'98 SCCA Nationals

Text and photos by Pat Griffith

A few of us were brave enough to take our SR20DE-powered vehicles to Topeka, Kansas, in September '98 for the SCCA Nationals.  This is the year-end autocross event which attracts the best drivers with the best cars.  Why we were there, well, uh, we still don't know.

I decided to bring my '93 Sentra SE-R all the way from Virginia to compete in C Street Prepared.  There was nothing separating me and glory except maybe another five grand in modifications.  Matt Niaura was brave enough, too, to trek from the Chicago area with his CSP NX2000.  Also showing up was Larry MacLeod bringing his 'knife to the gunfight' -- a 200SX SE-R to compete in D Stock against all those killer Neons.  Bob Liu co-drove Larry's car, and they were the only non-Neons in the class.

Anyway, as we expected, we finished in the lower end of our class.  But it was all in the name of fun, we kept telling each other.  But considering Larry and Bob were in a BONE STOCK car and, as mentioned before, Matt and I were far away (about $5,000 away!) from driving true CSP cars, we don't think we finished too badly.   Heck, none of us even finished last.

Here are a few pictures from our two days of competition.

Larry's 200SX next to John Ryan's ACR Neon in grid.  Nice lettering on Larry's car.

Bob driving Larry's car on the South Course.

Matt looking ahead in his "Fast Egg."

  My car and Matt's sitting in impound.

Another group shot of our cars.

From the Larry MacLeod collection:

Larry driving Larry's car on, I think, the North Course.

Larry lining up to hit the North Course ... he swears that cone was already like that. :)

The four dummies, er, uh, SE-R pilots at Nationals.  From left to right, me, Matt, Bob and Larry.

Click here to see a rear-wheel-drive SR20DE!!