FGCU’s Car Club has grown significantly over the past few years. Attending monthly autocross events has been one of the club’s newer activities, and club members said it has been a thrill so far.
Only a couple of years ago, the FGCU Car Club was on its last legs. Initially, the club’s meetings were open to the public, but due to a few incidents, it had to close itself off to the public and only allow students.
“When they closed it off to the public, not a lot of people came, there were only 10 cars or something,” Giordan Diogas, the vice president of FGCU Car Club, said.
However, the club has opened up to the public again, and it has increased in popularity.
“It’s way better now than it’s been in the past and I’m really happy with it,” Diogas said.
What is autocross, though?
Autocross is a form of motorsport where drivers compete against the clock on a short course made of cones, usually in a large parking lot or airstrip. The event is hosted by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), a long-established racing organization.
The FGCU Car Club attends autocross events at Buckingham Field in Lehigh Acres. The courses are different every time and usually take slightly longer than 30 seconds to complete.
“I met a couple like-minded people and we all got together and decided to start doing it together as a subsection of the FGCU Car Club,” Julian Padron, a FGCU Car Club officer, said.
Many see autocross as a safer alternative to driving on a race track. However, like any high-performance driving, it carries risks.
“I almost hit one of the old guys who drives a Corvette,” Tyler Caraballo, an autocross volunteer. said. “I had tunnel vision, and all of a sudden, I see this old man bent down picking up a cone and I had to slam on the brakes.”
Autocross is also a very approachable and relatively affordable way to enter motorsports.
“They’re willing to teach you,” Padron said. It helps you learn and get comfortable in your own vehicle.
For members of FGCU Car Club, autocross has been a great way to hone their skills.
“The first time I went I was so nervous… it was a learning curve to say the least,” Diogas said. “Now, I’m eight seconds faster… the feelings don’t change, the adrenaline is always there.”
The experience has allowed club members to compete with each other in a safe and legal way, leading to friendly rivalries.
“One time I was going with the vice president of Car Club [Giordan Diogas], and we were going tenth for tenth [of a second]. He’d get a 32.3s, and I’d get him on a 32.1s,” Padron said. “And that mental challenge of trying to shave off time is really fun.”
For more information about FGCU’s Car Club and autocross activities, check out their Instagram @fgcu_cc.
