BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Podcast

Jon Summers is the Motoring Historian. He was a company car thrashing technology sales rep that turned into a fairly inept sports bike rider. Hailing from California, he collects cars and bikes built with plenty of ”cheap and fast” and not much reliable. On his show he gets together with various co-hosts to talk about new and old cars, driving, motorbikes, motor racing, motoring travel.

Jonathan Summers is a teaching assistant and guest lecturer at Stanford University. He’s an independent automotive historian, podcaster, blogger and Pebble Beach docent. A lifelong car and motorcycle enthusiast. Mr. Summers’ recent work has focused on historiography in motor racing, delving into not just what happened, but how these stories were preserved, by whom and why. From text and still photography through television and now to YouTube, Goodwood and Gran Turismo, his presentation examines the evolution of the methods in which the stories of motor racing have been told and the history preserved. This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family - and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.

Our guest tonight is a car guy, Motorcycle enthusiast, martial artist, photographer and writer. Jeff Willis was born and raised in Eureka, California and in his new book (Hu)man in the Machine, he explores the relationship between cars and the people who love them. And he’s here to give us a peek not only into his life but the stories he’s captured in his new book, and much more. This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere.

When people look at a car, they tend to immediately associate it with a brand or maybe just a family name: Ferrari, Porsche and DeLorean come to mind. But in actuality it takes hundreds of people to make a car truly come to life. From the imaginations of designers to the complex calculations of engineers and programmers down thru the manufacturing process with the tool & die teams, chassis builders as well as assembly and quality assurance … and everything in between.  With well over 40 years experience in the heart of American automaking in Detroit, our guest has seen it all. And in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s he could be seen running what was at the time, a state of the art 1200 ton hydraulic press, the largest of its kind in any plant. It was his job to take new development dies and make them into parts for a very special build. He fondly remembers getting the orders one day for “gull wings in stainless steel” suddenly realizing these parts were destined for the new DMC-12.  With us tonight to talk in-depth about the manufacturing side of the Automotive business is Tony Vallelunga, Senior Director of Manufacturing and Quality at DNG Motors.  This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere. Go behind the scenes on this episode, exclusively on Patreon!

Being the owner and driver of a sports car team during the heyday of sports cars racing in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s can be challenging, but also very rewarding.  Competing part-time in both the World Sportscar Championship and IMSA GT Championship. During 1978 he accomplished a win at the Sebring 12 hours and along with veteran racer Brian Redman and Bobby Rahal, our guest Bob Garretson won the 24 Hours of Daytona. Despite not winning another race that season, He won the first ever awarded World Endurance Championship for Drivers title in 1981. He sold his team and retired from racing shortly thereafter… but that’s just the beginning.  Returning to co-host this episode is Mike Carr, who some of you might remember from our Randy Lanier episode. This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere.

Unparalleled passion for Sports Car Racing that’s what GT Celebration is all about. Founded by Rob Morgan, president and CEO of Morgan Performance Group (MPG) he worked to build this racing series from the ground up utilizing both experience and passion with one mission; deliver a unique racing platform for drivers and teams to compete in a safe, adrenaline-filled, unforgettable environment. MPG features dozens of manufacturers and a wide range of race cars that compete in one of four series. And he’s here to explain how it all works! Joining us a co-host for this episode, returning from Max Track Time is Charlie Streicher. This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere.

We return with Episode #34 of the Drive Thru! Break/Fix podcast’s monthly news episode containing automotive, motorsports and random car-adjacent news. We thought we lost our co-host for this month, but we were wrong! We found her! We’re celebrating all the $65,000 items from our Lost & Found bin this month as our showcase. For a list of all the articles and events referenced on this episode check out the show notes below. Showcase: LOST & FOUND  Cheapest 300 horsepower cars you can buy! Along with the best Family Fun cars. Which cars made the ”never desirable or collectable” list? Porsche is launching a new car on 6/8 on the anniversary of the 356 70 years of the Corvette and the little known story of how Watkins Glen influenced Harley J. Earl Ford F-150 Lightning Fire Footage E-RAY? No way! ... says some track day organizers Toyota Supra, Hybrid with Manual? What’s SAAB been up to? You ask. Rivian fender-bender costs $42,000 to fix?!? Alyssa Milano and her troubles with Tesla and Volkswagen ... Fact? or Fiction!  #teslagate - New Tesla manufacturing process + Work from home is ”morally wrong” WRC recap of Rally Croatia and Rally Portugal - Thierry Neuville can’t catch a break, or can he? F1 updates and cancellations, Audi on Track, F1 testing - sooner than anticipated and a first look at the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit layout. Community News, brought to us by CollectorCarGuide.net HPDEjunkie.com Track Side Report With hysterical Florida Man stories and much, much more!  Behind the Scenes content, along with video available through our Patreon. Check out the follow-on article for all the pixs and links to items talked about in this episode. The Drive Thru is sponsored in part by: HPDEjunkie.com, Hooked On Driving, AmericanMuscle.com, CollectorCarGuide.net, Project Motoring, Garage Style Magazine and many others. Learn how you can become a sponsor today.

A racing icon, considered by many to be the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport. Born in Italy, emigrated to the United States at 15, and began racing stock cars in Pennsylvania at 19 which was the start of an illustrious career.  He won races in sports cars, sprint cars and stock cars – on ovals, road courses, drag strips, on dirt and on pavement.  His achievements became legendary: The world watched as he won the Daytona 500, the Indy 500 and ultimately the Formula One World Championship, an unprecedented trifecta. Mario Andretti took the checkered flag 111 times during his career – a career that stretched five decades and across six continents.  I’m joined by William Ross from Exotic Car Marketplace in welcoming the one and only, MARIO… Andretti to Break/Fix! This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere.

