I was recently asked: at what point should I start making setup changes to my car? There is no clear-cut answer to this, but in my opinion, the earlier, the better! As a novice driver, you will experience exponential progression in your lap times simply from improving your car control...
I finally accomplished a years-old goal of mine: completing NASA Competition School! The weekend was jam-packed. With so much to unpack, Comp School was enough to make several weeks' worth of articles. I will cover different aspects of the process in upcoming articles. As I am busy with my business's...
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 seen racers refuse to...
I recently read a great article by the inimitable Ross Bentley, which highlighted some of the shortcomings of HPDE instruction. As a seasoned instructor and driving coach, Ross included many excellent ideas for better ways to coach and train new drivers. Train the Trainer: Monkeys, Late Apexes & Classroom SessionsWhy do...
Today marks the one-year anniversary of RE, and we're thrilled to share some exciting news about the upcoming race season. Carlos Mendez and TJ Lathrop are taking a couple of BMWs racing in GridLife Touring Cup.
Several nights a week, I feel guilty when I choose to sit on the couch and watch TV, or hop in the sim rig and do some racing, rather than going out in the garage and working on one of my track cars. If you know me you or have...
I've been sim racing for 6 months now, and have found it invaluable at honing my skills. Since I don't get to drive on the track as much as I'd like, staying sharp (and even improving) in between events is important. I consider myself to be an average driver at...
Coming up through the HPDE ranks, there were two somewhat mythical beasts that came up a lot, in hushed tones: "slicks," and "aero." Slicks in reference to DOT radial slick tires, such as the Toyo RR, Maxxis RC-1, and Hoosier R7. Aero in reference to cars utilizing one or more...
When I started building my #74 E30 back in 2016, I had some preconceived notions about driver & cockpit ergonomics. However, this was my first build focused solely on track use, and I still had a lot to learn. Early in the build, I did my best to set up the...
Please pardon another sim racing related post. My planned trip to Sebring last weekend didn't happen, so sim racing is all that I've been able to do since my last NASA event in early November. When I first bought my racing simulator, I guessed that I would spend a lot...
The penultimate NASA event of the 2022 season was at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP). I was excited to drive CMP, because it is only an hour from me, but after a year and a half in Charlotte, I hadn't driven it yet! Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Moving to TT6...
When I'm at the track, I like to poke around the paddock and check out other cars for inspiration. Sometimes I'm more appalled than inspired. I can't understand why safety is often neglected in race cars. (Note that I am speaking here about dedicated track and race cars; not street/...