Racing When the Deck Feels Stacked Against Us
I may be an average racer, but GLTC makes even "average" a steep hill to climb. This is my take on what makes it so hard, and so worth it.
I may be an average racer, but GLTC makes even "average" a steep hill to climb. This is my take on what makes it so hard, and so worth it.
Taking place just three short weeks after Midwest Fest at Gingerman Raceway, our team returned to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at the end of June for another Gridlife Touring Cup sprint race weekend. Mid-Ohio, while an enjoyable race track to drive, has a staff that seems oddly combative towards Gridlife....
Ahh, the venerated GoPro. The most recognizable action camera is currently in its 13th generation, featuring notable improvements over past generations. But this is not a tech or film blog. We're here for the racing. Most of you have probably owned and used a GoPro for motorsports at...
The 2025 Gridlife season introduced a slew of changes aimed at long-term stability for an organization that was gaining momentum a decade after its creation. Unprecedented growth in recent years reached a tipping point in 2024, when Gridlife hired a new CEO intent on the "...continuation of the organization&...
The third stop on our Gridlife Touring Cup race schedule brought us to Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, Michigan, back in early June. Midwest Festival is a massive event that is packed into a small, rural race track. It is one of the highest-attended events on the Gridlife schedule, with...
There are numerous frustrating aspects of the motorsports industry. As a business owner, I frequently ponder other sectors and companies to see what I can learn from them. Similarly, they could try to learn from others. Here are some of my pain points in the motorsports industry. Do you agree...
My very long-time friend, Mike Burroughs of StanceWorks fame, recently posted a video declaring that he hates the nearly-perfect S54 E36 he has owned for 17+ years. This is an E36 that, by all measures, is one of the nicest out there – and it has been for the better part of two decades.
Racing and large egos go hand in hand. Over the years, I've seen drivers make questionable, sometimes flat-out dangerous moves to gain a position in a low-stakes club race [prototype and GT car tangling 2-wide at 130mph through Bishops Bend; one of them got air-lifted]. I've...
We are in an era where almost all professional race cars are official "factory" cars produced by the marque, as opposed to customer-built creations that started life as showroom production cars. It wasn't that long ago that teams had to build, develop, and campaign their own...
I love nerding out about roll cage design. Door bars in particular. There is something almost voyeuristic about seeing part of a roll cage through an open door. While a roll cage alludes to protection in a rollover, in wheel to wheel competition you are more likely to get hit...
I've been modifying cars for over 20 years now (it will always pain me to say that). Thus, I've probably known about string alignments for at least 18 years. It was not until recently that I started doing them myself.
Say the letters "PTG," and any E36 fan will immediately have a mental image. Prototype Technology Group campaigned their BMW-contracted E36 M3 program to great success in the mid-late 1990s. The GT3 class cars featured distinct bodywork, impressive development, and legendary drivers (Bill Auberlen and Boris Said, amongst...
What is an OEM-style shifter? On most manual transmission BMWs, the shifter linkage consists of a sub-assembly that includes it's own "carrier", selector rod, and shift lever. In addition, there are some bushings and shims involved to keep things tight. The pivot "cup" and...
As detailed in my recent post about Tire Parity in NASA Racing, there are new rules for NASA's power to weight racing classes (ST and TT) intended to create better parity between the bevy of tire choices. Thankfully these new rules are not based on manufacturer's...
Over the years, my track experience has mostly been relegated to the E30 chassis; up until recently, the only other platforms I had driven hard were an E36 on track and a GR WRX at autocross. While the E36 featured some very notable improvements in suspension design and chassis dynamics...