Speed Secrets Podcast

Colin Braun joins me to talk about traveling for races, getting the balance between overthinking and not thinking enough when driving, trusting your subconscious programming to drive, and getting into the zone. We also discuss the important of always learning and never getting complacent, and what to do when you can't do what you want with your driving technique. Colin has raced and won in everyth...

Dave Peters joins me to talk about the world of HPDE, driving Miatas, and where driving confidence comes from. Dave founded and runs HPDEjunkie.com, a website devoted to listing HPDE events in the U.S. (and Canada soon). It's a great resource – and it's free to event organizers. They just need to contact Dave and let them know of their events. So if you know of an event, or an organizer who needs...

Travis Okulski joins me to talk about where Road & Track is headed, his racing experience and how that's contributed to where he is today, what makes drivers like Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, and Colin Braun so great, and the future of motorsport – including Formula E. Travis is the Editor-in-Chief for Road & Track magazine. He started racing karts when he was 12, but realized that a career in mo...

Jim Kearney joins me to talk about what it takes to win more races, and we discuss the importance of car prep, mental prep, having triggers to get you in the right state of mind/mood, and track notes. Jim is a super-successful driver coach who raced Formula Vee himself for years before turning his attention to helping other drivers. His drivers have won multiple SCCA Runoffs championships, so he d...

Ryan Yard joins me to talk about everything from using motorsport to motivate you in other areas of your life to the creative puzzle that is driving faster. In our conversation, we talk about getting in flow, car setup, using music to trigger performance, dealing with problems, focus, discipline, and the benefits of journaling and note-taking. Ryan started in HPDE, quickly moved to wheel-to-wheel...

CJ Wilson joins me to talk about his transition from pro baseball player to race driver. We talk about the superstitions & routines baseball players rely on and how they apply to motorsport; what he learned from being a Major League Baseball pitcher that he uses in racing; how to practice with intensity; the different techniques required for an aero downforce car versus one without aero; and the o...

Ryan Staub is back, and we're talking about the stuff many drivers don't want to talk about. You know, the stuff about risk, responsibility, waivers, liability, insurance and so on – for both drivers and instructors. But since Ryan is a racer and chief instructor for his BMW CCA chapter, we also talk about driving. Ryan is serious car/driving geek first, but also an insurance expert, as he runs th...

Garth Stein joins me to talk about his wildly successful bestselling book, The Art of Racing in the Rain – and how it's now a major motion picture (premiers August 9th). You'll love Garth's stories, and the behind-the-scene look at why the book has become so popular, as well as how he was able to describe so accurately what racing is really like (hint: Garth raced Spec Miata). In addition to  The...

Preston Lerner joins me to talk about what he's noticed that the best drivers – such as Colin Braun – do that make them so great. As a journalist, that's what he does – observe things that most people miss. We also talk about his own racing in a Spec Miata (and what you can learn from his strengths and weaknesses), the Ford GTs at Le Mans, and the dreaded Driver Ratings system that is used sports...

Dr. Barry Seiller and Ryan Warkins join me to talk all about a huge topic - vision. We all know that how we use our eyes is critical in performance and race driving, and yet, we mostly take it for granted – we either have it or not. But it can be trained – it can be improved. I've been testing and using the Vizual Edge app that Doc Barry developed, and he, Ryan, and I talk about what "vision" is,...

Brian Bonner joins me to talk about motorsport sponsorship. Specifically, we talk about new trends in how motorsport marketing deals are put together, even if you're not a big pro racing team. Brian shares a couple of great examples, in James Chartres and Kanga Motorsport, and Steve Smith and Big Mission Motorsport, and then gives tips that you can use to land a sponsor. Brian is a former Indy car...

Dr. Steve Olsen joins me to talk about the Corvette Challenge Club, the importance of managing one's state of mind – particularly being calm – and the NuCalm system ( www.nucalm.com ). Steve purchased a Corvette when he turned 50 (the first time that ever happened!), and has been tracking ever since. In fact, he has more open track day laps at High Plains Raceway in Denver than anyone else. Recent...

My friend, fellow coach, and co-conspirator in the Virtual Track Walk videos, Peter Krause and I take time after a couple of days of coaching at VIR to catch up and talk about driving (what else?!). We share thoughts on the "accelerate to" and "EoB" points, the differences between "fast" and "slow" corners, what the "racing line" truly is, what the "best execution of fundamentals" really means, an...

