Ed's Note:Danielle is a two-time National Solo II Champion, who is sponsored by KevTec Machine Services and Mid-Atlantic Motorsports
Like most competitive personality types, Solo racers don't like to talk about their secrets to winning. After all, why would you give your opponent an extra advantage on the track? But as luck (and some serious prodding) would have it, we found a few willing racers who would divulge their secrets to successful preparation at the track.
Their responses ranged from the serious to the silly...but hey, racing is about having some fun, isn't it?
"I talk to the fastest driver in my class and hope that something rubs off."-Jim Phlamm, Super Stock, C4 Corvette Z51
"Always thank your car after the run. Give it a nice tap on the dashboard. Then talk soothingly to the motor."-Eric Salem, A Street Prepared, Porsche 911
"Um, well, my wife and I hop. We hold hands and jump up and down three or four times. Gets the adrenaline going (not that we need much in the Celica). I think we started doing it a couple of years ago and it's kind of become a tradition. I suppose it distracts the competition a little, but mostly it reminds us not to take things too seriously."-Jeff Cashmore, E Stock, Toyota Celica
"If your radio is located anywhere your hands might go, then make sure the volume is turned down. That way, if you bump the knob (turning it on), it won't distract you on your run! (Yes, I learned this the hard way). To get the job done, I find it is important to eliminate surprises or distractions. Routines are a way of beginning to shut things out so that you can afford total attention to the task at hand."-Mike Mitchell, G Stock, Mitsubishi Eclipse
"One of the biggest challenges of Solo competition is the fact that you don't get any practice. Therefore, you need to focus on several good course walks to learn as much as possible before it's your turn to drive. On the first course walk, you want to get a general idea of where the course goes. Look for patterns and segments that will help you memorize and recognize the course. After you feel that the course is getting familiar, focus on apexes, surface and camber changes. Try to drive the course in your head. If you can't remember a certain area, walk it again until you feel comfortable with it. After every run, I try to visualize where I can go faster and where I need to slow down. I make adjustments to my driving and adjustments to the car (if needed) after every run. Checking tire pressures (pressures climb as the sun gets hotter) and constantly adjusting them, helps to get the car to handle the way I want. I drive a front-wheel-drive Honda Civic and if the car is plowing, I will up the tire pressures or loosen the front shocks a little."-Ron Conrad, Street Touring, Honda Civic
"When my toughest competitor comes up to the line, he will rub his hands together, really fast, like a little kid that's going to do something he has never done before. If he doesn't do it, then I know I have a chance at beating him!" -Stacey Despelder, C Street Prepared, Honda CRX Si
"I drink Coca Cola. This is not for luck. I cannot control luck. If I could control luck, then it would not be luck anymore. Then it would be destiny, and that's something else, different than luck... For general purposes, I'll drink one Coke prior to my runs to get the sugar and caffeine into my system. Timing is key. Drink too soon, you'll risk lowering your blood sugar and autocrossing in a coma. Drink too late, well, it might just be too late. Of course, I can't define when is the exact time. I trust my intuition, and guzzle accordingly. That's for the first Coke. Then, depending on the time of day, I might sip another one. This maintains an even flow in the blood stream. I generally don't do this too early in the morning, unless it's a 'serious' event, and I'm desperate."-Katie Kelly, Street Modified, BMW M3
"The closest thing I do to a 'good luck' ritual is try to always enter the car from the left side. However, that is because I almost tripped a couple of times entering from the right side. It has nothing to do with luck. Absolutely everything else I do is simply being as prepared as possible as far ahead as possible regarding anything relevant to the car, driver, event or crew. My attitude is that in the autocrossing context, the car always has more speed in it than I got out of it on the previous run and that I am likely to get in the next run. My challenge is to concentrate on reducing the amount of leftover speed on the upcoming run. This takes concentration and nothing going wrong with the car."-Dick Rasmussen, C Modified, Van Diemen RF-85 Formula Ford
"Are you looking for this information to put something together for everyone to use or are you trying to find ways for you to go faster? If it's the latter, I think you're fast enough and don't need any more help. Just kidding, we all could use help now and then."-Bob Anderson, F Stock, Camaro Z28
"I usually partake in the unofficial drink of street touring...Mountain Dew...and hum a few bars of 'Gran Turismo' by the Cardigans."-Peter Berta, Street Touring S (on street tires), VW Golf
"I eat something very chocolate-y, drink some Diet Mountain Dew and touch the good luck present (something like a shell, rock, or toy) that my kids have given me for the year to keep in the car."-Jean Kinser-Dana, G Stock, BMW 325is
"I usually like to stretch, including jumping up and down to loosen my body. For driving strategy, I think about individual locations (on the course) where I need to pay extra attention, as opposed to just attacking the course. I used to have a favorite pair of underwear that I would wear only for racing."-Stephen Kettlestrings, G Stock, Eagle Talon AWD Tsi
"I check to see if I have any diaper cream under my nails (this seems to help), and that both earrings are still on. It seems to make me drive faster when there is some diaper cream under my nails."-Kristin Gordon, A Stock, Audi S4
"I eat lots of ham. Preferably between two pieces of rye bread with some mustard. I haven't quite found the magic amount yet. Last year, the thought was some is good, more is better and too much is just right. Then after the event, you need to come down from the 'rush' with some Ritz crackers. Kind of like an antidote."-Ken Deja, E Street Prepared, Formula Firebird WS6