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Published: Tuesday, Sep. 04, 2012 / Updated: Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 02:52 PM

Fort Mill racer’s ‘Christine’ made “S” Class showing a horror show

CONCORD -- 

There’s no shame in being grown up and still loving that Hot Wheels collection you have in a cardboard box in your garage. Over a million of your fully grown Facebook friends “like” Hot Wheels, too.

Everyone knows cars are cool, but one Fort Mill resident prefers his toys on a slightly larger scale.

White Grove resident Chris Braunlich, Carolina Service Center Manager of Integrated Power Systems, recently participated in the Sports Car Club of America’s 2012 Daylight into Dark Double Carolina Cup Pro Series held Aug. 17-19 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Braunlich’s Mazda RX-7-turned-racecar is sponsored by Carolina Salvage and is in the Improved Touring “S” Class.

Unfortunately, the car’s temperamental performance over the weekend led to a long, slow race for Braunlich.

“I’ve nicknamed it ‘Christine.’ It’s got a different personality,” he says.

Tomorrow is another day, and the SCAA keeps members busy with a full event calendar throughout the season.

Founded in 1944, the SCAA exists to “bring motorsports to the masses.” The group organizes racing events and training experiences for enthusiasts at all levels, but if you don’t have a car, they don’t discriminate. The SCAA encourages people to get involved in the sport in other ways by supporting crew training and event administration.

In addition, the SCAA helps promote various educational youth initiatives including the Tire Rack Teen Driving School which teaches responsible driving through hands-on-the-wheel experiences and the Formula SAE competition designed to inspire future engineers through automotive design.

The SCAA’s Central Carolina Region meets monthly for dinner and discussion. Visit the regional online forum at ccrscca.proboards.com for details.

Zoom, zoom.