ross bentley speed secrets
Speed Secrets: How To Be Your Own Coach, Part I
To begin the new year, James Colborn has written a 2-part article about coaching yourself, primarily through the use of data. It’s been really fun to watch James progress as a driver, from his first experience at ProFormance Racing School and track days at Pacific Raceway, to competing in PRO3 club racing in the Northwest, and then to racing in the Continental Tire Series. A common trait everyone reading Speed Secrets Weekly shares is what James has in spades: a desire to learn and improve. And fortunately for us all, he also enjoys sharing what he’s learned. -Ross
Speed Secrets: FWD vs RWD
One of the most-asked questions I’ve heard through the years is how driving Front-Wheel-Drive (FWD) cars differs from driving Rear-Wheel-Drive (RWD) cars. I’ve answered these questions in pretty much the same way for the past couple of decades, but this time I’m going to a source who has proven he knows what it takes to be fast in FWD – as well as in RWD cars. Johan Schwartz won the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge TCB championship driving a FWD Chevy Sonic, which says something about his FWD driving expertise. He then went on to compete in a couple of Trans-Am races in high-powered RWD cars. Oh, and did I mention that Johan is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest drift? So he knows something about RWD cars, too. Who better to compare FWD to RWD driving technique?
Speed Secrets: You’re Holding It Wrong
One of the strangest things taught by some schools to performance and race drivers is how to turn the steering wheel. Some tell their students to push up on the wheel with their outside hand (using the other hand to dampen the movement), and some teach pulling down with the inside hand. The “push up” teachers suggest that it gives more precision, while the “pull down” group says you have more strength or leverage that way. This is something I’ve personally experimented with, thought long and hard about, and listened carefully to the opinions of others. And still, I think both of these camps are crazy silly.
Speed Secrets: How To Handle Your Car When It… Doesn’t
I recently had the pleasure of hanging out with Austin Cabot for a couple of days, when we recorded some driving tips and an interview for his SlipAngle podcast. Austin is one of these (young) guys who’s getting out there and making things happen. In his relatively few years in the sport as a driver, Austin has learned a ton. I’m pretty sure I learned as much about driving from him as he did from me while we shared information. I was particularly interested in what he had to say about how to deal with running inexpensive cars, and dealing with the ones that don’t do exactly what you want.
Speed Secrets: Honing Technique With Racing Simulators
The value of simulators as a driver training tool continues to go up, as both the software and hardware improves. I’ve recently started using Forza, and while some think it’s more of a game than a training tool, I disagree. The quality of the graphics and the realism of the cars’ performance are very impressive. Of course, like any tool, it’s what you do with it that matters most. So, when Ray Phillips reached out with an article that focused specifically on using a sim to develop the technique of trail braking, I knew it would be a great illustration of how to use this training tool.
Speed Secrets: Mentally Training For Motorsport
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I received a text message from a friend and former coaching client, “Smokin”” Joe Kopp. While you may not know Joe, he is one of the most well-known and accomplished Flat Track motorcycle racers, ever. In fact, in that form of motorsport (which I think is better for spectators than any other form), Joe has an almost cult-like following.
Speed Secrets: Questions and Answers
Okay, it’s the Q&A issue again. The questions that I’ve received (by email and through my Facebook page), have been piling up, so it’s time to cover off a few of them in one issue. And please…keep the questions coming!
Speed Secrets: Finding Success In Low-Budget Racing
A couple of months ago, Ryan Staub sent me an email to ask if I’d be interested in filling in for a driver on their team at a World Racing League event at Hallett. It would be in their BMW E36, and there would be a 9-hour race on Saturday, and a 7-hour race on Sunday. I thought about it for 1.75 seconds, and replied, “Yes!” Many of you reading this know Ryan, either personally, from his articles here, or because he’s responsible for the Lockton Motorsports program. Go to http://locktonmotorsports.com for more information. I’ve driven for professional race teams who were not as well-run as LMR (they tell me this stands for Last Minute Racing, but I never saw anything being done at the last minute). So I asked Ryan if he’d share some of his secrets for running a great low-budget race team.
Speed Secrets: Passing, Patience & Responsibility
To me, the best part of racing is, well… racing. In other words, it’s the wheel-to-wheel passing and being passed that is the most fun – it’s the racecraft that makes racing so enjoyable. It’s better than simply (I say simply in a somewhat joking way) driving fast, turning fast laps. And that’s one reason I love endurance racing so much – because there’s more passing and being passed in one endurance race than many drivers who only compete in sprint races experience in an entire season. One of the best drivers, especially in endurance racing, that I know is David Murry. He’s also a great driver coach. So I asked David to put some of his thoughts together about racecraft in endurance racing.
