What’s your special sauce?
What about you, your business, or your charity car show makes you stand out from the crowd?
That point of differentiation can come in a variety of ways. In 1974, McDonald’s Big Mac commercials had us singing, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.”
My apologies; that catchy jingle is probably stuck in your head now if you’re of a particular generation.
Not to put too fine a point on it, you need a special sauce. Charity car shows vying for energetic crowds are no different.
You eventually reach a plateau where you need something unique and exciting to keep people returning year after year.
Considering this is the 30th Annual Auto Crusade charity car show, the talented event team at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church has a handle on this concept.
But from where we’re sitting, their special sauce might be the autocross event. First, the autocross event draws a broader range of car enthusiasts to their two-day show.
Secondly, as a value add, those attending the car show now have an exciting competition to watch from the elevated walkway’s perfect vantage point.
For us, the sound of revving engines and screeching tires had us hooked the moment we got out of the car.
The Autocross Appeal
Autocross competition has been integral to the two-day Auto Crusade event over the past four years. With each passing year, the crowd of spectators taking in the action seems to grow.
Part of that growth is due to the easy access to the perfectly positioned elevated walkway; the other is the smooth execution of the event itself.
The action is non-stop throughout the day, with one or more vehicles continually on the course.
In many ways, it’s easy to see the appeal of autocross. At its core, this is the purest form of motorsport out there.
There is only a car, a driver, and a timing clock. As a competitor, it comes down to you versus your talent, tire grip, and the sea of orange cones.
It doesn’t hurt that the average autocross course usually has more turns than an F1 race, so there is never a lull in the action.
At first glance, an autocross course might seem like nothing more than a couple of hundred orange safety cones on a large vacant parking lot. We get it; that’s natural, but there is much more than meets the eye here.
To gain insights into the “much more” aspect of the course, we pried Clay Jones, autocross organizer, away from watching his wife navigate the course in their C8 Corvette.
Talking Track With Clay Jones
Clay Jones, Danny Bearden, and a hardworking team painstakingly set up this year’s course.
Rod Worley – Editor – Clay, you laid out a challenging course this year. Can you tell us more about the design and the event itself?
Clay Jones – Autocross Organizer – Thanks, Rod. This year, we changed it up a bit. The first half of the course was more technical, while the second half had more prominent sweeping corners.
This design gives you multiple race lines, which is rare in autocross. Of course, we change the configuration every year to keep it fresh and challenging.
This year’s slower design kept the average speed in the 40 mph range, though some did hit 50 mph or more. As always, the driver turnout was strong, and we made plenty of laps available.
Over the two days, we had 97 cars compete with about 1400 laps put down, which is an excellent value for the $95.00 two-day entrance fee. We drew contestants from as far away as Mobile, Al, Winston-Salem, NC, London, KY, and Memphis, TN.
The competition was close, but Blake Maherson took 1st place as the quickest car in a C5 Corvette, and quickest truck honors went to semi-pro autocross veteran Brian Finch. For their efforts, Blake and Brian each received $500.
This year’s sponsors were Vengeance Racing and Glover Garage, both from Cumming, Ga.
Claiming Trophies
Never one to be stingy with trophies, this year’s Auto Crusade event once more emptied the local trophy shop. For the sake of brevity and space, we’ll only list a few of the winners here.
To see the complete list of deserving recipients, we would recommend the event’s Facebook page.
- Best of Show – Todd Summer with a 1952 Cadillac Series 62
- Best Original Original – John Cannon with a 1967 Dodge Charger
- Best Street Machine – Chris German with a 1970 Camaro Z28
- Best Street Rod – Phillip Shelton with a 1928 Ford Roadster
- Best Truck – Jody Reed with a 1967 Chevy C-10
- Most Unique – James Yoast with a 1965 Shelby Cobra
- Pastor’s Choice – Jeff Whaley with a 1970 Chevelle
- Longest Distance – Michael Lovins from Box Elder, South Dakota
Congratulations On 30 Years Of Success!
The Auto Crusade Car Show has come a long way from their start in 1994. Back then, it was a single-day event where 54 cars showed up at the Forsyth Central High School parking lot.
Fast forward 30 years later, and you have a multi-day event that draws entrants from the surrounding states. The list of activities has also grown alongside the community turnout.
Some of this year’s activities included:
- The two-day autocross event.
- A Friday night Cruise-In.
- Swap meet
- Well-attended Saturday car show.
And lest we forget a family-favorite event, the Hot Wheel racing competition.
In keeping with their 30-year tradition, this year’s community-serving event entertained people of all ages. Proceeds, as always, went to fund several vital church and community-based programs.
Ultimately, you can’t argue with the Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church formula for success. Though, we still think the special sauce is the autocross.
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