Garage Heroes In Training

Will aerodynamics help your racing car? We begin to explore the field of aerodynamics with Johnny Cichowski from Nine Lives Racing on this episode. As an introductory episode, we start with the fundamentals and work our way towards laying out a plan for adding aero to a race car that will result in actually having a faster race car. We started with the very basics of defining most of the basic individual components and then looked at the factors that affect the performance of the car and then moved on to covering the best approach to adding aero to your car and the best ways to test and dial in the performance and balance of the car. We also thought it would be great to add Tom Suddard from Grass Roots Motorsports onto the episode with zero notice. We apologize Tom.

In this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we start with our best intro lead in ever, but then we eventually get into our topic of ways to avoid coasting or lifting while on track. Ben addresses not only the issue, but what leads to it starting and ways to break the habit. Cold turkey. Yes please, with a bit of tomato on sour bread please.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/NineLivesRacing1

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) One of the things we like about Nine Lives Racing is their obsession with testing to optimize the design and make sure they design is optimized and effective.

2) Wings, wings vs spoilers, wing mounting structures, end plates, air dams, splitters, canards/dive planes etc. We cover what they are and what they do to make sure we are all on the same page to start before we get into the relative effectiveness and the various interactions between each.

3) Did you ever wonder where to start adding aero to your car? Or how to test to see if it helped? We present several options that can be done before or at the track. Rain may be your friend.

4) If you don't think aero can help, it has helped several cars with very low horsepower several seconds per lap, including some low power Miatas and one notable GRM VW Fox. (not a typo for a Fox body Mustang)

5) How does effective aero change the way a car behaves, wear on your tires, suspension/drive height, and how it feels to the driver.

6) We also had a great discussion of the proper sequence to add aero to the car and how to decide what is needed and when.

7) Wing position vs wing mounting position vs wing mounting method and the relative effect of each. Some things just don't matter.

8) Wings for a front wheel drive, up front, out back, both?

9) Common issues, mistakes, and misconceptions related to aero additions.

10) Pilot tubes? Pitot tubes? lol.

You can envy Johnny's welds and wings on Instagram at:

@ninelivesjohnny or @ninelivesracing

Nine Lives Racing: https://9livesracing.com

Grassroots Motorsports: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com

GRM's Instagram: https://instagram.com/grassroots_motorsports

"Tony Stark" was the obvious lead in to this episode with PGR Racing and their EV racing car that recently competed in the 2021 One Lap of America. On this episode, Andrew DeKoning and Chad Martin go into the pluses and minuses of racing an electric vehicle in the One Lap of America and racing an EV in general. We really had no reference to racing an EV, except for those unfounded rumors on several golf courses. Bill was stuck late at work so he sounds a bit "tinny" for most of this episode. We learned a ton during the episode about racing EV's and we even know what PGR stands for now.

In this episode of Dominating with Dawson, we go over what a contact patch is and how it is the key to driving and racing. The contact patch is the portion of a tire that is in contact with the track surface, and the contact patch is influenced by the weight transfer during the driving. The control of the contact patch through the control of the weight transfer is the key to maximizing your traction and use of traction during driving and is a direct measure of the potential speed and track time that you can achieve. And we may have ended up planning a race with Ben Dawson.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/PGRRacing

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) We have never driven an EV on track so Andrew and Chad review some of the differences that they feel, hear, and the driving changes that are required related to changing from an internal combustion engine (ICE) when transitioning to an electric vehicle (EV). Regenerative braking is also another significant difference between the two, along with the weight associated with the batteries.

2) Where an EV excels currently and where there are still limitations and challenges to racing EV's.

3) What PGR Racing modified on their Tesla Model 3 to help with the challenges of the One Lap of America and why they chose the Model 3 vs the other available EV options.

4) Details on the upcoming test of autocross'ing a Tesla in Autopilot. No back seat driving though, thankfully, lol.

5) Bill fights not to make the Tesla model name joke. He may even have succeeded. (Hint: the model names are S, 3, X, and Y)

6) A recent market change is the availability of several options for making the car suitable for track use and there are several more expected to be coming in the future.

7) The downside of changing tires right before the start of the first event on the One Lap of America. Key word: mold release.

8) Everything you ever wanted to know about charging for the transits and at the track.

