Sonic and Knuckles invade Import Face Off!
Yesterday Blown5Ways, Steven, drove up from OKC so we could enter the Tulsa round of Import Face Off being held at Tulsa Raceway Park today. I started washing and detailing Sonic around 10:00 am yesterday and didn't finish until around 9pm. This detailing included:
Removing all four wheels, cleaning and waxing them
Scrubbing all suspension components and wheel wells, including removing any tar, then coating the wheel wells with protectant
Recoating the calipers black
Painting the hubs black
Washing and waxing the car
Cleaning and vacuuming the interior
Scrubbing down the engine compartment
Steven showed up around 3pm and also washed his brand new Hyundai Genesis V6 Track Edition......a BEAUTIFUL car!
With the gates supposed to open at 10am, we wanted to get there early and not hassle with the long line of cars to get in. So we got up at 6:30, and made it out to the site at 7:45. There was a massive thunderstorm that went through the night before and there was an
80% chance of rain on Sunday, but we drove in on just damp roads and were the 2nd and 3rd cars there:
Once inside we did a final detail and set up our cars.
This was my first IFO so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I went in not expecting to win anything. While I didn't expect to win, I did go prepared with my car clean and a simple display showing off Sonic's autocross success. I was in the Domestic Sport Compact class, and I tried to get pictures of all the other cars in my class, but I think I missed a few:
Saturn
SRT-4
SRT-4
[
Saturn
Someone later told me there was an Eagle Talon as well, but I must have thought it was an Eclipse and didn't think it would be in my class.
Since we were the first in, we were parked in the back corner. You can see our cars here:
And the rest of the show, even before everyone got there:
About 6 rows and the showfield goes off the left edge of that picture too. I guess about 300 or more cars showed up just for the show.
Since we got there so early, and they start judging at 11:00am, they started where we parked. So by 11:07 my car was already judged!
The judge walked up after doing the first car and I simply told him "If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer them". He said "thanks" and walked around my car, looking in the engine bay up close as well as the wheels and dash area. It took him less than two minutes to finish judging my car and moving on to Steven's car!
I was concerned. This was Import Face Off and my car, being a Focus, was not exactly common at those shows. He never asked me any questions or read my modification board, so would he know all my subtle mods? I'm sure the car looks stock to non-Focus owners with the Euro lights, grill, and even the SVT sideskirts, but did he know they were not stock? :dunno:
I had 5 hours to ponder that question.
So we spent the next 5 hours walking around the show and watching some of the drag races. Here's a few shots I took:
Datsun with a Skyline motor in it:
Humble Performance's car. Ran mid 10s with this setup:
B-E-A-UTIFUL First gen CRX that was completely original except for the nice Mugen wheels, oh and the B16 swap!
He needs some work on his stance:
Running Work wheels, I think he has his stance right:
"YOU NEVER HAD ME! YOU NEVER HAD YOUR CAR!"
Old school Honda 600. Car had leaf springs in the back.
We got lucky throughout the day because it NEVER rained! Even with an 80% chance! It stayed in the mid 80s with overcast skies so it was a great day. And finally it was time for the car show awards.
About halfway through they call the award for "Best Import - Other", the class Steven was in with hit Genesis. Unfortunately Steven didn't win. One of his buddies from OKC drove up and won with his Genesis.
About 10 awards later they announced: "The winner for best Domestic Sport Compact is Jason Hodge in a Focus." (They got my name wrong!)
:wub::wub:
I couldn't believe it! I actually won my class! Just like when I have a good run during autocross, I yelled "YES!" out loud when they called my name and did a fist pump in the air in excitement. I was seriously shaking from the adrenaline pumping through me at the time!
After this win, I now feel that I've done it all with Sonic. Successful with autocross, and now won my class in a nationally sponsored car show. It was definitely a good day.
Sonic and Knuckles say "Thanks for looking!"
