Speed Secrets Podcast

Mark Lutes, Scott Refert, and Ron Gale join me to talk about driving simulators, from different perspectives: a sim chassis builder, a race car engineer, and a sim racer. Of course, I throw in my own thoughts from a driver training viewpoint. We talk about the importance of the types of controls, VR glasses, and how big the sim racing community is.

Mark Lutes is the man behind Fast Track Sims in Canton, Georgia, and has been building high-end sim units for seven years. Scott Refert has been engineering race cars for decades, but he’s also a sim racer himself. And Ron Gale, my oldest best friend (was with me when I drove my first race forty years ago), is an active sim racer.

Fast Track Sims: www.fasttracksims.com

www.Facebook.com/fasttracksims

@fasttracksims on Instagram

Jordan Taylor joins me to talk about the driving styles of the best drivers, but before we do we also talk about nature vs. nurture. In other words, did he inherit his driving abilities from his dad, Wayne, or was it something he learned. And then… we have a surprise cameo appearance from Rodney Sandstorm!

Jordan’s Speed Secret is: “Keep your eyes and ears open – keep learning.” And no, we didn’t plan him saying that, even though I’ve been preaching that for years!

Jordan Taylor has done a lot in his young racing career: won the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Sebring 12-hour, Le Mans, and the Grand-Am, IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge Championships. His perspective on driving style is interesting, since he’s co-driven with his dad Wayne Taylor, brother Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Renger van der Zande, and the Corvette Racing team with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Jan Magnussen, and Antonio Garcia. Oh, and even Jeff Gordon.

Follow Jordan @jordan10taylor on Twitter and Instagram; and @rodneysandstorm on Instragram for the funny stuff!

Danna Van Noy joins me to talk about how to get your spouse involved and be supportive of your driving addiction! Part marital advice, part motivator, it’s a fun conversation about a “tricky” topic. We also talk about why so many drivers are also entrepreneurs, adrenaline sports, expanding your comfort zone, and how to protect your car’s finish when on track.

Danna and her husband Brian have recently launched a very cool product called Protect N Peel. It’s a simple product that you paint on your car before going to the track, and then peel it off afterward – and it’s protected the paint in the meantime. They developed the product out of necessity, having started tracking their Porsches a few years ago, primarily with the PCA.

Danna is offering a 50% discount off of an order of Protect n Peel. Go to www.ProtectnPeel.com, and use the code “speedsecrets” to get the discount.

Jack Baruth joins me to talk about whatever is bugging him. Amongst other things, we talk about funding to help young drivers make a career in racing, the mental game of driving, track day safety, HPDE instruction, and how to make the most of a race start.

Jack’s Speed Secret #1: “At the start of spring races, push hard until there’s no reason to – for at least the first few laps.” Speed Secret #2: “Ask yourself what people around you know that you don’t.”

Jack is one of the most prolific automotive journalists, but more importantly, he’s a brilliant writer who digs deeper into every subject he tackles than most. He writes for Road & Track, both in the print magazine and online. Follow him at:

jackbaruth.com

https://www.roadandtrack.com/author/2556/jack-baruth/

For more information about the 5 Ways to Drive Faster webinar that I’m doing on June 5th, go to SpeedSecrets.com/5-Ways-Drive-Faster.

Chris Wehrheimjoins me to talk about karting, and how you can use it to improve your driving, no matter what you drive. We also talk about why some young drivers make it, and some don’t, but mostly discuss ways you can use a kart to make you a better driver.

Chris has won a lot in racing (see below), but it’s what he’s done outside of the car/kart that I think is most impressive. From coaching and managing drivers, to creating driving gloves, the same drive that made him win on the track is helping him be successful off the track (a common trait amongst other drivers, as we discuss in this episode).

• 1999 Formula Jr. North American Karting Champion
• 2000 WKA Yamaha Jr. Super Can Grand National Champion
• 2005 Skip Barber Scholarship Winner
• 2006 Skip Barber National Race Winner VIR
• 2006 WKA Yamaha Lite Grand National Champion
• 2007 WKA TaG Sr. Grand National Champion
• 2007 Stars of Karting ICA Race Winner
• 2010 SKUSA SuperNationals 5th Place TaG Sr.