9) Did the Tesla have any mechanical issues and what the PGR team did to prepare the car for the event.

10) Tips that they have learned from their One Lap of America experiences in an EV.

We are all suffering from a serious sleep deprived, post-race weekend hangover, and we are all calling in from across the US with varying internet speed and connections. It starts with the somewhat normal Race Bar takeover and then we go into the race. For this event, our drivers consisted of Vicki, Alan, and Jennifer and our two adopted teammates Aaron Diamond from the Saabs of Anarchy racing team and Elazar Mann from Race Bar. It was a great weekend with many, many highs, and a few notable lows. It was almost back to normal, well as normal as a Lemons race can be, and it was great to see everyone again.

In this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we start off with our latest GHIT swag t-shirt that we made for the Dominating with Dawson and how we surprised Ben with it a few weeks back. We then try to get back into our topic for this episode where we go into several things that you can practice on the public roads and during your normal driving that will improve your track driving or refine skills that you may want to start to employ on the track. It is a great time to practice driving with left foot braking, heel-toe downshifting, as well as other less obvious areas of high performance driving. Luckily for Bill, Vicki missed his joke, so he did not have to sleep in the tub after this episode, leaving a bit more room for Bill, lol.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/LemonsNJMP2021

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) The Trophy truck/El Jeffe/Bad Hombre/Loki truck made its way to the track a bit late, but the theming of the truck and our drivers was a big hit in the paddock and with several of the young fans at the track.

2) The race weekend started off with some small issues with the El Jeffe that we worked through the entire weekend. Then we had a few other issues as the weekend progressed. In other words, a normal endurance racing weekend.

3) Aaron does his best robot impressions, but the connection improves after a few minutes.

4) We had an issue with the engine losing power and having difficulty starting. Unfortunately, we were not able to diagnose and fix the issue at the track, but let us know if you have any suggestions.

5) Our two guest drivers describe the glory involved with driving the El Jeffe Trophy truck. Since Aaron usually races a front wheel drive (Saab) and Elazar is usually in a mid engine car (Toyota MR-2), the truck is a bit different. It is not what anyone expects. We think Aaron and Elazar are both hooked.

6) In addition to our power/electrical issue, we also had a continuing issue with our new exhaust design. We fixed it Lemons style to keep racing and then we made a plan to fix it permanently, of course this was after sending Jennifer out for her stint.

7) Bill makes a terrible American Pie joke. He says he was really tired.

8) Aaron has raced in Lemons for almost 5+ years and had only two black flags in the entire endurance racing career. However, in true GHiT fashion, he managed to get two more in a single stint on Saturday. As Mars Blackman said, "Its got to be the shoes."

9) Elazar describes how he dealt with a total brake failure going into the high speed turn 1, truly an example of dealing with a brake issue in one of the best ways possible. To add a bit to the weekend, Elazar was again subjected to a loss of the mounting bolt on the upper front control arm on the passenger side.

10) Alan goes for donuts, well just one donut, on our door. He may also have to adjust the HANS device or seek another design.

11) So in the end, we missed the checkered flag on Saturday by about twenty minutes and we missed it by again by about the same amount. Cue the sad trombone.

We had a great time, we learned some more, and we were able to spend some time with our old friends, our new friends and our soon to be friends.

A special shout out to our sister Jennifer who came to her first ever Lemons race and saw how much fun this can be. We hope you come back again soon.

Budget endurance auto racing is a worldwide passion and Motor Events Racing is leading the way across Australia and looking to grow the sport and share high performance driving with everyone interested or soon to be interested. The group sponsors two different series for those with different driving skill levels, budgets, and interests. For those not familiar with the details of the tracks available in Australia, we go into the different venues, types of racing, and future plans to open up endurance racing to everyone. We also go into the potential of a worldwide budget championship which sounds like a tremendous idea to us. Perhaps we can start with a home and home series once travel restrictions and budget allows.

In this episode of Dominating with Dawson, Ben and the gang go into the details of trail braking, what it is and how you would physically sequence your inputs to capitalize on the benefits of this braking technique. We also get into when you would use this technique and why.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/AustralianEnduranceRacing

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) We go into the way the series are categorized, what the HP to Weight ratio and budget restrictions are for the various levels.

2) How the series raises serious money for cancer research, especially for rare types of cancer. One recent contribution was over $10,000.

