Name: Don Slevin

Age: 52

City/State: Spring Valley, NY

Daily Profession: Owner of FYS Computers – provide I.T. support for businesses 25 users and under

Daily Driver: 06 NC Miata (Dawn’s old racecar Gwen)

Current AutoX Car/Class: 16 Mustang GT / CAM-C

Family: I was hatched

What was your first car? 1974 Dodge Dart Swinger

What was your favorite subject in school? Any of my computer classes

Did you get any tickets as a teenager?  One Speeding ticket

What was your first exposure to motorsports and at what age? Autocross with the WCSCC at the Palisades Mall at the tender age of 33

How did you get started in Autox? I needed a new hobby and was told about the above and since it was 15 minutes from my house …

What did you drive during your first AutoX season? 94 RX7 (and did THAT spoil me rotten LOL)

What do you wish someone had told you when you started?  That heroin would be cheaper

What made you choose your current autox car? The STP class had just been announced and sounded like a great idea … it was not LOL

Who is your biggest influence in the sport? Steve Farkas of SJF Performance.  If it wasn’t for him, his friendship, his constant effort to help me and his unparalleled mechanical skill, no one in the sport would even know my name

Funniest autox story, if any?  The time that Mike ‘Junior’ Johnson took myself, you and Tony Crea out for a run in the back of his Chevy Avalanche (that had headers on it) and Tony spent the whole time calling out the run in pseudo Japanese like a Super GT race … we were in tears by the end

The scariest moment as a driver? Going over the curb in my present Mustang when I lost the car and despite going both feet in the car went into ice mode and headed towards traffic

In the past year or so, what have you learned to help improve yourself as a driver and your car prep?  I was fighting the car too much this year to improve my driving but the one prep thing I did before going to the Nats was to make 100% sure that I had enough adjustments in the suspension to be able to adjust if the car was too tight or loose.  I CANNOT stress the importance of this enough, it literally saved this year’s Nats and probably my participation in the sport

Do you left-foot brake? In your opinion how has this helped you?  I do but it helped much more years ago when cars allowed you to do this.  Now with today’s electronics and fly-by-wire it tends to screw the car up more than help

Do you use a data logger/Video, if so how has it helped you? Not consistently but on occasion it has showed me when a shift to 3rd will pay off

Worst autox advice you ever received?  Replacing the rear cradle bushings in the Mustang with Delrin.  While it made sense at the time (while the cradle was out for installing an OS Giken diff) it turned out they were not up to the task strength wise and screwed up the car for almost a year and a half before we figured it out

Best autox advice you ever received? NEVER give up – Tony Savini

How do you critique yourself after a run?  Usually by smacking myself in the side of the helmet going ‘Why did you hit that cone?’ or ‘Would you grow a pair?’

What is your primary goal for the 2020 season?  Win CAM-C at the Nats

The most fun autocross car you’ve ever driven? My 2005 Mazdaspeed Miata … 275hp at the rears and 275 Hoosiers, that car was silly

Least fun car you’ve autocrossed?  A student with a Nissan Cube … ugh

If you could pick anyone’s AutoX car to run at Nationals? Grant Reeve’s SSR car or possibly Brian Karwan’s ND Miata in STR

What would be your ultimate car build for AutoX? A 3rd gen RX7 with a LS motor

What trophies or titles have you achieved? 2 Driver of the Year’s at NNJR, 1 DotY in Philly, several Pro Solo wins, several Champ tour wins, 3 Nat trophies, 2 time Holbert winner

Do you play any online racing sims? Do you feel this helps in the real world? I recently tried again and realized that I was SO off the pace that when I tried practicing and getting up to competitive speed it became work and un-fun so I stopped.  I believe it helps many drivers but not me

What your thoughts on F1 going to a sprint race instead of the current Q1, Q2, Q3 in 2020 for qualifying?  I think you would end up with the same grid order but with the chance of tearing up some cars so I’d be against it

Is America great again? It’s getting there but the overall divisiveness is troubling

I know you are a PC geek, which online games do you play?  No online as too many other people act like children (or are children).  I do love my VR setup

Websites/Forums/Podcast you check daily? Abandonia.com (a site dedicated to old PC games)

Favorite:

Food? Pizza with Pepperoni

Cigar? Rocky Patel Java

Drink (alcoholic)? Rum, specifically Ron Zacapa Centenario XO Gran Reserva Especial Solera but their 23 is great also

Vacation Spot? Vegas baby!

AutoX Site?  Pocono infield

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