ross bentley speed secrets
Speed Secrets: Developing Your Career Plan
One thing that most every successful business does is develop a five-year plan, some type of strategem that helps everyone, especially management, know where the company is going and how to get there.
Speed Secrets: Hard Lessons
As an in-car instructor, you’re in control, whether you are or not. Huh? The second you strap in next to a driver and head out on the track, your words, how you use them, and your actions will control your student more than you may even realize. If you do the right things, you get your student to do the right things; if you do little or nothing, you’re leaving the control in the hands of your student—in that case, you’re controlling the situation by doing nothing!
Highlighted Podcast Episode: Ross Bentley On SlipAngle Powered By Tracktuned!
In this episode, Adam sits down with Ross to discuss all-things relating to the life of a professional driving coach, as well as share racing stories. Definitely worth a good listen!
Ten Steps to a Successful Pass
Some drivers are super fast, but not the best wheel-to-wheel racers. Some are not as fast, but they have an ability to out-race others. They’re great racers. And then there are some who are fast *and* great racers. This week’s contributor is one of those fast racers: Colin Braun. He’s competed in the NASCAR Truck and Xfinity (then, the Nationwide) series, where he would pass as many cars in one race as most road racers pass in a season. This week Colin is sharing some of his thoughts about how to set up and complete a pass.
Five Strategies For Finding the Limit
If someone asked me to define my driving – with a positive focus I might add, as I think we’re all very self-critical in racing – I would say that I am a smooth and consistent driver. I am not overly busy at the wheel; I’m not having to correct my driving constantly; and in many instances, it means I can deliver consistent lap times again and again. Combine this with reasonably good finishes and it translates into me having fun at the track and leaving happy, often with a trophy or plaque. So, what’s wrong with this type of driving?
Five Critical Questions For Drivers
We all do the same things: brake, turn, and accelerate. It seems simple. But, we don’t all do them the same. How someone puts them together is the only real difference that separates the best drivers from the rest.
Speed Secrets: You’re A Weight Manager
No, I’m not trying to convince you to follow a new diet. Nor am I going to tell you how to lighten your race car. What I’m talking about is how to manage the weight transfer while driving.
Speed Secrets: When Pride Puts You In The Wall
Folks, this is written in first person, because it happened to me. I’ll try to keep it to the point, but what I’ll describe is a very close call that could have been very serious for me – the coach in the car – and the driver.
Speed Secrets: Getting Back on Track After Time Off
For those of us who love to drive, having to take time off because of work, life obligations, or necessary automotive repairs and maintenance is no fun. We inevitably spend the weeks or months in which our cars are parked dreaming about getting back to performance driving at our favorite tracks. Thoughts of driving inevitably lead us to wonder whether our driving skills will have diminished after time away from driving at speed. Will my shifting be as smooth? Will I be able to brake as late as I did on that last session months ago? Will my lap times be the same as they were when I left off?
The Four Fundamentals of Driving a Race Car Fast
After spending a lifetime driving as fast as possible for a living, as well as operating a racing school for the past several years, I guess I am qualified to provide my opinion on the basics of driving fast!
Speed Secrets: Diversify Your Talent
While some people race for fun, there are others who want to make a living driving a car. I might be able to call myself a factory driver now thanks to Mazda’s SKYACTIV-D prototype program, but I’m still busy with a lot of coaching, too. For racers who want to work their way into a professional series or diversify by becoming a coach, there are a number of ways to get started and a lot of things to keep in mind.
Speed Secrets: The Napkin Manifesto
Driver coaches don’t know everything, far from it. The idea is not to be a know-it-all but a thoughtful ally. The constant refrain in my head is simply this: What can I say that will most help? Coaches are learning as well, if we stay awake. I learned something in a bar near Road America that I’ve used every track day since.
Speed Secrets: Pickles, Gearshifts, & Human Obsolescence – The Demise of the Manual Gear Change
What do pickles and shifting a car’s transmission have in common? I’ll leave it to this week’s contributor, Ingrid Steffensen (author of the great book, Fast Girl) to explain, but I’ll tell you right now it probably has nothing to do with what you’re thinking. -Ross
Speed Secrets: What It Was Like to Race F1
I get asked this a lot. I was certainly very privileged to have run a stint in Formula One. It was an emotionally tumultuous time for me.
Speed Secrets: It Is It The Driver Or The Setup?
Data acquisition has become so affordable over the past few years that many drivers, at all levels, have purchased and installed them in their cars… and then done very little with them. It’s not just having data that matters. It’s what you do with the data that counts. This week, John Block writes about a simple method of evaluating your driving performance, primarily from a consistency perspective
Speed Secrets: Stop Driving On The Street
Where do you spend the bulk of your time driving? On the street or on the track? Unfortunately, it’s on the street, right? And that’s the problem with many track drivers’ braking – the habits they’ve built while driving on the street.
Speed Secrets: The Elements of a Great Racing Instructor
Think back to the best instructor you’ve ever had, whether your experience was in motorsports or some other activity. If you really take the time to recall this person, I suspect two things happened: first, a smile came to your face; second, you can still remember much of what he or she taught you (the same can’t be said for the not-so-good instructors you’ve had in your life).
Speed Secrets: Upgrade Your Driving Software
We do what we do because we’re programmed to do so. We don’t do what we want because we either don’t have the programming to do it, or we access the wrong program at the wrong time.
Speed Secrets: What Tools Are In *Your* Instructor Toolbox?
This week’s contributor, Bill Wade, has delivered more than his fair share of training to other drivers, both on and off the track. As a long-time BMW Car Club of America member (he was a founding member of the Kentucky chapter), and HPDE instructor, Bill has been driving on tracks around the country for over 25 years. He was also the Chair of the BMW CCA National Driving Events Committee for almost 10 years. In addition, he’s the program manager for the Tire Rack Street Survival program, a driver training program aimed at helping young teen drivers survive on the street. In other words, Bill knows what he’s talking about when it comes to instructing.
Speed Secrets: How to Adapt to Your Car
One of the key areas that separate good race drivers from great race drivers is their ability to adapt their driving to suit the car’s handling, or from one type of car to another. Some drivers, despite how the car is handling, will only drive it one way – their style. And guess what? A driver’s style will never suit every handling characteristic. If you cannot adapt your style to suit the car’s handling, a change in track conditions, a mechanical problem, or a different type of car, I doubt you will ever be a real champion race driver.
Speed Secrets: How to Win the Race Start
Before a race, think about where you’re starting on the grid. Who is starting around you and what are they like to race with? Can you trust them to run wheel-to-wheel with you? Are they fast starters? Do they run a few fast laps, then begin to fade?
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