The Racing Ear Podcast

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Hello Racing Ears, 

Mr. Producer and I got to go to the NHRA Sonoma Nationals back on Friday July 23 and we had a ball.  It was our first big racing event of 2021.  We had $16.00 corn dogs and drank $5.00 cokes and sprites.  We saw a few heroes of ours and it was so nice to be in a cooler climate for a few hours.  I incorporated some actual sound footage from the dragstrip.  Turn up the volume! 

Enjoy!!

Thanks for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.  

#theracingearpodcast
#rickknoop
#nhra
#johnforce
#antronbrown
#roncapps
#sonomanationals
#sonomaraceway
#theracingear

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Hello Again Racing Ears,

In this episode Rick Knoop was kind enough to let me chat with his friend John Morton.  Both Rick and John spent time being racing teammates and being racing competitors.  In this episode we all chatted about racing cars, racing drivers, and racing circuits.  This is part 1 with special guest John Morton.  

John Morton mentioned a few books that are about the Electromotive Nissan GTP program and John Paul Jr.  

They include:

Developing A Champion
The Electromotive Nissan GTP Story 
By Chris Willes
chriswillesautoracingbooks.com

50/50
The Story Of Champion Race Car Driver John Paul Jr 
And His Battle With Huntington's Disease
By Silvia Wilkinson
autobooks-aerobooks.com 

Also available is:
Wrenching And Racing With Carroll Shelby In The 1960's
By John Morton 
autobooks-aerobooks.com

Thank you for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.

#theracingearpodcast
#rickknoop 
#johnmorton
#chriswilles
#johnpauljr
#sylviawilkinson
chriswillesautoracingbooks.com
 

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Hello again Racing Ears,

I had another amazing chat with Rick Knoop about a circuit in North America that you may have heard of.  Watkins Glen International Raceway is a circuit located in Upstate New York and according to Rick Knoop it is one of the fastest circuits he has ever raced on.  His descriptions of this historic racing circuit coupled with stories of what he experienced in NASCAR stock cars, in IMSA Grand Touring Prototype ground effects cars, and in the Knoop Mann Special is quite the listen.  

I wanted to send a special shout out to my friend Nathanael Woodworth who is from Upstate New York and hope that he hears and enjoys this episode.  

Anyway, many thanks to Rick Knoop for another amazing chat on The Racing Ear Podcast.

Thanks for listening.  

Please Like Share and Subscribe!!

#watkinsgleninternationalraceway
#rickknoop 
#nathanaelwoodworth
#theracingearpodcast

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Hello again Racing Ears,

Jeff Kline is a former racing driver that I have become more familiar with recently after hearing him being a part of a panel discussion with the Racing History Project / "Race Talk with Trish" episode remembering IMSA GTU back in the 1980's.  Back in the day, Jeff raced predominantly for Mazda, but had rides for Porsche, General Motors, and drove a Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 at the 1989 Le Mans 24 Hours.  More recently Jeff has competed in several vintage races in a Ginetta G4 race car.  

Originally from Pennsylvania, Jeff came to California to attend college at UCLA and has been planted in Southern California ever since.  Jeff and I chatted about his experience driving in SCCA and eventually becoming a hired gun for the Racing Beat Mazda RX7 program in the late 70's and early 80's.  Later he drove in the GTP Lights series and was driving a Pontiac Fiero GTP Lights race car during the 1987 Ford California Grand Prix at Sears Point International Raceway, a race where I was a spectator.    

Anyway, it was great to meet and chat with Jeff as he remembered many amazing stories from his time driving amazing race cars and hanging out with really amazing people.    

Thank you so much for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast. 

Please Like Share and Subscribe!!

#theracingearpodcast
#jeffkline
#rickknoop
#imsa 
#racetalkwithtrish
#motorsportshistoryproject
#mazdarx7
#jaguar 
   

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Hello again Racing Ears, 

Thank you for your continued support of this humble little auto racing history podcast.  

I got to check in with Rick Knoop and how he is doing with being a race car driving instructor with DK Racing School at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond California and the M1 Concourse in Pontiac Michigan.  Very good things are happening!!  Special shout out goes to Martina Kwan and Dwain Dement of DK Racing School!!

In this episode with Rick, we discussed what it was like for Toyota to start racing in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Camel GTU Class in North American sports car racing back in the early 1980s.  This effort was the first generation Toyota Sports Car Racing Program as it started and began to develop in North America in the early 1980's.  Rick Knoop drove the #92 Toyota Celica that was owned and operated by Kent Racing / Creative Car Craft from Southern California.  Many thanks again to Rick Knoop for the time to record this amazing piece of sports car racing history!  

Thank you for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.  

Please Like, Share, and Subscribe!!

If you like this podcast please make a comment to have on Apple Podcasts.  

Also tell a friend about this podcast!!

Thank you and Goodnight!!

#theracingearpodcast 
#rickknoop
#dkracingschool
#willowspringsinternationalraceway
#martinakwan
#dwaindement
#m1concourse
#toyotaracingdevelopment
#toyotacelica
#kentracing
#dangurney
#philremington
www.dkracingschool.com
www.m1concourse.com

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Hello Fellow Racing Ears, 

For this episode of The Racing Ear Podcast I had an amazing conversation with Martina Kwan who is the spokesperson for the DK Racing School that is located at the Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond California.  