3) If you are looking to travel to a race in Australia, we go into the various tracks and events, including the can't miss events and venues. Bill is already planning.

4) Motor Events Racing runs a wide variety of event types, durations, and performance levels that should satisfy just about every aspiring racer.

5) How the team has learned from other races and race organizations and how they have modified the events to exceed the participating team's expectations.

6) How the series is dealing with overly aggressive drivers and speed creep within the series.

7) Bill couldn't resist going into some of the favorite penalties that they have employed at races. Some great ideas for future judging opportunities.

8) We start laying the groundwork for the international exchange series and potential global budget endurance racing series.

For more info on the series and the events: motorevents.com.au or on Facebook at the Motor Events Racing pages.

We went back to Mid Ohio for a second lap in 2021 with Vicki, Jennifer, and Bill attending the May NASA Great Lakes event. It started out as a wet track and at Mid Ohio and that is always especially entertaining. We raced a turbo 1999 Mazda Miata (NB), a 2019 Mazda Miata, and a 2004 BMW M3 (E46) all were on street tires and racing brake pads and fluid. We go over the event where Vicki and Jen were in the HPDE 2 run group and Bill was in the HPDE 3 group. It all started out innocently enough and then the forecast went from warm and sunny to ridiculously cold and wet for Saturday and gradually warm and sunny on Sunday. The event was fantastic as always and the goals going in were designed for success. How did we do? We shall discover together within this episode. Special thanks to all the NASA Great Lakes team and the staff at Mid Ohio for a great weekend.

In this episode of Dominating with Dawson, we go over a variety of methods that can be used to improve your preparation for a "new to you" track and help you learn the track ahead of time and maximize your driving comfort on your first laps.

Any Guesses?

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/2021MidOhioLap2

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) We go into the details of the HPDE group 2 and compare it to the HPDE 1 and HPDE 3 groups. We also try to summarize the various drills that we did during the weekend.

2) Jennifer (and Vicki) have a difficult time prepping for a new track and since this was Jennifer's first time at Mid Ohio, we worked our way through it, but we need to work on a better plan. Bill has ideas. Stay tuned.

3) Vicki tries to break a very bad habit that is really holding her back. She has a difficult time staying at full throttle until the brake zone, especially in high speed areas. There are some aspects of racing that require a great deal of commitment and even a bit of courage to work through. Her resolve to break through did lead to a quality 720 at the end of the big straight leading into China Beach.

4) How did Bill earn a steak dinner that somehow turned into Crack Barrel Meat Loaf.

Our second ever non-PG podcast, but it was so worth it.

Peter Hopelain joins us to discuss Bill's bucket list goal of racing in the Thunderhill 25 endurance race. Peter has raced in the Thunderhill 25 nearly every year and also been on the podium several times and recently won his team's class. We had a great discussion of the background of the race and how to prepare and compete. Peter was also kind enough to stay on with us to discuss racing in general, his non-profit racing team, as well as some of his goals going forward. We are so appreciative of Peter taking his time out from his incredibly busy schedule and giving us so much of his time. He even put up with some of our Fast and Furious Storytime Questions. We would love to have him on again and cannot wait to go into more details of his driving history and exploits.

In this episode of Dominating with Dawson, Vicki eventually asks Ben a question (after perhaps the longest intro of all time, lol) and we start to cover some of the adjustments that are available to you that can help to dial in a car's handling on track. We cover some of the basic changes and the effect that they will have on the way the car feels and handles in a high performance driving scenario. If you ever had a car that you wanted to adjust but were unsure how to, or in which direction to adjust, this episode may be very helpful to you. Adjustment areas we reviewed included: Sway bar/anti roll bars, tire pressures, wheel alignment, etc. This is the likely the first of a many part series.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/PeterHopelain

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

We review our latest high performance driving education (HPDE) event at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Millville, New Jersey. We had four drivers at the event from our team. Jennifer, Vicki, and Liam were in the HPDE 2 run group for this weekend and Bill was in the HPDE 3-4 group. We each learned quite a bit a this event and we are all better drivers after.

