Ask Ross
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Got questions? I’ve got answers. This is where I post answers to the many questions I receive. You may find the answer to a question you have here (you can use the “Search” tool), but if not, you have two options:
- If you want the answer immediately, sign up for my SpeedSecrets.ai app (think of it as “Google on steroids, focused solely on performance/race driving,” or “ChatGPT trained to only pull from the 5 million+ words and content I’ve personally created”)
- If you can wait until I get to your question, email it to me.
Q: What’s the difference between the “school line” and the “racing line?
Q: “I often hear instructors talk about the “school line” versus the “racing line.” What’s the difference, and which should I drive?”
Q: How much does a track day cost? How should I prepare for my first track day?
Q: “I’ve never driven on a race track, but want to, and found your website full of great information. But since I’ve never been to what I understand is called a “track day,” how much will one cost me? Also, how should I prepare to do one?”
Q: Can you clarify what you mean by “collect the car” in double apex or “diamond” corners?
Q: “I am an instructor and often suggest to students that they review your Virtual Track Walks in preparation for a DE day. They have asked me, “What does he mean by “collect up” the car in turn 2? As you will recall, there is a discussion of racing ovals and using a “diamond” line. We teach either the single apex or a double apex approach. I can’t explain to them what you mean by “collect up.” When we teach double apex, we are taking a relatively fast, straight entry, braking to apex 1, releasing/rotating and driving to apex 2 and tracking out to the right side of the track. Perhaps the double apex approach with braking to Apex 1 and then turning is the same thing as “collecting up”, but I’m not sure.”
Q: As a newbie to racing, how do I respond to being brake checked?
Q: “I’m a relative newbie who made the jump from HPDE to racing and experienced something weird at my last race. The car in front of me brake checked me on the main straightaway. I was tucked in tight and drafting him. He did it again in a race the next day. We were both driving slow momentum cars. His car was slightly faster. Is this something I should expect to see from other racers in the future? It felt dirty and dangerous. Maybe I’m just a newbie and it’s standard stuff.”
Q: How much does track day insurance cost, and is it worth it?
Q: “I’m fairly new to the sport of track driving, and I’m wondering whether I should be insuring my car when I do track events? I’ve looked at the cost of track day insurance, but not really sure it’s worth it. What do you think?”
Q: Is it okay to skip gears when downshifting?
Q: “Is it okay to skip gears when downshifting? For example, instead of a 5-4-3-2 brake and downshift, if your transmission allows, could you bypass shifting into 4th and 3rd and just shift into 2nd from 5th at the same point?”
Q: Is it harder to maximize the End of Braking point & full throttle in faster cars?
Q: “Do you think a higher horsepower car or higher downforce car is more difficult to maximize EoB (End-of-Braking) to full throttle?”
Q: How do I learn to left foot brake?
Q: “I have been tracking my car for three years now. It’s a 2017 MX5 with a clutch so I’ve always braked using my right foot. I do a lot of sim racing and do the same there. Recently my right knee has been getting sore from an old bike racing injury. I want to learn to left foot brake on the sim. Any tips to make the changeover easier? Or is it just something I just need to do a lot of to get as good as I am with my right foot?”
Q: How can I get better at sensing my car’s limits?
Q: “What can I do to improve my kinesthetic sense so that I can better understand and manage what the car is doing? I have been trying to use visualization techniques and other things to get mentally prepared, I have been practicing “vision” both in terms of learning how to look down the track rather than always staring at braking points or apexes as well as “looking” around blind corners, but feel like (other than driving) I haven’t really been doing anything to improve my kinesthetic sense. What can and should I be doing?”
Q: How can I safely practice trail braking?
Q: “At an HPDE, how do I practice trail braking without being a hazard to the other participants by accidentally going sideways or spinning out of control in the corner?”
Got Questions?
Get Immediate Answers
Skills
Types
Subscriptions
Got questions? I’ve got answers. This is where I post answers to the many questions I’ve received. You may find the answer to a question you have here, but if not, you have two options: If you want the answer immediately, sign up for my SpeedSecrets.ai app (think of it as “Google on steroids, focused solely on performance/race driving”), or email it to me.
Q: What’s the difference between the “school line” and the “racing line?
Q: “I often hear instructors talk about the “school line” versus the “racing line.” What’s the difference, and which should I drive?”
Q: How much does a track day cost? How should I prepare for my first track day?
Q: “I’ve never driven on a race track, but want to, and found your website full of great information. But since I’ve never been to what I understand is called a “track day,” how much will one cost me? Also, how should I prepare to do one?”
Q: Can you clarify what you mean by “collect the car” in double apex or “diamond” corners?
Q: “I am an instructor and often suggest to students that they review your Virtual Track Walks in preparation for a DE day. They have asked me, “What does he mean by “collect up” the car in turn 2? As you will recall, there is a discussion of racing ovals and using a “diamond” line. We teach either the single apex or a double apex approach. I can’t explain to them what you mean by “collect up.” When we teach double apex, we are taking a relatively fast, straight entry, braking to apex 1, releasing/rotating and driving to apex 2 and tracking out to the right side of the track. Perhaps the double apex approach with braking to Apex 1 and then turning is the same thing as “collecting up”, but I’m not sure.”
Q: As a newbie to racing, how do I respond to being brake checked?
Q: “I’m a relative newbie who made the jump from HPDE to racing and experienced something weird at my last race. The car in front of me brake checked me on the main straightaway. I was tucked in tight and drafting him. He did it again in a race the next day. We were both driving slow momentum cars. His car was slightly faster. Is this something I should expect to see from other racers in the future? It felt dirty and dangerous. Maybe I’m just a newbie and it’s standard stuff.”
Q: How much does track day insurance cost, and is it worth it?
Q: “I’m fairly new to the sport of track driving, and I’m wondering whether I should be insuring my car when I do track events? I’ve looked at the cost of track day insurance, but not really sure it’s worth it. What do you think?”
Q: Is it okay to skip gears when downshifting?
Q: “Is it okay to skip gears when downshifting? For example, instead of a 5-4-3-2 brake and downshift, if your transmission allows, could you bypass shifting into 4th and 3rd and just shift into 2nd from 5th at the same point?”
Q: Is it harder to maximize the End of Braking point & full throttle in faster cars?
Q: “Do you think a higher horsepower car or higher downforce car is more difficult to maximize EoB (End-of-Braking) to full throttle?”
Q: How do I learn to left foot brake?
Q: “I have been tracking my car for three years now. It’s a 2017 MX5 with a clutch so I’ve always braked using my right foot. I do a lot of sim racing and do the same there. Recently my right knee has been getting sore from an old bike racing injury. I want to learn to left foot brake on the sim. Any tips to make the changeover easier? Or is it just something I just need to do a lot of to get as good as I am with my right foot?”
Q: How can I get better at sensing my car’s limits?
Q: “What can I do to improve my kinesthetic sense so that I can better understand and manage what the car is doing? I have been trying to use visualization techniques and other things to get mentally prepared, I have been practicing “vision” both in terms of learning how to look down the track rather than always staring at braking points or apexes as well as “looking” around blind corners, but feel like (other than driving) I haven’t really been doing anything to improve my kinesthetic sense. What can and should I be doing?”
Q: How can I safely practice trail braking?
Q: “At an HPDE, how do I practice trail braking without being a hazard to the other participants by accidentally going sideways or spinning out of control in the corner?”
Got Questions?
Get Immediate Answers