The Five Main Factors To Making It In Pro Racing
I’m tired of people saying that the only thing that it takes to make it in pro racing today is money. They claim that many drivers competing in even the highest forms of motorsport, such as F1, are only there because they had the money to buy their way in. And they say it in a way that suggests that these drivers have little talent, and haven’t earned the right to be there.
Speed Secrets: Adapting To Sudden Changes
Every now and then someone contacts us wanting to submit an article, or just sends us one. And when they’re entertaining and educational (and well-written), we love to run them. Marlon Cook, who is a SCCA/NASA amateur racer from Texas did just that – sent us a fun article with, what I think, is a very important message. And based on what he writes, and the information he’s shared with me, Marlon must be a pretty darn good driver.
Speed Secrets: The Virtues of Early and Late Apexing Explained
The apex of a corner is that point where the tires on the inside of the curve you’re driving through clip past the inner edge of the track. It can also be thought of as that point where you’re no longer driving into the corner, but you’re beginning to drive out of it.
Speed Secrets: Why Corner Entry Speed Is Critical
One of the most common pieces of advice given drivers is, “Slow in, fast out.” And if you’ve read any of what I’ve written through the years, you’ve heard me say that this often leads to problems. Which is why I appreciate that E. Paul Dickinson sent in an article which looks at this topic in a different way.
Speed Secrets: You Can Sleep In Your Car, But You Can’t Drive Your House
Do you drive faster when you’re driving your own car, or when driving someone else’s car? Why? Ingrid Steffensen (author of Fast Girl) shares her answer to those questions this week, while writing about her experience of driving a friend’s rather expensive car. Pay attention, because there’s an interesting message here.
Understanding the Fundamentals of Drafting
A subscriber posed this query about drafting: “Obviously, drafting is super important in NASCAR, but what about in road racing at the amateur club level?”I asked John Block to answer the question and share his thoughts in this week’s feature article. John’s perspective is from his experience as a highly-successful race engineer, a driver, and coach.Before you close up on the bumper of the car in front of you, learn more about drafting from John’s article.
Speed Secrets: Driver Nutrition
We all know that nutrition is critical to our performance. But what? What is good nutrition for a performance/race driver? That’s the question that Simon Hayes of Performance Physixx answers in this week’s feature article.
Speed Secrets: The Value of Proper Head and Neck Protection
Driver safety has long been a popular topic, but perhaps even more so lately. And something that I’m often asked about is the selection and use of head and neck restraints. So, I reached out to an expert on the subject, Bob Zecca of Driving Impressions to provide some insight. Please take Bob’s advice to heart. And enjoy.
Five Fundamentals of Successful Racing
I love watching a driver who’s driving with confidence. The difference between one with confidence, and one without, is obvious – you see it in the passing maneuvers, the way a corner is attacked, and even by the way the driver holds his head in the cockpit. In the past few years, we’ve seen demonstrations of confidence in F1 by Schumacher, then Vettel, and now Hamilton. In NASCAR, Kyle Busch shows it (and sometimes too much). In Indy cars, this year, Graham Rahal is the one who has been dragging his car around the track with his confidence. So I reached out to someone who knows Rahal well. Mike Zimicki is well-qualified to comment on what’s made Rahal faster and win more races this year than in the past. Why? Well, because Mike coached Graham for a number of years, and helped make him what he is today.
Speed Secrets: Making The Jump To Pro Racing
There are pro race drivers who dreamed of doing what they’re doing for most of their life, and have worked hard at getting there. Then there are some who just seem to have ended up becoming pro racers. Of course, they worked hard, too, but it wasn’t something they had in mind most of their life. The sport just kinda lead them there.
Nine Essential Strategies For Managing Your Brain At The SCCA Runoffs
Whether it’s the Indy 500, the SCCA Runoffs, your final run at an autocross, or any other one-off big event, performing at your best when it counts is not easy. Your mental approach and strategy has the biggest impact on your performance, and this week, Jim Kearney shares his recipe for success at the Runoffs. Of course, if Jim’s approach works at SCCA’s annual showdown, then it’s likely to work just about anywhere else.
Speed Secrets: An HPDE Safety Reality Check
If you’re an avid football fan, you can’t go play a fun game of football in your favorite team’s stadium. If you play tennis, the opportunity to play on center court at Wimbledon isn’t available. But if you’re a fan of Formula One, Indy cars, or any other form of racing, and if you’re a fan of cars and driving, you can sign up to participate in an HPDE or track day event, and experience the thrill of driving on some of the same tracks that elite-level pro drivers do. That’s the beauty of our sport. It’s accessible. That’s also the danger with our sport.
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