#FormulaXAutocross

“You drive sports cars on track, yes?”

Igor Palagin, a giant bear of a man who looks more of a member of the Red October crew than a racing driver, looms over me as I strap myself into the driver’s seat of his Fast & Speed USA dirt buggy.

“Yes, I do,” I reply somewhat nervously.

Igor laughs a hearty, booming laugh. “Forget everything you know about driving. This is completely different.”

As I struggle to even see the nearly 100 feet of elevation of the dirt course at Thunderhill Raceway through the tiny, wire-cage lined windscreen in front of my face, I think silently to myself: No kidding, Igor.