It's been close to a month since I've posted, so there are a few announcements to catch you up on what I've been working on as we rapidly approach this site's four-year anniversary.

RE Goes... Legit

Rising Edge Motorsports LLC (dba RISING EDGE) has been legally formed in North Carolina, so I can move forward with two projects I'll detail further below. The formation shouldn't mean anything to anyone, but I'm proud to now own two businesses, so I'm announcing it. [Well, this won't really be a business until I make some money, but you know what I mean.]

More on the new business in a moment, but first, let's discuss the potential of an RE community.

Commenting Is Now Enabled

Nothing is sadder than a blog with no comments, which is why I made the conscious decision to keep them turned off for almost 4 years now. However, I see the potential for a real community to develop here.

With monthly readership nearing 2,000, I hope we can spark some discussion in the comment sections now enabled at the bottom of every article. If you're reading this in your inbox, you'll have to click through to comment on the web. You must be logged in and pick a username (let's try to use real names, yeah?).

If it doesn't pan out, and the comments section is crickets (or spam), I can always turn them back off, right?

Discord Community

I spend a decent amount of time on Discord as part of several sim- and real-racing-centric communities, and I'm interested in starting an RE Discord server. If you would join that, or think it's a good idea, please reply or comment to express your interest!

The RE Store

For years, I've been debating whether to monetize this site. I have spent a lot of time creating content, and while most of it serves as a creative outlet and journal for myself, some of it is helpful to the community writ large. However, finding a good fit is tough. Subscriptions are annoying and would make writing feel like an obligation. Advertisements and sponsorships are an eyesore and can introduce bias.

For those who don't know, I've made my career in e-commerce, but I'm not necessarily a product designer or builder/maker. Nevertheless, I am working on opening an RE store featuring products I create myself, as well as a curated catalog of products from companies I love. And maybe some RE merch, too? Would you buy some stickers or a shirt?

In any case, the focus of this site will always remain on the blog articles. Think of the forthcoming store as the gift shop on your way out of the museum. I hope to launch the store this summer, but I am terrible at estimating time, so we'll stick to my classic "coming soon-ish."

RE Motorsports Services

I'm also offering racing consultation and setup services on a limited basis. Services include, but are not limited to:

  • Advanced race car corner balancing & alignments (in Charlotte, NC)
  • Race car development and improvement (Charlotte, NC or on-site)
  • Consultations for race builds, setup, and car classing
  • MoTeC dashboard, data, and workspace customization
  • Video & data review

If you are interested in working with RISING EDGE, please reach out to hey@risingxedge.com

I have limited availability, and I most certainly won't be the cheapest option, but if you are looking for top-tier, detail-oriented work that you won't find at any old shop, then you and I might be a good fit.

That's certainly a lot to throw out there at once, but public declaration helps keep me motivated and on task. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year brings for RE.

Our first race car project is already in the garage, so hopefully some content on it will follow in June!

Thank you for being a reader and supporter❤️