RaceSchool.com Podcast hosted by Larry Mason

James Nazarian Jr. has an enviable job perk in his role as Large Project Leader Commercial Motorsports for Honda Performance Development (HPD, now Honda Racing Corporation HRC) in that he gets to drive a beast of a Honda CR-V – the CR-V Hybrid Racer to be exact! This conglomeration of part Indy car and part NSX GT3 IMSA GTD car was conceived and designed in Santa Clarita and is a super cool engine...

Davey Hamilton currently drives the Indy car two-seater giving rides to VIPs during NTT IndyCar Series race weekends. When he’s not behind the wheel, he’s also a driver analyst for the Indy car radio network. Growing up he raced all kinds of cars on dirt and pavement before he earned his way into Indy cars. He continues racing sprint cars today. He’s also a team owner running numerous race cars. W...

Ricky Taylor has been winning races and championships for years and is well known in the IMSA paddock. At the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach media luncheon, he happened to be sitting next to me at the lunch table. After lunch, he was gracious enough to spend some time answering multiple questions and filling us in on how he prepares for winning races – mentally, physically, and with specializ...

Marco Sorensen is a three-time FIA World Champion and has won legendary races such as the 24hrs of Le Mans and 24hrs of Daytona.  We caught up with him right after the IMSA qualifying press conference of the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he had just put his Aston Martin Vantage GT3 GTD car on pole! This was impressive as this was his first time driving the Long Beach circuit. A humble...

Jason Hart is a championship winning race car driver and has raced and won in multiple classes. His background is incredibly diverse, racing sprint cars and all manner of sports cars, including a Ferrari at the 24hrs of Le Mans. He’s even won his class in the Baja 1000! We caught up with Jason at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he was competing in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North...

Oriol Servia is a familiar face in the NTT IndyCar Series paddock. After winning the 1999 CART Indy Lights championship, he went on to race for a number of Indy car teams, including Newman-Haas, where he scored a win in Montreal and finished runner-up in the championship to teammate and four-time champ Sebastian Bourdais. Servia has raced in Formula E and currently drives the pace car during Indy...

Chuck Lessick is a chaplain with IndyCar Ministry and travels to most races and test sessions during the year. On Sunday morning of race weekends, Lessick leads a “5-Minute Devotional” with individuals from race teams, workers, sanctioning body staff, media and anyone else who wants to attend. During the week, he also leads a “life group” or “church group” at the Dallara factory in Indianapolis. I...

Ziggy Harcus is a name that might not ring a bell to the casual race fan, but he is well-known within the sport of auto racing as a key team member in the NTT IndyCar Series. His roles with multiple successful teams include his skills as a mechanic, team leader, and more. His winning resume’ is an enviable one. At the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach after a long day at the track, Ziggy was nic...

Michael Etrick is a talented artist that has created automotive art for many years. We were fascinated with the beautiful sculpture he had on display at this year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We were able to learn nuances from him that when you see the sculpture, fascinates you even more. The subtle details in his artwork keep impressing you as the sculpture can be modified as you’ll see in t...

Sebastian Saavedra has had a long career in motorsports that so far has culminated with an IMSA LMP2 class win at the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona. He also has multiple NTT Indycar Series starts under his belt including a pole position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. We caught up with him at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Press Day where he was giving rides to celebrities ( h...

or anyone who grew up in Southern California or Indianapolis, the Agajanian name is synonymous with auto racing. In Parts One and Two, JC Agajanian Jr. gave us a fascinating look into his family history in auto racing along with some incredible stories throughout a timeline from the 50’s through today. He also filled us in on some of the famous drivers that drove for them as well as some current a...

For anyone who grew up in Southern California or Indianapolis, the Agajanian name is synonymous with auto racing. In Part One, JC Agajanian Jr. gave us a fascinating look into his family history in auto racing along with some incredible stories throughout a timeline from the 50’s through today. In Part Two, JC talks about how his family got involved with Indy car racing at the Speedway, some of th...

