Speed Secrets Podcast

Vivek Goel joins me to talk about what he learned when he surveyed 350 performance drivers, asking them about their level of experience and ability, and what they do to improve. Of course, after talking about what the best drivers in his survey did, I ask Vivek what he does.

Vivek is a very competitive autocrosser who has also done some track day driving. He also writes a blog, available at www.BeyondSeatTime.com, where he digs into the what, how and why of what drivers do. As a self-proclaimed “ardent student,” Vivek shares what he’s learned – and we all can learn from him.

Brandon Sneed joins me to talk about what the best athletes in the world are doing to improve their performance. And before you think steroids to build the body, we’re talking about improving the performance of their minds.

Brandon is the author of the book, Head in the Game, as well as a writer for B/R Mag at Bleacher Report. The book is all about “mental engineering,” and in the process of researching the latest technologies and techniques athletes are using to improve their performance, he’s become one of the most knowledgeable people about the “secrets” of these high-performers.

To buy Brandon’s book, Head in the Game (and you absolutely should!), go to Amazon.

And to read Brandon’s blog, listen to his podcast, or learn more about him, go to http://headinthegamebook.com.

During the show Brandon mentioned a link to https://getversus.com.

Ron Simons joins me to talk about driving the Nurburgring – how to do it, how to prepare, what are the things you should avoid, and the challenges of doing so. Along the way (no pun intended, since I recorded this show while driving together from Nurburg to Spa), we talk about the differences between driving the Ring and Spa, the Belgian circuit just over an hour’s drive away.

Ron owns and operates RSRNurburg, a business dedicated to providing car rentals, instruction, and other services to drivers wanting to drive the famous Nordschleife circuit, as well as Spa in Belgium. Oh, and they arrange road tours of the area, too, in some very cool cars.

To learn more about Ron and RSRNurburg, check them out at www.rsrnurburg.com, or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/rsrnurburg and Instagram at @RSRNurburg.

James Houghton joins me to talk about Time Attack – what it is and where it fits into the motorsport world. Since he drives a 600-horsepower Front-Wheel-Drive car, we also talk about how to be fast in FWD cars, and then share our thoughts on how to prepare to go fast, fast – get up to speed very quickly (the first lap).

James is one of the fastest young drivers in North American Time Attack competition. You can follow him on Facebook at Facebook.com/JamesHougton or Facebook.com/timeattacktyper, and Instagram at @time_attack_typer.

Glenn McGee joins me to talk about sim racing, what he learned from it that helped him move into real racing, what surprises he had when he got to his first car race, what advice he’d give other young racers moving up the ladder, and what the Mazda Road to Indy is like on the inside.

Glenn started off being a serious First-Person Shooter gamer, before he moved into sim racing. After winning the iRacing/Mazda championship, he was invited to compete in the Mazda Shootout, which he won. That lead to him getting a funded ride in the Global MX-5 Cup series, where he currently is racing – while working towards racing in open-wheel cars.

For more information or to follow Glenn:

Facebook: Facebook.com/SpeedyMcGee

Twitter: @RacerMcGee

Instagram: @RacerMcGee

Jesse Love and I talk about what it’s like being a young racer – just 12 years old – who has more driving experience than most who are listening to this podcast. We talk about what he does to mentally prepare for a Midget or Late Model oval race, how road racing is different, what’s been the biggest influences on his success to date, and what he’s learned that you can use.

Jesse is from the Bay Area in California, and has been competing in Quarter Midgets, Midgets and now Late Model stock cars. He started when he was just five years old, and going into his first season in 2017 of Late Model stock cars, he’s won the first two out of two races. He’s definitely on the path to NASCAR stardom.

Here’s how you can learn more about and follow Jesse:

Web: www.lovemotorsports.net

Instagram: @jesselovejr

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovemotorsports.net/

Dennis Macchio joins me to talk about how to best find and use a mentor to help you with your driving, driver coaching, and a very interesting approach to using your vision (that is based on the system that Bertil Roos developed). Also, Dennis shares his insights about what gets in the way of some drivers improving, managing fear, and how to learn more and improve your performance and race driving.

Dennis is president of the Bertil Roos Racing School. He’s been coaching drivers for nearly 40 years, having started at Bridgehampton, and then taking over the operation of the Bertil Roos school in 1998.

You can learn more about the Bertil Roos Racing School by going to racenow.com, and about Dennis at dennismacchio.com.

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Ian Korf and I talk about his experience driving FWD cars, how to practice with simulators, and what a driver’s DNA says about their ability… and then Ian flips the table and starts interviewing me – and we talk about how to manage being nervous before an event, whether a driver should care about what happens to other drivers on the track, and what heroes I have.

Ian is a professor at UC Davis who is also a driving instructor, author of the You Suck At Racing book (available on Amazon), and an endurance racer. I stumbled onto his website, yousuckatracing.com a couple of years ago, and have enjoyed and learned a lot from the content there. Ian also writes articles every now and then for Speed Secrets Weekly. Be sure to check his blog out at www.yousuckatracing.com.

Tyler Clary, Olympic Gold Medal-winning swimmer talks about his newly-launched racing career, how he’s learned to be so fast so quickly (and how you can learn from him), what similarities racing has with swimming, and what it takes to be a winner.

Tyler won the gold medal in the 200 meter backstroke at the 2012 Olympics in London. Since retiring from competitive swimming he’s committed to doing what it takes to make a career in racing.

You can follow and cheer Tyler along - or contact him - at:

Instagram: @tylerclary

Twitter: @TylerClary

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheTylerClary

Web: www.tylerclaryracing.com

Email: [email protected]

Michael Roban and I talk about what it takes to be successful – in anything, including all levels of motorsport… Advice for when first starting in track days and racing, how best to learn to be a better performance/race driver while not taking too big a risk with your car, learning from mistakes, and his advice (as a relative newbie to the sport) on how best to get started.

Michael’s day job is financing motion pictures, a career he started by giving his services away for free (not unlike most pro race drivers). Just over two years ago he discovered track days, and then club racing, and has started racing with the Porsche Owners Club (POC). Michael and I met when I was leading Racer’s Clinic program for the POC at Spring Mountain.