From a 2011 SoloMatters article entitled "Why We Go."
The piece was a series of autocrossers answering the question, "Why do you go to Solo Nationals?" This was Tom O'Gorman's answer:
"Six thousand and ninety two. That is the number of miles I traveled last year across 13 states to compete in SCCA National Tour and ProSolo events. Now, let me be the first to tell you that 6092 miles is enough to stretch a college student's budget pretty thin, and every single one of those miles was traveled to prepare myself for Solo Nationals. Nationals represents a gateway into a future of motorsports for me, so in the weeks preceding, my mind is spinning with the possibilities of glory and failure. But, oddly, when I arrive on site, all of those thoughts of heated competition and the grandeur of victory evaporate. Not because I lose hope in the competition or because I realize I'm stuck on this slab of concrete in the middle of a cornfield for the next 10 days with the hot sun or pouring rain beating down on me. It's because I show up and literally hundreds of people are there to greet me and share the same passion for this sport that I have. It’s often the only time in a year that I will see many of these people, some of them who I consider my closest friends, and somehow that takes over everything else that may have been in my mind. So I tell myself, 'I traveled 6092 miles last year so that I was ready to show up Nationals and be a contender,' but I think the community is real reason any of us make the pilgrimage to concrete Mecca."
For me, it made two impressions. The first was that, then 20 year old Tom, had an advanced understanding of what Nationals meant to so many of us. The second was concern that the phrase, "Nationals represents a gateway into a future of motorsports" was a bit naive as there are not a lot of pro-team talent scouts at Nationals. Turns out, Tom had the talent to not need the scout, or the pro-team.
Congrats Tom, on what we all believe is just your first professional race win. #iknowtomogorman
You can watch the live timing from this weekend here.
Read the entire story about Tom's win here: Rivera, Bickers and O’Gorman Win in TC, TCA, TCB Round 7 at Road America