For anyone who grew up in Southern California or Indianapolis, the Agajanian name is synonymous with auto racing. ASCOT Raceway in Gardena was a staple in dirt oval racing for decades. The Agajanian family were the promoters of that prolific race track from the early days until its closure. In Part One, JC Agajanian Jr. gives us a fascinating look into how his family got involved in auto racing, s...

A.J. McKee is a friendly looking guy in street clothes, but you wouldn’t want to get in the ring with him! As an MMA fighter with a 20-win record and only one loss through 2022, he is one tough guy. We caught up with him at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach press day where he talks about his background, the thrill of being at the track and his fleet of cool cars. He’s no stranger to auto rac...

Sam Carrick and Adam Henrique are two of the stars on ice for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. We caught up with them at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach press day where they were treated to rides in the Indy car two-seater and Sam also enjoyed riding in “the Beast” Honda CR-V which is powered by an Indy car engine combined with hybrid technology. They both had big smiles after their experience. Th...

Riley Dickinson is an up and coming professional American driver in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup Series. The series uses identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 992 race cars producing 510 hp. The series features Pro, Pro-Am and Amateur drivers with the majority being Pro drivers. He started off the 2023 season in Victory Lane at Sebring (twice, in the two race format) and his success has continued b...

Renger van der Zande is teamed with Sebastien Bourdais in the IMSA WeatherTech Series racing a Cadillac GTP car for Chip Ganassi Racing. We caught up with him for this interview during a cold and rainy press day for the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Besides being a multiple winner at the Rolex 24hrs of Daytona, Renger has successfully competed in multiple classes around the world. In this i...

Colin Braun is a highly talented race car driver that’s been around for years racing in multiple classes including in the SCCA. He signed with Meyer Shank Racing this year to race their IMSA GTP Acura ARX-06 and started off the year with a win in the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona. We caught up with him at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach media luncheon just prior to the race. He talks to us about hi...

Cathy Shumaker is a pit lane fire marshal that works with multiple teams in a number of different sanctioning bodies including: NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA, NHRA, NASCAR, SCCA and more. She’s been enjoying her work with how she helps keep the drivers, crew, and others safe in the hectic and potentially dangerous area that is really her home away from home. We caught up with Cathy at the 2023 Acura Gr...

Maria Serrao is one of the hardest working reporters you’ll find at sporting events around southern California – particularly at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We caught up with Maria (hard to do!) in the media center lunch room during the event this year and sat down to chat about her background and some favorite stories she’s covered here over the years. For women interested in getting invo...

Sheena Monk is racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Series this year sharing her GTD Acura NSX with Indy car and sports car ace Katherine Legge. We caught up with Sheena during the media day press luncheon for the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. She fills us in on how racing has been interwoven throughout her life, yet her real start in racing didn’t happen until just a few short years ago. We lear...

Mary Bignotti Mendez is a multi-talented lady who has been involved with the NTT IndyCar Series for many years. In fact, she comes from Indy car royalty as her dad, George Bignotti, won the “500” seven times as a chief mechanic! Her dad also married Kay Meyer whose father Louis was the first, three-time winner of the Indy 500. These days you’ll find her in the media/press room writing stories abou...

Jack Harvey has won nearly a dozen championships in his career including the prestigious British F3 championship in 2012. He finished runner-up in the Indy Lights championship in both 2014 and 2015. He’s one of only six drivers to have won on both the Indianapolis road course and the oval where he took those wins in Indy Lights. Moving from the Meyer Shank NTT IndyCar Series team to Rahal Letterma...

Former Formula One driver, and now Indianapolis 500 champion Marcus Ericsson, has really come on strong in the NTT IndyCar Series over the last couple of years winning races every season. We had the opportunity to check in with him at the media luncheon just prior to the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where he takes us through his incredible journey to being part of Indianapolis history. He a...

Mike Hull has been employed by Chip Ganassi Racing for over 30 years. During that time he’s had a very successful relationship as the strategist for six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion - Scott Dixon. We caught up with him at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as he was walking back to his hotel after a long day at the track. He was gracious enough to give us some time where he talks about th...