On this episode's Dominating with Dawson, Ben goes into the acronym OSB, which is sometimes used to describe someone in a learning environment where it stands for "Other Sports Beckon". We all firmly believe that anyone can learn how to drive at a track or an autocross event. While there are differences in everyone at the rate that they learn, or their initial skill/experience level, literally everyone can get to a very proficient level if they take an approach of learning and are willing to put in the effort to improve. We then move into the area of how different teaching approaches are better able to match with different student personalities and how the needs of the student may change as their experience and skill level progresses.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/NJMPHPDEMay2021

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) Car reviews: Jennifer was in a 2019 ND.2 Mazda Miata with the stock OEM Continental tires and brakes. Liam was in his 2017 Toyota 86 TRD with Hankook RS4 tires and Raybestos ST-43 racing pads. Vicki was in her 1999 NB Miata with a Flyin' Miata Turbo, Hankook RS4 tires and Raybestos ST-43 racing pads. Bill was in his 2004 BMW E46 M3 with yellow Pagid brake pads and Michelin Pilot SuperSport 4 tires.

2) Telemetry we used for this event: Apex Pro and Garmin Catalysts.

3) How we owe our friends Jeff and Jim from the Three Pedal Mafia for saving our weekend by letting us use their family's RV. Let's just summarize by saying our prep for the vent did not go as planned. Situation normal.

4) Vicki's prep to her turbo NB Miata did not go as planned before the event and at the event, but we did a few adjustments and all went well. It should be back up and running for our HPDE at Mid Ohio this coming weekend. Pro tip, do not try to adjust your harness while the car is running.

5) Vicki and Jennifer's thoughts on being in HPDE 2 vs HPDE 1. It was Vicki's second time in HPDE 2 and Jennifer and Liam's first time in HPDE 2. We also go into some of the differences in the HPDE's between this event and some of the other organizations we have attended.

6) Let's talk about point by's at every post stint debrief, lol.

7) Vicki's impressions of driving the E46 M3 on track for the first time.

8) We go over our goals going into the event and how we did during the event and what we learned over this weekend. We also go into some of the challenges we each face as we progress and grow as drivers on the track.

9) Liam pops in for a quick summary towards the end with his thoughts on the weekend. He also had a great time at the event and finally had a chance to be on track with the Garmin Catalyst.

Andrew Rains returned to discuss the new second generation Apex Pro and the new release of the App. This episode was recorded a few weeks ago, but we go into the latest changes to the Apex Pro hardware and the Apex Pro software/app and some of Andrew's recent racing with Grid Life in the GLTC series at National Corvette Museum Motorsports track (NCM) a very challenging track with lots of turns and a wide variety of turns and use it as a basis for showing some of the information that can be gained from using the data and comparing it to another driver.

On this episode's Dominating with Dawson, Ben, Vicki, and Bill go into the factors of VIR that make it the legendary track that it is and why Ben always refers to it as a benchmark for so many different types of turns. If you haven't already noticed, it is Ben's favorite, lol. We probably have started to plan another race weekend to our season. Anyone coming with us or have a suggested upcoming event/weekend?

The Pocono video we discussed is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1RohRau9Hg at around 2.5 minutes in and no, this is not a normal occurrence.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/ApexProGen2

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. We have two systems for our team and Bill is looking to add a third for this season, pending CFO approval from Vicki. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) How the data from the Apex Pro showed Andrew what he was doing well and where he had opportunities to improve at NCM. Andrew also diagnosed how he could have changed his approach to the weekend and potentially improved his overall performance at a new and very complex/technical track like NCM.

2) We then move into the subject of the new Apex Pro hardware and Apex Pro app that was released recently. Luckily our discount code (above) works on this new generation hardware.

3) The app has also been improved to help new users acclimate to the app and especially related to the Crew View aspect of the app that lets you view the live data being shared by any friend or teammate at the track or even if you are away from the track.

4) We provide a review of how we use the Apex Pro on and at the track and how you can use it to improve during each stint and between sessions.

5) How everyone can use the system and due to its simplicity, even those of us who aren't big data people can get a lot out of the Apex Pro, as well as the updated app.

6) There is even an upgrade program if you have first generation units and would like the new second generation unit.

NEEDED Links:

Andrew's Video on the 5 minute data review.

