By Alex Hesskamp

Driving the autocross run is the easiest way to a one track mind. When the helmet goes on, there truly is nothing else in my head. The only thing that matters is the course, my driving, and the fastest way to get there. It turns out I’m not alone in that feeling. 

Over the past 10-plus years, there have been faces new and old that I’ve come to know in my journey as a driver, and now as a writer. Below are some of the aspects of motorsport’s impact that I’ve managed to accumulate and some pieces of advice from each interviewee and myself. 

Jeremy Salenius is a great example of how motorsport has created pathways for his life. His start in autocross came in 2010 in his home state of Wisconsin, before moving to Kansas. Finding the Kansas City Region SCCA, he was able to continue autocrossing until traversing into road racing and time trials with Gridlife. Jeremy says, “Essentially, we just saw the opportunities that growing our motorsports portfolio could bring and expanded to help others while doing it ourselves.” All The While, Jeremy was working at a hotel, trying to save his funds for racing. In 2018, he decided things needed to change. Wanting to create a career that more aligned with his passion for motorsport, he joined a venture called Blue Label Racing, working on customer cars and helping promote their services with their big blue sticker on his 1965 Ford Mustang. The Mustang would end up being a much more important facet of his life and business, when he decided it was time to branch out and move on from Blue Label and start his own shop. 

Dare 2 Dream Motorsports, founded in 2021, brought Jeremy’s vision to life and is a true representation of his love and passion for cars and motorsport. There, the Mustang became more than just a project car for him, becoming the shop’s most recognizable work and easiest way to promote his skills. Based in Merriam, D2D is a specialist shop that focuses on motorsport and racecars, with an emphasis on tuning, modification, and aerodynamic fabrication. Jeremy’s ability to work on his own cars and truly get a grasp on the sport wouldn’t have been possible without his start in autocross and his shared love of cars with friends and family. When he’d found the SCCA, Jeremy first intended to run his 1990 Nissan 300zx, a twin turbo sports car with over 300 horsepower. Unfortunately, the car blew a motor right before the season started, leaving him without a main car for the year.

Enter his now-former girlfriend’s Hyundai Accent. The Accent was nothing like the 300zx; a four-cylinder economy car with tires half as wide as the Nissan’s. Jeremy wheeled the Accent around the state of Wisconsin’s autocross courses, traveling to Walmart every two to three events to replace two tires each. Just go out and drive what you have. It doesn’t matter if you have a bone-stock Honda Accord with all-season tires, or a fully built Ford Mustang with a turbocharger and Hoosier Racing Slicks. You won’t get the best understanding and enjoyment of the sport without going out and experiencing it for yourself. Seat time and experience, and asking for advice were his main points of interest to convey. 

A more casual approach to the sport is usually taken by those curious, or with passing interest in cars due to a family experience, or exposure. Dylan Stone studies environmental science at KU and previously at JCCC, and is a nature photographer in his spare time. He doesn’t have much experience with the car culture and motorsport world, only really getting exposure through trips to the KC Automotive Museum with his grandfather as a child. Stone muses, “We mostly just went to the museum together when I was younger and I thought the cars were cool.” 

In April of this year, I invited Dylan and another friend of ours from college to the NASA MidAmerica majors race at Ozarks International Raceway in Gravois Mills, Missouri. The objective of this trip was to expose Dylan and my other friend to motorsport itself as well as how my own motorsport photography can help induce improvement in other natural subjects. With a second to recover a thought, he says, “Honestly, if anything else, my favorite part of the weekend was getting to camp and see the cars behind the scenes with the drivers in the garages.” His advice for newcomers was a little different, being only a photographer who isn’t normally surrounded by this environment. His main point of advice was to figure out something you already know how to shoot and transform it into using the cars as a focal point. The other thing he expressed was that he had a good time watching the races themselves, and that even a casual trip to the racetrack once or twice a year with your friends is a fun way to have a weekend vacation. 

Somebody can be involved in cars and motorsport already but haven’t pulled the trigger on a full race program. Jay Danda is a prime example of this; having just begun his experience in the physical racing world this year. About a year after being given a Saab 93 by his uncle, he blew the engine up. He decided in a stroke of impulse to fix the car himself, leading to a life changing event. “Not knowing a single thing about cars, I decided that I could fix the engine. It’s what got me into engineering, have a desire to work on cars, and appreciate the mechanical processes that make things work.” 

This started a journey into simracing for Jay, befriending a number of fellow Kansas City Region members on the simulator. One of these people was Parker Field, who I was also a friend of through SCCA Time Trials. In April of this year, we decided to take a trip to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit to work corners at the Hoosier Super Tour. Jay in particular found this event extremely enjoyable, seeing the cars go by; wishing he himself was in the cockpit. This led to a discussion between the three of us on how to find the most affordable way to go racing with the most speed per dollar.

Eventually, the decision was made on an Intrepid Silverstone racing kart, for the Solo Kart Modified class. With a 125cc dirt bike motor, this vehicle would have an immense amount of speed and enjoyment for a relatively affordable cost of maintenance. Jay, Parker and I had a rough first few events, mainly because we couldn’t get the kart started reliably. There was also a tire blowout in our first event, which would have made our race schedule for the year run short if it weren’t for the generosity of fellow SCCA members to donate a low-runtime set of tires for us to use and gain experience with. One of Jay’s biggest pieces of advice for people starting out in motorsports is to find your local SCCA region and go to an autocross. Jay adds, “Even if you don’t drive, just go experience the event. You get a much better understanding of car culture and racing through an autocross as compared to a parking lot car meet.” Jay plans to continue to work on the kart and improve on his driving for every event he enters on the 2025 calendar.  

Experiences in motorsport can range far and wide. The last interviewee, namely my father Todd Hesskamp, can attest to this. Starting out in remote control racing in South Dakota as a winter hobby in the early 90’s, Todd quickly found his way to autocross through friends who were racing RC with him. His first autocross car, a Volkswagen Scirocco, is one he shared and co-drove with his wife, Christine. Todd quotes, “Essentially, the biggest difference between motorsport now and when I started is how accessible it is, and how much more known it is in popular culture”. Motorsport, and cars in general, have been able to reach a much wider audience in recent years, leading to a lot of younger people being exposed to motorsport at an early age, cultivating an interest that can last for decades. Although that aspect is different, the inside of the sport itself and its processes have not changed as much as one may think. There are different sanctioning bodies and organizations running the show, but overall the concept is close to the same. 

I can personally attest to this, although the subgenre that he subscribes to is different than the one he started out with. Time Trials as a concept is not a new idea, but the ability to market it as its own standalone event has recently found traction, namely with NASA’s time trial program, GRIDLIFE Track Battle, and SCCA National Time Trials.

Overall, the biggest piece of advice that Todd can bring forth is that the people and the environment of a motorsport event are second to none. There is no other sport on the planet where you can be in a position with a broken car or part and your direct competitor will be on the ground with a wrench, handing you spare parts to try to keep you in the game. There is no other sport where you’re able to have such an environment conducive to social interaction and understanding others without prejudice as motorsport. 

To finish with an original quote from Salenius, “The most important part of motorsports to me and in general is the people. I don’t think we’d be where we are if it weren’t for the people we met, and places we’ve gone, and the help we’ve received along the way.” There isn’t a better way to experience the thrill of motorsport than to just go out there and do it.