Shifting Points Podcast

We are once again joined by Elizabeth “Liz” (Sargent) White, who starts by telling us about her “wheelie good time.” It’s a punny episode with some great insights, just a little bit of off-roading and some excellent advice.

In reverse order of the actual occurrence because it is very, very exciting that Kathy describes some awesome epiphanies she had from her last autocross of the season. Audra talks about riding in cars with strangers. And Kathy has a great trip with a group of MINIs for MINIs Take Vermont. 

In this episode Audra, Kathy and Jess interview Ralph Stankowski. Ralph has been autocrossing for over 20 years and lends great insight into appropriate course design and has some great tips for novices. We also find out that most of his funniest stories can never be shared. Luckily there are still some real gems that come to light. Join us for an insightful and fun conversation.

Jess, Kathy and Audra interview the father and son team Dana Sr. and Dana II Nigorski. Dana II came with a mission to refute claims by our prior guest John Swig. Dana Sr. gets us started in the most appropriate way possible for a Shifting Points episode. And yes this means that you should heed our cautions on the language. The topics covered include hilarity that ensued on various jobs held by Dana II, garage envy, electric cars, drag racing and (naturally) autocross. This conversation is interspersed with sirens, dog barking, can opening and drink making. It was a wild night and we hope you find it as entertaining as we did.

In this episode we get a breakdown of, you guessed it, a whole lot of car shit Kathy has gone through lately. She also bought a new car. Tune in to hear about what she got. It is a wild ride.

Kathy, Jess and Audra bring Xander Swig back to run through his list of 57 cars he has autocrossed. We may have digressed a bit from the main topic with off-topic discussions including mid vs. front vs. rear engine cars, blinker usage, speed wipers, speed horn and logos among other things. And we were excited, and amused, to find out that there is one car that Kathy knows. 

As you listen, please keep in mind that we are not kidding about the drinks, we may have had some.

Jess and Audra join Kathy for a great discussion with Nick, the owner of Black Pearl Fitness. Kathy and her daughter are dedicated members of this gym that promotes a cross-functional training philosophy. We ultimately drag Leah, Nick’s girlfriend and trainer at Black Pearl into the conversation (she tried to duck out, but we are so happy that she relented and lent her expertise and viewpoint to the conversation). We do toss in a little autocross talk, but, if you are looking to start on a fitness journey this episode has some great advice on how to get started and what to look for in a gym or fitness facility. 

In this episode Kathy and Audra get to chat with Sasha and Amora who are an adorable father/daughter autocross duo. Not only do we hear insights into Sasha’s inspiration and experience, we also get to hear about how Amora, at just 18, is seeking to inspire other young people to engage in motorsports. We hope you enjoy their story as much as we did!

Jess and Audra had the fabulous, amazing and incredible experience of driving at a 24 Hours of Lemons event at NJMP (Yokohama Real Hoopties of NJ!!), courtesy of Garage Heroes in Training. The whole team includes Bill Fischer, Vicki Fischer, Jen Skripchuk and Jess and Audra as they discuss the day, the cars, the atmosphere, THE CAR and all of their experiences from day 1 of this 24 Hours of Lemons event.