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Hebner family enjoys off-season competition

FALLBROOK — On most weekends for the past year or so, 20-year-old Grant Hebner could be found at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, where he raced his #31 NASCAR Super Truck on the half-mile progressively banked oval.

Since the 14-race series ended on September 27 and does not resume until March 21, Hebner sought some off-season fun.

Grant and his father, Bryant, decided it was time to see how the family Porsche Cayman S would fare in competition. On November 8, the father-son duo competed in their first autocross and came home with a first and third place finish, respectively.

After participating in several “track days” at the Firebird International Raceway in the Phoenix, AZ, area, Bryant attended the Porsche High Performance Driving School, sponsored by the San Diego Region of the Porsche Club of America.

The three-day school prepared him for his first autocross.

“I’ve sat through just about every high performance/racing school that Grant has attended, but this was the first opportunity I have had to actually get behind the wheel and experience it for myself,” Bryant said. “We wanted to keep Grant in the driver’s seat during his off-season and he misses his road racing days, so we thought, What better way than to run some local Porsche Club autocross events?”

The San Diego Region of the Porsche Club of America sponsors autocross events throughout the year at Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley.

The tracks are laid out in the parking lot with cones and barriers and are usually just over a mile long. Competitors race against the clock, vying for the fastest lap time in their class.

Both Hebners competed in the Stock class for their Porsche Cayman S. There were 11 competitors in the class with Grant posting the fastest time of 1:04:13, almost two seconds quicker than the next best time.

Bryant, who was leading the class until Grant ran his laps, was eventually edged out of the second place slot and had to settle for third.

“Honestly, I’m just glad I didn’t totally embarrass myself,” Bryant said. “To finish third in my first competition was more than I ever hoped for.”

“We had a great time meeting everyone from the Porsche club,” Grant said. “It was a lot of fun to compete with my dad and hopefully we’ll be able to do more of these events in the future.”

 

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