Aero V6 turbo that, along with a Kia Forte, made up the whole G-Stock class. The Kia trailed my best time by 5.73 seconds, but sadly the Saab beat me, on his final run of the day, by 0.965 seconds. I felt good having lost by less than a second my first time out.

The Beetle still turns heads almost everywhere it goes. Men and women alike notice it, but it's the men who seem to like the styling more. Then when they ask about what's under the hood (making jokes about where the engine used to be), they're even more excited to hear about the turbo four pumping out 200 horsepower. When I tell them how well it performs, their excitement level rises even higher.

How the Beetle performs on the track is just part of the story. I'm learning as I go that racing improves the breed--both the cars and the drivers. With each race under my belt, my performance driving improves--and I take away lessons I can apply to everyday driving. Stay tuned for the next installment of my autocross adventures!