Beth McClure-Strelnieks has had a need for speed since she was a little girl, and from the sound of things, that isn’t stopping anytime soon. The multi-time Solo National Champion is an MRI technologist by day, but only to fund the obsession that started some 20 years ago. Beth has always loved fast cars, and her pride and joy is a third-generation, three-rotor Mazda RX-7. She’s owned between 10 and 15 cars over the years including a C5 Corvette, Mercedes SLK AMG, Mini Cooper, BMW 135i, Porsche Boxter, and she’s impatiently waiting on the delivery of a new Jaguar F-Type R.
Having Navy pilots in the family, both her father and brother, proves the speed gene runs in the family. “We had an Austin Healy growing up, and that’s what I learned to drive stick on. It was my dad’s toy,” Beth says. “My parents had a 1965 Mustang when I was a baby, so I only saw pictures, but I’ve always liked old ’60s muscle cars like the Shelby Cobras and Daytona Coupe.
But liking speed only gets you so far; Beth wanted more. She’s competed in many of the cars she’s owned, and won many Solo Championships over the years, both locally and Nationally.
She was first introduced to autocrossing by her now-husband Erik Strelnieks. They worked at the same hospital and when Erik, who had been competing for 10 years at that point, saw her car in the garage he invited her to a party that parlayed into a trip to the local SCCA autocross event.
“He said, ‘You should come out to the next autocross event, and I said, ‘Sure, that sounds fun,’” Beth recalls. “When I did, I was immediately hooked. I fell in love with it, and I am still in love with it.
“I always liked driving fast, and I thought I could drive, but Erik had me ride with Danny Shields, multi-time Solo National Champion,” Beth continues, “I realized I couldn’t drive like that, but told myself that I was going to learn how, and that was just the beginning.”
Throughout the years, she and her husband have traveled across the country autocrossing cars in various classes, including her favorites, Super Stock, and F Prepared, Super Street Modified. Her RX-7 runs SSM and Erik’s Boxter runs FP.
“I like the classes where you can go fast,” Beth laughs. “And I like my race tires.”
Each class has its unique characteristics that make them appealing to Beth. “Modified or Prepared classes are labor intensive and stuff breaks, but they’re fast and the cars are stiff and responsive.” Beth explains. “The nice thing about when we used to run stock classes, you just slapped some tires on it right off the trailer; you could even run to the grocery store if you needed to.”
The softness of the old Stock class cars (now Street) has forever changed Beth. “Stock class cars didn’t really have any mechanical problems, but once you get used to driving something like our Modified and Prepared cars, you realize how soft a Stock car is through the turns,” Beth says. “I tend to slide around with Stock seats and seatbelts through a turn. I have been spoiled by my race seat.”
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t appreciate stock cars, she just has specific requirements for what they are. Her Jaguar F-Type R has been on order since October, and Beth seems content to deal with the potential pitfalls of autocrossing a stock car again.
“The 550 horsepower coupe is supposed to arrive any day now,” Beth said. “I will definitely be taking it out to the track and to an autocross to see what it does. I’m very excited to finally get it, because it’s got the best exhaust sound ever. It just makes me giggle.”
There are countless other cars she’d love to drive, including several Modified and open-wheel cars, but she’s a little shy about hopping in when someone offers.
“I want to, but then I think I probably shouldn’t,” she says. “Next thing you know, I’d be trying to convince Erik to get another car. Although, he’d probably say yes, because he’s as weak willed with cars as I am.”
Beth and Erik have traveled all over the country to compete, with Beth doing a majority of the towing.
“I liked my dually a lot more before it became my daily driver while I await the delivery of my Jaguar,” Beth says. “I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands of miles I’ve towed over the years, but you just get used to driving big trucks. However, it’s still huge, and not the easiest thing to park. I go to the back of the lot, and hope I’m not pissing anyone off by taking two spots, because that’s the best I can do.”
2014 was the first year since 1994 that Beth missed the Tire Rack Solo National Championships, as she was accepted into an MRI program, but she did participate in the Tire Rack ProSolo Finale.
“ProSolo is my favorite form of autocross,” Beth says. “I love the direct competition with another driver with the mirror-course format and the drag race. When you make it to the Challenges, the bracket format makes it the most fun. It has more of an adrenaline rush for me.”
Her current program keeps her tied to Austin, Texas, where she and Erik live, so there’s not much of an option for long tows. And, unfortunately, another career opportunity may keep her from the Championships next year.
“Depending on my schedule, I may have to miss the Solo Nationals again this year, but I will definitely be at the ProSolo Finale,” she says. “I want to go, and it was hard to miss it in 2014. I will be able to race here in Texas several times, and then make a bunch this summer. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to dial it back, or not race.”
While her job limits her amount of time behind the wheel, Beth still continues to pass along her knowledge and love of all things speed as much as she can.
“I’ve been an autocross instructor for Evolution Performance Driving School for about the last seven years,” Beth says. “We also did some military tactical classes as well up at Ft. Campbell.”
In recent years, Beth has also started road racing, thanks to a stint working at Driveway Austin.
“For the past three years – until July – I was working full time at a training track here in Austin, teaching road racing schools, teen classes, and tactical driving classes for soldiers deploying.”
But while she enjoys the road racing, her heart is in autocross. “There’s a more social aspect to autocross,” she says. “In autocross, you’re always running right on the ragged edge, about to lose control, but it’s OK because when you spin the car there’s usually a big open space; nothing’s really going to happen, and there’s no one behind you to hit you.
“In road racing, you have to be a bit more finely tuned and dial it back from the edge, just a bit.” Beth continues. “You have to be smoother when you’re road racing. Autocrossing allows you to be abrupt when you’re wanting to transfer the weight, and you’d never want to do that on a road course.”
Instructing is another part of the sport Beth really enjoys.
“You have to dial back the autocrossers who get on a road course, and you have to speed the road racers up when they’re on an autocross course. It’s a variation in skill that you have to recognize and encourage or discourage.”
She also recognizes the need and benefit of additional advanced coaching. “I wish more people would get involved with auto sports because I think it really helps people with their daily driving and honing their skills,” she says. “I think it would be awesome if parents would send their 16-year-old kids out to an autocross. It’s an atmosphere where they’ll pretty much not get in trouble with their cars, but learn the limits of their cars, and hopefully would have fewer issues on the road.
“I think that’s a great aspect to autocross because it can be a really good training tool for people who may have to make an evasive maneuver on the road. It could prevent them from over correcting and ending up in a ditch.”
Words by Sydney Davis
Photo by Bill Sallans
