now race against the guy who took me under his wing back in '99 or '00 when I started autox.  Back then, he was an MR2 guy, so he became my mentor.  Hadn't seen him in years until I started LeMons racing.  Anyhow, my first race was in a boat...literally.  '94(?) Chevy S10 with a 17' Seasprite body grafted onto it...aka "The Boat". 

First autox was in a 1992 Achieva SCX W41. Was a good bit of fun, still autoxing 17 years later, but in different cars.

I put off starting autocross for years, then started when bought an NB2 last year, an 01 sport.

After ruling out track days and deciding to go all in with autocross, I replaced it with a 99 sport. 

First track day was 1999, in my less-than-one-year-old NB.  I still have it. :)  First autox was around the same time, I don't remember exactly when.

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It had a 20 year career as my primary track car, until last year when the M3 showed up. :)

My first autocross car was a 1983 RX7 GSL.  That was in 1986.  My first track car was a 1986 Toyota MR2.

I bought a '90 Miata in the Spring of '93.  In the late Summer of '93 I just happened to be passing the local Masonic Temple Theater (and its big parking lot) to see cars zipping around the parking lot.  I could not stop because I was on my way to somewhere.  I did however come back at the end of the day.  All was cleared away and no one was there.  What did remain was all the boxes for the cones and the "track" was lined with baseball caulk essentially still given me a course to run.  I bet I hung out/drove in that empty parking lot for an hour.  

I did some asking around town (no internet yet) and found the next event.  I figured I would go to this event just to see and learn.  I arrived about 10am and things were getting under way.  I stayed long and asked a lot of questions.  Sadly, I discovered that this event was the last for the season.  

Over the winter I found my first ever copy of GRM on a news stand.  In that edition there was a feature on prepping a Miata for autox.  I copied that article to a tee and bought all that they recommended/featured.  

Come Spring, I arrived at the season opener with BFG R1s mounted to my steel wheels (which I already had as take offs) as well as 8-way adjust GAB shocks, a larger Racing Beat front sway bar and some vinyl magnet numbers.  

Can you believe, that for that event, on that day, C-Stock was the first group off for the day.  As luck would have it, my chosen number of 27 was then the lowest CS number which made me the very first car off for the day.   I had only every really seen autox once and it had been 6 months ago.  I think from appearance I had fooled them to thinking I knew what I was doing.  

I had no idea!  I got completely lost on my run and most of the subsequent runs.  It was generally horrible...but I was hooked!  

I have been around here ever since.

To this day, I still own that very same Miata.   In the subsequent years I also autox'ed a '88 MR2 SC, a '97 240sx.   Now a days, I can be seen autox'ing crazier stuff like the Infinti Q45's or maybe a minivan etc.  

My first autocross and first event in a full-size car was in 2006, with a basically stock AE92 SR5, same chassis as my current AE92 "GTS" in my avatar. I had a decent bit of karting (and LOTS of simulator) experience and applied a track driving style to the autocross course, causing me to end up DFL. I started doing track days soon after and eventually learned that in autocross, you need to drive like a meth-head running from the cops.

I feel like this thread is going to be a lot of Miata.

First autocross car was a 1988 maxda rx7 gxl. All show, no go. Still fun.

First car on track was a 1993 nissan altima with an automatic i got passed by literally everything.

My first autocross car was a '78 Spitfire "Spit 6" in 2009.  Sadly, I sold it in search of a better car for autocross as it turns out hanging an extra 2 cylinders over the front axle of a Spitfire does make handling a bit twitchy in autocross.

Sometimes I miss this car, although I'm sure with the new 1500 engine, the brown Spit I bought from Doc Brown a few years ago will be more fun.

After the Spit 6, I ran my '03 TDI Jetta wagon, a '07 Cooper convertible, my cursed '88 325is and most recently my '06 Cooper S JCW.

I have yet to drive any of my cars on a track other than for parade laps, although at some point I will probably take the JCW out.

First autocross was in 1984.  Driving a 1986 Mercury Capri II, 2.3 liter.

When I moved south to North Carolina in 1990, I found the local club by reading a list in the back of some magazine called AutoX.

First autocross was in 1992 in a then-new Sentra SE-R. 

First autocross was in my brother in law's 1990 Miata, followed by my 2013 FR-S. That car saw a lot of autocross, until I bought a Miata of my own. 

I'm signed up for my first track day in October - Miatas at Laguna Seca! Hopefully I'll have time to do track night in America before then, since my yellow Miata is finally ready for it. 

First autocross was in 2001ish in a 95 Integra GSR and first time on track was it's successor a 99 GSR in 2017.  I loved those cars.  They never kept up the the big boys, but they were fast enough to have fun and reliable enough to always get me home.  Great learning tools. 

That said, it's interesting to hear Klayfish and racerdave600 mention specifically a 1986 MR2, since I've probably had the most autocross seat time in my 86 AW11.  

70's Peugeot 504.

In the 70's running a 72 firebird 400 automatic.  My buddy had a 914-6.  It was a local community college sports car club and we took turns posting FTD.

First autocross was in a 1989 Plymouth Acclaim 4 door...4 cylinders of NA fury, all-season 500+ treadwear tires, and blown shocks...much fun was had...

Actually finished mid-pack. The guy handing out timing sheets after the finish line would just shake his head, smile, and make comments like "really?" or "yeah, you just beat that BMW in front of you..." :)

First Autocross was in this 1980 Triumph TR7 with a hopped up buick V-6 swapped in.  Running SM2,

1989 Volvo 240 Estate. 256k miles. So much fun.

This was my auto-x & daily driver around 2006-2009.  BMW CCA had a great full-day "intro to auto-x" course at the time and I did a handful of events with them. I Bought it at 215k miles, hit a deer around 280k miles.  Aside from the pile of money I spent on repairs & maintenance, (zero work space or know-how), it still felt super fresh.  I regret not buying it back and fixing it. 

E46 325i ZSP manual. I actually bought my previous car, a 1995 Neon ACR, with the intent to try autocrossing, but never got around to it. 

First AutoX car was sharing a friend's Mercury Capri around 1979 or 80. Then I ran my MGB for several years. First track car was an ITB Pinto in Solo 1 events then on to SCCA road racing. Later I ran H-Production.

My first auto-x was in fall 2007 in my 2002 Elantra GLS. I'd already installed a rear sway bar and CAI so it got stuck in STS, aka Spec-89-Civic-Si. The 2800lb, 135hp car was way outmatched. 

No autox or track time yet because poverty but I have sadly settled on the vehicle.



I assume Fred the Dakota will embarrass everyone when he finally gets unleashed on a track.