Speed Secrets Podcast

Jeff Braun joins me to talk about what makes the best engineers, and what the best drivers do differently. Jeff can’t resist sharing what he knows about tuning a car’s handling, so he does that, too. Most important, by listening to Jeff, you get an insight into the process, or approach, to tuning a car’s performance. Jeff is one of the very best race car engineers in the world. He’s engineered cars at every level: NASCAR, karts, club racing cars, Indy, GT and Prototypes, and even Top Fuel drags

Ed Potkanowicz joins me to talk about the work he does with Wayne Taylor Racing drivers, Jordan Taylor, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Renger van der Zande regarding core body temperature, heart rate and stress to help them improve their performance. What he’s learned from working with elite-level pro drivers, and shares in this podcast will help you drive better and safer. Ed is an Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology at Ohio Northern University where he focuses on “driver science.”

Colin Braun joins me again to talk about his approach to learning a track he’s never been to before, what it takes to get to throttle sooner, how to use the brakes, being smooth with the steering, and what “rotating” a car really means. Basically, he shares with you what he does to be so bloody fast! We recorded this episode while driving from the Lisbon airport to Portimao in Portugal, so we also share a couple of funny travel stories (since Colin’s luggage had gotten lost on his flight...)!

Lyn St. James joins me to talk about her career, and more importantly, what she learned about driving that’ll make you a better driver – how precision is more important than bravery, understanding car set up leads to being more sensitive to the limit of the car, who the best drivers she ever raced against are, and why we have a need for speed. Lyn's highlights: 1992 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, winning Daytona 24-Hour race & Sebring 12-Hour race once, racing at Le Mans, Trans-Am & the IMSA GTO series

Gama Aguilar-Gamez allows me to record a coaching session with him. We talk about identifying strengths & weaknesses, and then what he needs to do to improve. We use data to confirm some things that we felt were things he should work on, and talk about the approach he should take to make these improvements. Oh, and we talk about the difference between him and Fernando Alonso. Gama races in the PRO3 series in the Pacific Northwest, as well as being a founder of the Track Attack (www.TrackAttack.io).

Heyward Wagner joins me to talk about what the Sports Car Club of America is up to, and why. We talk about how the club’s focus is on converting car and driving enthusiasts into participants (I love this!), and they’re all about having fun with cars. Specifically, we dive into SCCA road racing, autocross, Track Night In America, and the new focus on Time Trials. Heyward is the Director of Marketing and Experiential Programs for the SCCA.

Elivan Goulart talks about the Sports Car Driving Association (SCDA), and then why he wins so many races. We talk about self-coaching, whether you need to crash to learn the limits, how it’s important to take time before driving to mentally prepare, and the strategy behind racecraft. Elivan won the 2001 & 2002 Formula 500, 2004 Formula SCCA, 2011 Spec Miata, 2013 STU SCCA National Championships, as well as the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge TCA Championship.

Ann Morey joins me to talk about how to get in the zone, what gets in the way of doing so, the voices we all have in our heads when driving, self-critique versus self-awareness, experimenting to learn, and the journey she’s on to win Spec Miata races. Ann writes a great blog about her racing and driving experience at GentleWomanRacer.com. She started doing Driver Education track events about 5 years ago, got addicted to the sport, and now races a Spec Miata in the Southeast.

Steve Stepanian joins me to talk about what the best drivers do, what they don’t do, what his Aha! moments were, and how you can be an even better driver. Steve has an amazing passion for the sport of performance and race driving. When he’s not racing Spec E30 or instructing, Steve is the Chairman of the Driving Events Committee of the BMW CCA, the Pacific Region DEC Rep, and license director for the Southwest region of NASA.

Dale Sievwright joins me to talk about electric cars, being an engineer at Tesla, racing gas-powered cars, autonomous vehicles, and the future of driving. When Dale isn’t working to make Teslas quiet as an NVH engineering techician, he’s racing. He drove a BMW Touring Car for Rotek Racing in the VLN series at the Nurburgring and is also a 3-time class winner at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, and has had multiple podiums in the United States Touring Car Championship.

Erin Vogel joins me to talk about self-coaching, instructing at HPDE events, visualization (especially after focusing on sensory input), fear, and how to find that little bit more speed. We have this very cool conversation about what one learns from instructing, and how racing makes you a faster track day driver. Erin has been track driving since 2009, and racing since 2014. She races a Spec Boxter in Porsche Owners Club and Porsche Club of America events, and instructs primarily with the Audi Club.

David Vodden joins me to talk about why some race tracks are more successful than others, why some car clubs and event organizers do a better job than others, whether our sport is growing or not, and what the real secret is to being faster around Thunderhill. David is the President and CEO of Thunderhill Raceways. He’s been with the facility since before it was even built, being a part of the initial planning and development process. And before that he managed an oval track.

Andrew Rains joins me to talk about how to use – and train – your peripheral vision to improve your driving, as well as the APEX Pro device, and using data to coach yourself. We wrap up the show with Andrew’s insight into what he wishes he knew when he first started track driving. Andrew has been going to the track since he was five years old, has raced in Pirelli World Challenge and club racing, coaches at Barber Motorsport Park (and other places!), and is the Marketing Director for APEX Pro.

Danny Kok joins me to talk about the AMG Driving Academy he runs in Canada, the ice driving programs he puts on, and about his plans to go racing in 2018. He is an accomplished racer and driver coach, but hasn’t raced much in the past few years, so he shares his plans to get ready. Danny, my former business partner, runs the Canadian AMG Driving Academy, which conducts driver training programs on race tracks and in the snow and ice of Gimli, Manitoba.

Scot Elkins joins me to talk about the Motorsport Safety Foundation (MSF), its various safety initiatives, and especially the Instructor Certification program it launched in the spring of 2017. Scot is the COO of the MSF, as well as the race director for the Formula E series. Having spent years as a race engineer, as well as a senior official with the American Le Mans and IMSA series, he has a broad perspective on the sport, from HPDE and track day events, to major international racing.