Jon Summers is the Motoring Historian. He was a company car thrashing technology sales rep that turned into a fairly inept sports bike rider. Hailing from California, he collects cars and bikes built with plenty of ”cheap and fast” and not much reliable. On his show he gets together with various co-hosts to talk about new and old cars, driving, motorbikes, motor racing, motoring travel.

Gordon Eliot White is a retired newspaper correspondent who covered Washington, D.C., Europe and the Far East for the Chicago American and other newspapers for 34 years. After he retired from news-paper work he became the Smithsonian Institution’s auto racing advisor, following a sport he had enjoyed since 1939. He since has written seven books on the history of American open-wheel racing, including a history of Fred Offenhauser and the Offenhauser racing engine. He has served as the unofficial historian of the Harry A. Miller Club and as curator and archivist of more than 12,000 drawings, tracings and blueprints of Miller’s cars and engines, as well as of thousands of documents covering the history of American racing since early in the 20th century. His presentation will address Harry Miller’s impression on American racing as well as how aficionados rediscovered him after he had been all but forgotten and, over the past 40 years have un-earthed and restored many of his cars. This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family - and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.

Joseph Freeman is an automotive historian, writer, publisher, vintage racer, and racing car collector, well known in the racing world for his expertise on automotive subjects and as owner of the award-winning publishing house Racemaker Press of Boston. His talk will cover the history of some of the earlier champion race drivers who but for a stroke of bad luck, and unfortunate last-minute mistake, or just the intervention of fate, were never able to win America’s greatest race, the Indianapolis 500. Mr. Freeman’s reflections are on his recent book: Second to One: All but for Indy. This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family - and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.

Ferraris Online was founded in 1972 by Michael Sheehan. With over 50 years of experience as a broker of exotic cars, specializing in Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and collections of other exotics. Offering experience as an expert witness regarding exotic car values, market trends, appraisals, and all aspects of repair and vehicle restoration. Ferraris Online is still run by Michael, who is now accompanied by his daughter, Colleen, and her husband RJ.  Colleen is here with us to share their story starting with how they began Ferraris Online by fixing crashed exotics for State Farm, USAA, and Auto Club insurance and quickly growing to be North America’s largest Ferrari Restoration shop.  Joining us from the Exotic Car Marketplace, along with other Break/Fix episodes like “What Should I Buy? Italian Cars” is co-host William Ross.  This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere. The following episode has been brought to you by The Exotic Car Marketplace. With over 20 years in the collector car market, they can source the specific vehicle you desire. As well as the Rock’n’Revs Concours d’Elegance, Cleveland, OH.

Indianapolis, Indiana is home to a great many automobile lovers. Known as the Crossroads of America, the city rumbles at the heart of four Interstate highways and six U.S. highways. It’s where the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the most attended single-day sporting event in the world, the Indianapolis 500! but… Indianapolis is also home to Classic Automobile Insurance Agency, a family business built on a love of classic cars that drives truly inspired service for collector and classic car enthusiasts. And that’s why we have Jim Kruse the Vice President of Classic Auto Insurance (& CARnection) on with us tonight, so let’s welcome him to the show, and talk about protecting your pride & joy!  This episode is part of our ROAD TO SUCCESS SERIES - inspiring stories that help shape the future of the autosphere. This episode is sponsored in part by Garage Style Magazine. Since 2007, GSM has been the definitive source for car collectors, continually delivering information about Automobilia, Petroliana, Events and more... because after all, what doesn’t belong in your garage?

Their mission is in their name – to provide the maximum amount of high quality track-time for their participants. Events are open exclusively to experienced racing and track day drivers. This allows them to remove run groups to allow their entrants to manage their own schedules to best service their needs.   We’re joined by Charlie (Charles) Streicher, operations manager for Max Track Time, to explore the idea of how you can maximize your entire track day experience with them without compromises.

We return with Episode #33 of the Drive Thru our monthly news episode containing automotive, motorsports and random car-adjacent news. We’re showcasing EARTH DAY + GREEN INITIATIVES! Showcase: EARTH DAY, ERF DAY & HERB DAY.  The Green Grand Prix Experience! More states (Colorado, NH & TX) pushing back on ICE phase out / bans EPA is pushing for new standards and wants to make it less attractive to own an SUV Audi owner finds basic HVAC behind a paywall NEXT GEN (4th) Toyota MR2 being teased? AFGHAN SUPERCAR? #teslagate - The yokes on them, the steering wheel is gonna cost ya!  ELON versus NPR; and the inappropriate use of interior cameras. Sad moment for Team Hyundai WRC - Craig Breen (1990-2023) dies during Croatia practice session. F1 announces new “Formula Academy” for Women Drivers Community News, brought to us by CollectorCarGuide.net HPDEjunkie.com Track Side Report With hysterical Florida Man stories and much, much more!  Behind the Scenes content, along with video available through our Patreon. Check out the follow-on article for all the pixs and links to items talked about in this episode. The Drive Thru is sponsored in part by: HPDEjunkie.com, Hooked On Driving, AmericanMuscle.com, CollectorCarGuide.net, Project Motoring, Garage Style Magazine and many others. Learn how you can become a sponsor today.