Mid Ohio Track Walk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYsm3R-CzYs

Shawn Sampson of Sampson Racing Communications essentially started the use of in-car radio system use for amateur racing about 30 years ago. Since then, he has been working with all types of racing and racing organizations including NASCAR, NASA, and SCCA, as well as the US Coast Guard. During the episode, we go into the different types of radios, their use and capabilities, as well as various installation tips of what to do, and in our case a several things we should not have done. Our team has historically had a difficult time communicating within a race, but after this episode, we know what to do and how to test our systems so that at our next race we will have crystal clear two way communication across the entire track area. And some great news is that you may not need to buy anything else for your system. It could be a simple matter of improving your installation and eliminating several ways that commonly impact many/most radio installations. Now if we could only get a mute button for Alan, lol.

On this episode's Dominating with Dawson, Ben, Vicki, and Bill go into the typical ways that you will get off and on a track for the first time to help minimize any stress related to starting out at your first track day or HPDE. Each track may have individual idiosyncrasies that vary, but the fundamentals are usually very similar. We also go into tips on hand signals and procedures that everyone has messed up early on in their high performance driving career at a track. This includes getting onto the grid and track, getting off the track, and within the paddock area. It is very easy to make simple errors and hopefully this will minimize yours and help you feel more comfortable coming out onto the track. Communication is the key, both before and especially during a track session. You cannot overdo your communication to your fellow drivers.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/RacingRadios

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. We have two systems for our team and Bill is looking to add a third for this season, pending CFO approval from Vicki. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Highlights from this episode include:

1) Do you have any questions related to your car radio? How the use of radios originally started with amateur racing and some of the advantages of having radios beyond improving your race performance.

2) Is your radio system doing everything you would like? Is your radio system crystal clear across the track?

3) If not, this could be the podcast to solve all your issues.

4) Do you want a Digital or an Analog system? Covered.

5) What about a 5-Watt vs a 25-Watt system? Does it matter? Is the price difference worth it/worth anything?

6) What about mounting issues? How to make it a clean installation of both the radio and the antenna?

7) Does the roof material/mounting surface impact performance? How can this impact your antenna selection and the mounting method for best signal?

8) What are the +/- 5 things that are impacting your current system?

9) Can the antenna that came with your radio be better than the roof mounted antenna? If so, why and what can you do to fix that and improve your system overall?

10) How your antenna cable can turn into an inductive coil and strangle almost all the potential signal and range.

11) Also, the importance of the helmet microphone type and placement. Also, your push to talk button is a common issue.

12) How to adequately test your system BEFORE you get to the track and have no time, tools, or parts available.

13) Picture of our radio gun case and Shawn's multiple charging systems and soft packing solutions (crew wall bag)

14) IMSA vs NASCAR: What is the difference and what are the pluses and minuses of each.

15) Shawn helps solve our team internal squabbles on where to position our push to talk button.

16) UHF vs VHF systems. It matters, especially if not at an enclosed circle or oval type track etc.

17) What is the latest and best solution for in-car communication between the seats for an instructor at an HPDE? Is anything good? Chris Egan, please take note. Lol.

18) How does the location of your pit crew at the track impact the signal, especially within a metal garage, near a fence, etc.

19) Installation tips and tricks for putting the radios, microphones, and earpieces into the helmet.

20) How to keep the helmet installation from stressing during driver changes and especially during endurance racing.

21) Speakers or earbuds?

22) 5-Watt systems vs 20- or 25-watt systems? Is bigger better?

23) Do you need an FCC license for amateur endurance racing?

24) Bluetooth vs a wired system? Is it worth the price distance? What is the range? How is Bluetooth usually used in racing?

25) Can I tie in the radio system into my cell phone? Should I?

26) What can Sampson Racing Communication assist you and your team with?

27) What are the differences between the different antennas available?

28) And probably most important, on what and where should you spend your money to maximize your communication performance and minimize your expenditure?

29) Can I tie in my in-car communication into my in-car video system? What do I use?

30) What should you know about the Thunderhill 25 race?

