AUtocrossing in Winter Haven, FL?

The wife of one of my best friends contacted me the other day regarding some Christmas present ideas for him. He just bought his first performance-oriented car (a 1st Gen Mazdaspeed3) and she wanted to get him something cool for it, on a small budget. When I mentioned paying his entry fee for an autocross, she thought that would be a great idea. He's never autocrossed, or done any real performance driving, so she liked the idea of it being safe and (relatively) friendly on the car, but still letting him get the adrenaline pumping.

So, here's the conundrum: it would be difficult for me to live any farther from them and still be in the continental US (I'm in Spokane, WA), and I have generally no idea who would be the go-to organization/person to get them the info for dates, prices, registration, etc. (Google is my friend, but often, this community is smarter than google.) They live in Winter Haven, FL, but I'm sure they'd be willing to drive a little bit (maybe not as far as Orlando, but if that's the only choice, then so be it). So, this is where you come in. Being relatively close to GRM HQ, I figured someone should have some good info for me.

Thanks in advance.

The biggies in Central Florida are the Central Florida Region SCCA (http://www.cfrsolo2.com) and the Martin Sports Car Club (http://www.martinscc.org). He's also not too far from Sebring.

Orlando or farther is pretty much the norm if you live in Winter haven. Most Martin events are held in Tavares, FL. Martin also has events (less frequently) at the Orange County Convention Center (near the south end of I-Drive in Orlando) and Sebring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwbZfaF70k4

BTW, your friend is in my backyard.

CFR Solo and Martin are excellent! I'll add http://drivefast.org/ to the mix. They have an event on Jan 4.

JoeyM wrote: Orlando or farther is pretty much the norm if you live in Winter haven.

Good to know. I'm sure for a Christmas present, it won't be that bad to load the family and make the drive.

Also, thanks to all for the info. I'm on both websites now, so I can give her as much info as possible.