So about six months ago, I posted here about free autocross timing software I built. And now it’s actually getting used at real events.
Hey everyone,
First, I'd like to note that my last post was definitely generated with the help of AI. I'm not a marketer, I'm a software engineer, so I thought I needed some help. Clearly, I was wrong, so this one is just me rambling on and using a bit of Grammarly (yes, it suggested I capitalize this word, for example) to help catch spelling and comma issues. I hope that's all right.
A while back, I posted here about the timing software I built during the off-season. That post got a bunch of helpful feedback, plus some skepticism, which honestly makes sense. Timing software doesn’t matter if it craps out on event day, no matter how nice the UI looks.
The main thing I’d like to share today is that it’s actually been used at real events. liveTiming.club has handled timing for three SCCA events, got used last week at a DriveAutoXtreme event, and will be running Summit Racing Autocross Week too.
The DriveAutoXtreme event was kind of the real test, though. It ran without any timing issues, drivers actually liked the mobile and live stuff, and the best part is someone with zero timing experience ran the whole thing, and it just worked. Which is very exciting to me, as that was basically the goal: timing software that doesn’t require a single timing person with 10 years of experience to run the event safely.
Since the last post, my partner and I have added a bunch of stuff beyond just basic timing:
- Event schedules, including multi-day schedules
- Run groups and work groups
- Worker assignments
- Custom leaderboards and scoring
- Participant-input scoring for special formats (like dial-in)
- Better multi-day live timing pages
- A bunch of timing sync, queue, restart, and serial-detection fixes
Custom scoring is probably the biggest new thing. A lot of clubs run formats that don’t fit into the usual “best raw time” or “best PAX time” buckets, so I want liveTiming.club to handle those without making people mess with spreadsheets after the event. In addition, all of this is done live; participants no longer have to wait until after the event for the results.
Timing, live results, schedules, run and work groups, custom scoring, and the driver stuff should all feel like one system, not a pile of duct-taped workarounds.
If you’re a timing chief, club admin, or just a driver who cares about a better experience at your events, I’d genuinely appreciate you taking a look and poking holes in it.