Same thing happened when I DE's at the PCA Parade in Ft. Worth - My instructor was yelling at me to pass - get to the side - right up on em - I said - we don't pass like that in Florida - when he waves me - then I'll pass. I think he was a little put out by that...

Oh well - Do you have evolution driving schools in the great NW? I have heard very good things about those schools.

As far as looking ahead = it just comes with practice - and autocross definitely helps you with setting up one corner to be able to go though another - typically there are key corners in a track - you do x right and the others come much easier...

Looking where you want to go is the key. I've spent a lot of time river kayaking, skiing, mountain biking and such and I can say I've losted focus and looked where I did not want to go and yep thats where I ended up. One thing that really helped me was that my instructor ( Dick Blinn ) keep reminded me was "your not on the street, your on the track and use all of it". Having a good instructor makes all the difference.