Name: Stan Crow

Home town: Portland, Oregon

Occupation: Mechanical Engineer

Personal: Married with two kids (good tennis players, but not autocrossers yet)

Autocrossing experience: Got started back in high school. Just happened to see these guys out in a parking lot driving around and it looked like fun. Tried it for a couple of years and then gave it up until last year. Had forgotten how much fun it is!

Primary autox vehicle and class: 2003 Chevrolet S-10 Pickup, Street Tire Class (HS)

Major modifications: Koni single-adjustable shocks, an autocross oriented front end alignment, Toyo T1-S tires, and the factory sport suspension parts off of a wrecked S-10 Xtreme.

Modifications that made the biggest difference: The Koni shocks made an amazing difference. The factory shocks only had 8,000 miles on them, but they just couldn't control the weight transfer in the transitions.

Modifications that made the least difference: Probably the free flow muffler and K&N drop in filter. It sounds better, but there's no big difference in power.

Future modifications to help make your vehicle more competitive: A factory limited slip differential.

Other current or past autocross vehicles: 1971 Mercury Capri. Ran this car back in 1977-78. It was a fairly light car with a good engine, but chassis dynamics weren't much better than my current truck.

Best thing about autocrossing: The new SSSCC street tire class is brilliant. The PAX handicap system gives slower vehicles a chance to be competitive and the results have been unbelievably close so far with the top finishers usually within a few tenths of a second of each other. This class lets you be competitive no matter what kind of vehicle you have.

Worst thing about autocrossing: Tire wear. The hard turns wear the tires much more than you'd ever see on the street. It's a minor consequence for how much fun it is, but it's surprising how much tire wear you get in a day.

Best driving tips: Look ahead and be smooth. It sounds easy, but it takes practice.

Best advice for a beginner: Don't worry too much about car modifications. Biggest improvements come from better driving and the wrong modifications can put you in faster class where it is difficult to be competitive.

My ideal car: Any car with all-wheel drive and a turbo. There's nothing like seeing a Subaru STI, Mitsu Evo, Mazda GTX, etc. on the course with all four wheels grabbing for traction and with a turbo providing plenty of powerÉ what else would you need?

Opinion of your current car for autocross use: The S-10 handles surprisingly well for a pickup truck, but the 2.2L 4 cylinder is way short on power. Wouldn't recommend it specifically for autox, but it's a daily driver and I bought because it gets decent fuel economy and is handy for hauling stuff.