Instragram:@cwehrheim and @minus_273

And for information about my upcoming 5 Ways to Drive Faster webinar, go to SpeedSecrets.com/5-Ways-Drive-Faster

Cameron Norsworthy joins me to talk about flow, or getting into the zone. There are many factors that contribute to triggering a “flow performance,” and we talk about the most important ones. What’s very cool in this episode is that he actually takes a few minutes to lead listeners through a short visualization session, and helps you identify what will help you get into the zone more often.

Cameron is the founder and Performance Director for The Flow Centre, and is an athlete, author, entrepreneur, ICF coach, sports psychologist in training, and speaker surrounding topics on flow, performance, creativity, decision-making and innovation. He’s coached numerous World Champions, executives, entrepreneurs, and high profile military personnel. He is passionate about disseminating information on flow and coaching people to find their flow.

Go tohttp://theflowcentre.com for more information about flow, and what Cameron and his team are doing at The Flow Centre. There are some great resources there, too.

And be sure to check out Learn.SpeedSecrets.com for the Inner Speed Secrets 201 eCourse.

Jamie Stiehr joins me to talk about vintage and club racing, how to grow participation in our sport, how to help charities through racing, and the Race Against Kids’ Cancer (RAKC). Many individuals and teams have used motorsport as a platform for raising funds for a good cause, and the RAKC, which supports the Morgan Adams Foundation is a great example. The event has been successful in raising over three-quarters of a million dollars, and has now branched out into a separate event in Texas.

Jamie has raced with the Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing club for years, as well as in the SCCA – both in Formula Ford. He also races a BMW 2002 in vintage racing, and has served as the club’s chief instructor for their annual driving school.

Learn more about the Race Against Kids’ Cancer by going to www.raceagainstkidscancer.org

If you’d like to contact Jamie for more information, he can be reached at [email protected]

Marshall Pruettjoins me to talk about what the best drivers do, and don’t do, that make them the best. His insights on Scott Dixon, Alexander Rossi, Simon Pagenaud, Sebastian Bourdais, Robert Wickens, Josef Newgarden, and others are fascinating – and educational. And the stories he uses to illustrate these insights are hugely fun!

Marshall is best known these days for his Marshall Pruett Podcast and his writing for Racer magazine and Racer.com, Road & Track, and elsewhere. But what makes his perspective so interesting is that he spent many years as a mechanic in all levels of racing, he’s engineered cars, been team manager, driven, and coached drivers. Marshall has seen drivers and what they do from more angles than most!

Listen to the Marshall Pruett Podcast on any of the podcast platforms, or by going to MarshallPruett.com.

Follow Marshall on social media:

• Facebook:www.facebook.com/marshall.pruett
• Twitter:@marshallpruett
• Instagram:@marshall.pruett

 Or email him at [email protected]

Dave Pratte joins me to talk about, well… mistakes. Okay, and some things that are not mistakes, too, but Dave and I talk about how valuable mistakes are from a learning perspective. We have fun discussing the judgment one needs when passing, and how ego can make a difference; the most common mistakes drivers make with their cars; the differences between autocross and time attack, and road racing; and what one learns from testing tons of different cars.

Dave and his business partner Peter Tarach run Speed Academy, a performance tuning and car-building shop in Hamilton, Ontario – but they do business online, too. And they have some very cool and helpful videos on their YouTube channel – be sure to check them out. Dave has also been an automotive journalist for AutoGuide.com and Modified magazine, where he’s had the opportunity to trash… err, test hundreds of cars.

Learn more about Dave and Speed Academy at www.Speed.Academy, and follow them at:

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/gofastwithclass

Instagram:@speedacademy

YouTube:www.youtube.com/user/spdacademy

Scott Mann joins me to talk about High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) instructing, and particularly what are the traits that the best instructor have. We share stories and thoughts about the importance of an open/growth mindset, dealing with Type A personalities, how to practice instructing, and what the best focus on.

Scott is the Chief Driving Instructor for the Las Vegas Region of the Porsche Club of America (PCA), the Zone 8 Chief Instructor for PCA, and one of the PCA’s national instructor trainers. When asked to choose between driving and instructing, his response is “Instructing!” In other words, he’s passionate about the art and science of helping other people how to drive better.

The websites that Scott mentioned in the show are:

http://www.zone8.org

http://lvs.pca.org

http://www.renegadehybrids.com

Email: [email protected]