Rusty
Bottom (The Magical ‘93)
Part 1
When I was in college in 2013, I was sent to Wisconsin by a co-op
employer to work at a chemical plant. I picked up my belongings and
drove eleven hours in my RSX Type-S from my home outside of Northeast
Philly to Janesville, Wisconsin.
Figure 1: My old RSX Type-S
At the time, I was really into car meets and car shows. I liked
having a clean car and making it faster, but I didn’t know a lot
about performance driving.
When I got to Wisconsin, I realized I had no friends and went to
Facebook (FB), as millenials do, and typed “Wisconsin Honda” in
the search bar. After a short time, I was connected with a friend
named Mike out in Illinois who autocrossed a black EK hatch with the
Sports Car Club of Rockford (SCCR).
Figure 2: Mike and Me in his Autocross Civic
Mike had a “unique” approach to motorsport. For him it wasn’t
about having brand-name this or rare that, it was about driving the
car as hard as possible, and that approach stuck with me.
Over the winter, I began speaking with an acquaintance from Home that
I had met through the car scene in Philly, Alex K.
Figure 3: Alex K Washing
his ‘93 Miata
Alex had seen my autocrossing through social media and with piqued
interest, he wanted to do an event with me when I got home. So, I
registered for a Philly SCCA event and we both went together.
Figure 4: Alex and I at Autocross
As we got more serious about driving, we got less serious about
aesthetics-- and so we began to fall down the slippery slope. Like
Mike in Illinois, our goals had shifted and we began to care less
about car setup and more about actually driving our cars.
Figure 5: Alex Karate Chopping his Dented Fender
My friends and I began to call Alex’s car “The Magical ‘93”
because it seemed like no matter what, the car was always competitive
in local autocross events with minimal car prep. For example, the
picture below documents when he beat the modded S2K sitting to his
passenger side and got first in STR vs. well-prepared competition.
Figure 6: Alex at a Pocono Infield Autocross with the Northeast PA
Region SCCA
We all soon realized that it wasn’t just the car that was
magical. It was the combination of driver and car that was fast.
Alex spent his time driving...he didn’t worry about upgrades
or aesthetics. He worried about driving.
Figure 7: Alex Driving at Pocono
Eventually,
when Alex graduated his technical institute and got a job working as
a technician at a good company, he sold the car to my friends Sam and
Franklin who are now engaged. Sam
and Franklin are a pair of adrenaline junkies who ride mountain bikes
and race TAG
Karts
when they’re not tracking the Miata they bought from Alex.
Figure 8: Sam and Franklin Working on Their New Miata
Sam and Franklin renamed the car, appropriately, as Rusty Bottom
after they bought it from Alex-- since the car was in pretty rough
shape from constant abuse, winter driving, and sitting outside. And
they soon after began tracking it.
Figure 9: Franklin Rounding Turn 5 at the New Jersey Motorsports
Park (NJMP) Thunderbolt Course
This EJ2 Track Rat blog series will document the build progress of
Rusty Bottom and the driver development of Sam and Franklin, and maybe even Alex. Stay
tuned to see the car fully caged, augmented with full safety gear
like seats and harnesses, and maybe even receive a paint job.
Figure 10: Franklin Chasing an S2K at Pocono
In memory of Alex’s Father, Chris.
Figure 11: Alex's Father and Our Friend: Chris