Martina Kwan is an FIA licensed race car driver, race car instructor, and co-owner of the DK Racing School with Dwain Dement of Vision Motorsports.  Martina is an accomplished entrepreneur, race winner, mother, and philanthropist.  

DK Racing School has an event coming up on June 4 of 2021 with many future dates planned for 2021 and beyond.  We spoke about what is involved before, during, and after students visit the racing school, including, learning the topography of the racing circuit, zoom drivers meetings, track walks, and corner demonstrations by the instructor.   

We also spoke about what inspired her to become a race car driver and what obstacles that she overcame to be successful in the Saleen S1 purpose built race car.  She competed in the Saleen Cup which was a part of the Blancpain GT World Challenge America Series.   

Like me, she loves Porsches and she really loves the sounds that Porsches make at full chat! 

Many thanks to Martina Kwan for this episode of The Racing Ear Podcast.  

If you are interested in participating at the DK Racing School please follow the link, 
Msreg.com/dkprecisionjune.  

Thank you for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.  

dkracingschool.com
martinakwan.com
@martinakwan
@dkracingschool
msreg.com/dkprecisionjune

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Hello Fellow Racing Ears, 

Its been awhile but I got to chat with Rick Knoop again about his recent travels to Pontiac Michigan to be a driving instructor at the M1 Concourse.  He had a blast a few weeks ago and is really looking forward to being there again.  

We then had a conversation about his memories surrounding Riverside International Raceway in Moreno Valley California.  The circuit was open from 1957 till 1989 when it was closed to make way for development.  I never got to see Riverside first hand but I remembered seeing the track on an episode of CHiP's called "Drive Lady Drive".  Riverside fondly gets  remembered with the Facebook Group "Remembering Riverside".

Anyway Rick was a key ingredient to the success of the Jim Busby BFGoodrich Racing Team back in the 1980's with the BFGoodrich sponsored Porsche 962.  Busby Racing won the 1985 Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside on April 28, 1985 with Pete Halsmer and John Morton finishing in 1st Place with Knoop and Busby finshing on the podium in 2nd place .  His recollections of what the Porsche 962 would do on this track is quite fascinating.  

Thank you for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.   

#rickknoop
#jimbusby
#johnmorton
#petehalsmer
#digitaldtour
#imsagtp
#imsa
#busbyracing
#riversideinternationalraceway
#porsche962  
#theracingearpodcast

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Hello Fellow Racing Ears, 

My producer and I were able to attend the 2021 CSRG David Love Vintage Races at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday April 10 2021.  We had a great first outing for the year at my favorite spring time vintage racing event at Sonoma Raceway.  Mr. Producer as I like to call him had an amazing time getting close to the cars and taking photographs with his new piece of kit.  It was great to see Bob and Becky Pengraph, Locke De Bretteville, Geoff Pitts, and the rest of the CSRG Administration Staff.  

We want to give many thanks to the Classic Sports Racing Group for having us out to be able to cover the events of this weekend. 

Thank you for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.  

#CSRG 
#sonomaraceway

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Hello Fellow Racing Ears,

Locke De Bretteville is the President of the Classic Sports Racing Group.  I remembered hearing Locke on an episode of The Vintage Racing Podcast with Greg Tatarian a few years ago and I finally was able to chat with him in this episode.  Locke and I talked about his racing memories going back into the late 60s and early 70s and his relationship with Jon Norman and other friends that were from Berkeley California.  

We spoke about his experience driving his Pallister Winklemann Formula B racing car, how he found his car, and what its like to drive his racing car at ThunderHill Raceway in Willows California.  We also chatted about the NEW event that will be June 5 - 6 2021 and happening at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey California.  

I also love golf and so this was my opportunity to ask Locke about golf at Pebble Beach.  We chatted a little bit about how he won the 1974 Bing Crosby National Pro-Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links with Johnny Miller.  Johnny Miller won the tournament overall in 1974.   

The David Love Vintage Races will be held at Sonoma Raceway April 9 - 11 2021 and I am very much looking forward to attending this event.  

Thank you for listening to The Racing Ear Podcast.  

#theracingearpodcast
#CSRG
#classicsportsracinggroup
#lockedebretteville
 #sonomaraceway

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Hello Fellow Racing Ears,

In this episode of The Racing Ear Podcast, Rick Knoop and I discuss what it took for Porsche to overcome the dominance of the Chevrolet powered McLarens, Lolas, and Shadows during the Canadian American Challenge Cup back in the early 1970's.  This episode is a thoughtful and passionate recollection of a historic era in North American motor sport.   

Happy Easter 2021 from The Racing Ear Podcast!

Thank you for listening to this episode of The Racing Ear Podcast.  

#rickknoop
#porsche   
#rogerpenske
#andial
#mclaren
#lola
#shadow
#canam
#canadianamericanchallengecup
#racing
#sportscarracing
#autoracing

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