After driving the Dallara simulator at their Indy facility, I talk with sim engineer Davide Tarsitano, and Bryce Moore about how you can use it. We talk about the differences between the typical home sim rig and this multimillion-dollar driver- and car-development tool, as well as how it's not as expensive as one would think when compared to what you can accomplish with no chance of damaging one's...

Andy Hollis joins me to talk about everything to do with the One Lap of America. It's an event that I'm dying to do, so I pick his brain to learn as much as I can. If it's not on your list of motorsport events to do yet, it will be after listening to Andy. As he says, it's "the ultimate motorsport vacation of a lifetime," or "summer camp for gearheads." Andy is a 13-time SCCA national autocross ch...

Kostas Sidiras & Serxio Veiga join me to talk about… well, anything they want. These guys are so much fun – and we even learn something from them! We talk about driving the Nurburgring, Spa, Mosport, Ring Bananas, Fiat Multiplas, and Porsche GT3s. More importantly, we talk about why we do what we do, and what car people are really like (hint: they might not be normal). Kostas and Serxio (and frien...

Lawrence Loshak joins me to talk about all sorts of really interesting & helpful topics, such as how to prepare for an event, simulators, adapting to your car, trail braking, left-foot-braking, being proactive with your driving, "taking a set," comparing front-wheel to rear-wheel & open-wheel to closed-wheel, and transmissions. And he shares 3 Speed Secrets with you! You won't want to miss this sh...

James Colborn joins me to talk about making his comeback to racing after taking more than a year off from it. Not only has he made a comeback, but he's done it in an open-wheel car – not something he's driven before – and on tracks he's never seen before. So, it's been a bit like starting all over again, but with a solid foundation to start from. And that's provided a very interesting learning exp...

Kevin Boehm, who's won the SCCA Runoff three times, shares what he's learned so you can win the Runoffs. Yes, he's sharing his secrets - from driving and car prep to his overall strategy towards the event, you'll hear how Kevin has won three out of the four of the Runoffs he's raced. Kevin is an engineer for Honda R&D, working at the Marysville, Ohio facility, and has raced in SCCA as well as IMSA...

Jim Mero joins me to talk about the Corvette, his contributions to its development over the past decade-plus, life as a development test driver, lapping the Nurburgring as part of one's job, and what's ahead for Corvette. Two things that came out of our conversation that I found especially fascinating was his explanation of "linear versus non-linear driving," and how test drivers rely on their sub...

Bill Thomas joins me to talk about… well, lots! All of the various things he does, including his William Thomas Roadsters, Drakan Cars, Performance Garage Club, and importing the CAV GT40. Bill shares his experiences with Ferrari, Lotus, GT40s, and Hellcats. Oh, and we talk about his own track driving experience - specifically, about when and how to experiment with your driving, and why you should...

Steve Spano joins me to talk about how we can use technology to drive faster, and specifically, the RaceVoice device he helped develop. This device plugs into your existing ECU and data system, and then provides auditory information to you – everything from corner entry and minimum speeds to when to upshift or whether your engine is overheating. I used the RaceVoice recently and absolutely love it...

Ingrid Steffensen is on the show today, and we talk about expanding our comfort zone, getting into flow, what we learn about ourselves from track driving, writing, learning, and her book Fast Girl: Don't Brake Until You See the Face of God . Which, by the way, is an absolutely great read! Ingrid started in the HPDE world in a Mini Cooper S, graduated to a Lotus Elise, and is now about to upgrade t...

Johannes van Overbeek and I reminisce about the time we spent together at ESM Patron Racing, and he gives away all of his secrets about winning endurance races. We then compare right-foot with left-foot-braking, how a driver can be a nice laid back guy out of the car and yet be a killer behind the wheel, and why he recently retired from regular race driving. Johannes has won the Rolex 24 at Dayton...

Johannes van Overbeek and I reminisce about the time we spent together at ESM Patron Racing, and he gives away all of his secrets about winning endurance races. We then compare right-foot with left-foot-braking, how a driver can be a nice laid back guy out of the car and yet be a killer behind the wheel, and why he recently retired from regular race driving. Johannes has won the Rolex 24 at Dayton...