Shawn Sampson on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/ShawnsPersoanal

Sampson Racing Communication on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/SRCsYoutube

Ross Bentley was kind enough to return for a third time that turned out to be his fourth appearance thanks to the mysteries of podcast recording and his recent episode on the One Lap of America event. Jennifer, Ben, and Bill were able to go through a ton of great questions that were sent in by several of our listeners, as well as a few we had hoped to cover with Ross. As most of you know, Ross has literally written the book, actually a series, on high performance driving and racing and continues to work with drivers and organizations to increase the skills and effectiveness of the HPDE and coaching of drivers across the world. It is always a great idea to refer back to the Speed Secrets book series to improve your driving and find those little secrets that lead to those precious "ah hah" moments on track and lead to personal best times on track. If we are lucky, Ross will come on again to celebrate podcast episode 250. We actually recorded this episode prior to our victory at Pitt Race. Hopefully this episode will help you to win your next race as well. This may be our most helpful episode ever!

On this episode's Dominating with Dawson, Ben addresses the use of anticipation and the use of reaction on a track. As you progress, the more that your skills improve and your experience increases, the more anticipation can be used accurately and allows the driver to react to unexpected actions or issues as they arise due to track conditions or vehicle induced occurrences, both with your own vehicle's performance and potentially another vehicle or driver's actions.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/RossBentley200

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS Please don't forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don't forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code "ghitlikesapex!" when you order. We have two systems for our team and Bill is looking to add a third for this season, pending CFO approval from Vicki. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

Some of the questions Ross answered on this episode include:

1) Jen asks Ross about her braking nemesis: Threshold braking: what it is, advantages and disadvantages, when to use it, and what it feels like etc. It's not all about just braking later despite all the talk in the paddock you may hear.

2) Bill asks what were the biggest changes that he has learned since writing the original "Speed Secrets" book. As expected, Ross has learned a bunch and continues to grow as a driver and a coach.

3) Did you ever wonder what were some of Ross's favorite drills and exercises at a track day event? After this, you won't ever be "bored" just lapping around a track one day. Using these drills, you can really look to break through a plateau, even at a track you may have down cold. The first drill Ross discussed is even useful to those top level and world class pro level drivers.

4) Tips for what to prioritize and to include on your track maps/track notes to improve your driving at a particular track. Bill has a weird way of taking notes as part of his preparation for going to a track, but he is always looking to improve them whole at the event. This habit has really been proven to improve both his driving at a single track and his driving overall. As a bonus, we also discuss when and how to include data and/or video into the track map.

5) We look at ways that we use or could use to work towards improving and how we continue to try to improve each time we get to the track, off track, and hopefully each driving stint. Each driver has a particular level of performance that is their individual "10" they are working towards, but we also try to look at ways to create an even higher level and make their personal "10" level even higher. Because, these go to 11! Or at least they should.

6) What are some of the ways to improve your sensing of the available inputs during driving, especially a drivers sense of speed and the other sensory inputs that are often overlooked while driving and may be holding you back from a higher level of performance on track.

7) Alternatives to telemetry to get feedback while on track. Several are available in any car that you may be driving.

8) If you ever wondered about the differences between driving an Indy car and a well sorted GT car, Ross discussed this with us and recalled his calloused elbows, lol.

9) The potential impact of karting on your track driving, how it helps as well as how it differs from driving a car. The advantages and experience that can be gained greatly outweigh any deleterious habits but these are worth noting.

10) How to transition to left foot braking and incorporate it into your track driving. As well as if it is necessary or required.

11) How to break through a plateau. If you've ever been stuck and can't seem to improve, Ross goes through a few of the potential alternatives to breaking through this seemingly unbreakable limit that can be so frustrating.

12) Ross has some great ideas for every tack around the world. He also goes into one of the best ideas for Formula 1 that we have ever heard. Hopefully, the world will listen to Ross's wisdom.

13) Jennifer goes into the areas of vision and mental imagery to assist with driving in a high performance environment. Some of this we have not ever heard until this episode. Cutting edge research is what you get from the Garage Heroes In Training podcast, lol.

14) If you have ever had to deal with an ill handling car, what can you do without having to come into the pit or make an adjustment to the car.

15) When racing at an endurance race, how to communicate the behavior of the car and what to adjust to hopefully improve the car. We also go into how to learn what the changes will do to your car. Bill has a copy of Ross's free ebook on the subject, but has not read it yet. You could get one here: https://speedsecrets.com/tune-car-handling/ for free (for a limited time)

16) How to best prepare for your time with a coach. You want to work with a coach right? This way you can maximize the value for the time that you have.

17) Ross even begins to coach Jennifer during the episode. This may be a basis for our upcoming episode #250.

18) How to review your own driving video. Yep,that's here too.