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Speed Secrets Merch
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 to the right, or just scroll through the pages and pages…), but if not, you can email it to me (use the big red button to the right).
Q: Is it okay to lift off the throttle & coast before braking?
Q: “I just listened to your latest podcast, which reminded me of an instructor I had around 7 years ago who discouraged me from going full throttle and jumping onto the brakes. Whereas your podcast with Kenton Koch said this was the optimal time to apply brake pressure. I’d originally learned this technique watching races on TV where drivers jump on the brakes pretty dramatically. This instructor’s comment, along with “smooth is fast,” and watching Indy car races where they identify fuel savings when a driver coasts the car into the braking zone made me develop the habit you describe where you are slow to switch from throttle to brake. Now that I only run in Chump Car endurance racing, I figured the coasting into the brake zone was ideal for making the car last (I brake about 7/10 pressure), extending the life of the brake pads/rotors and fuel. Am I wrong?”
Q: How do I avoid getting frustrated when trying to drive faster?
Q: “Do you have any suggestions for how to deal with frustration and break out of the vicious cycle that sometimes develops as a result? I’ve found on occasion that if I run into an obstacle—say, a particular corner that I’m just not able to get right no matter what I try, I start obsessing about it and can get frustrated to the point that all other learning and improvement stops. Eventually, I can force myself to give up on whatever that is for the time being and focus on other parts of the track, but that might take a couple of sessions or even overnight and until then, it’s no fun for anyone, especially me.”
Q: How Do I Use a Skid Pad to Be a Better Driver?
Q: “Can you share a skid pad curriculum or recommend best exercises?”
Q: What makes one track more technical than another?
Q: “I heard a comment that professional racers often remark that VIR is one of the most technical tracks they drive. Thinking about this remark my mind came to this question: What defines a ‘technical track’? I really don’t have an answer and I’m curious what makes one track more technical than another, and then perhaps you could address how one prepares for a more and a less technical track.”
Q: Is setting a goal of beating my competitors wrong?
Q: “I’m a big fan, and believer, in your ‘mental game’ stuff, but I’m struggling with one thing! I totally get it that we should focus on our own performance and not that of others, based on the fact that one we have influence over (ourselves) and the other (our competitors) we don’t. BUT, if I make a goal to beat an individual competitor/team (or indeed, all of them; i.e., win a race/championship), am I making a mistake by focusing on the performance of others?”
Q: Should I skip gears when downshifting?
Q: “Following up with a question on Heel & Toe that was asked recently. My question is about downshifting through a corner and the correct timing. My example is a corner where you begin braking from 5th gear and want to exit in 3rd. My current method is brake, clutch, shift into 3rd, release braking, blip, release clutch and accelerate out of the corner, never having used 4th gear. I have noticed in car videos of drivers, in the same corner, rowing through 4th gear and finally into 3rd. There are also multiple blips involved. You can also hear multiple blips listening to cars while standing as a spectator at the same corner. This seems to me a lot of extra work when a lot of concentration is need for cornering.”
Q: What does “taking a set” mean, and how do I use it?
Q: “I’ve been track driving for a good while and don’t understand the car “taking a set.” How do we sense when the car sets, why do we need it to set, how do we take advantage of car set? My Tahoe does what might be described as taking a set on entrance ramps, and when it does it will take more throttle. My V8 944 with Moton suspension never seems to “set” when running on track.”
Q: Why do I sometimes go slower in the afternoon?
Q: “Sometimes I go to the track and set my best time of day on my third or fourth lap in the first session of the morning. It makes for a discouraging afternoon. I suspect tire pressure build up might be part of it, or maybe track conditions, but I think it has mostly to do with me. I usually don’t see lap times till the session is over. Any suggestions?”
Q: Do drivers talk about getting into an altered state?
Q: “What I’d like to ask you is, do drivers ever talk about the altered state of being while behind the wheel? I love it, it’s total focus, no drifting of thought, time is irrelevant, here/now/input/output blazing away. I like to think it’s getting in touch with Fight or Flight, eat or be eaten. 99.9999 percent of our lives is not in that realm, thankfully. But it feels so wonderful to pull into the paddock, drained, mentally and physically.”
Q: How do I know if I’m over-slowing by left-foot-braking?
Q: “I am very comfortable using left-foot-braking and have found many situations where it seems to be an advantage, but other than lap times, how can I know if I’m really using left foot braking too often or too much? I switch between right and left foot, depending on the corner, and sometimes I feel that I over-slow the car when braking with my left foot.”
Got Questions?
Skills
Types
Subscriptions
Speed Secrets Merch
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: Is it okay to lift off the throttle & coast before braking?
Q: “I just listened to your latest podcast, which reminded me of an instructor I had around 7 years ago who discouraged me from going full throttle and jumping onto the brakes. Whereas your podcast with Kenton Koch said this was the optimal time to apply brake pressure. I’d originally learned this technique watching races on TV where drivers jump on the brakes pretty dramatically. This instructor’s comment, along with “smooth is fast,” and watching Indy car races where they identify fuel savings when a driver coasts the car into the braking zone made me develop the habit you describe where you are slow to switch from throttle to brake. Now that I only run in Chump Car endurance racing, I figured the coasting into the brake zone was ideal for making the car last (I brake about 7/10 pressure), extending the life of the brake pads/rotors and fuel. Am I wrong?”
Q: How do I avoid getting frustrated when trying to drive faster?
Q: “Do you have any suggestions for how to deal with frustration and break out of the vicious cycle that sometimes develops as a result? I’ve found on occasion that if I run into an obstacle—say, a particular corner that I’m just not able to get right no matter what I try, I start obsessing about it and can get frustrated to the point that all other learning and improvement stops. Eventually, I can force myself to give up on whatever that is for the time being and focus on other parts of the track, but that might take a couple of sessions or even overnight and until then, it’s no fun for anyone, especially me.”
Q: How Do I Use a Skid Pad to Be a Better Driver?
Q: “Can you share a skid pad curriculum or recommend best exercises?”
Q: What makes one track more technical than another?
Q: “I heard a comment that professional racers often remark that VIR is one of the most technical tracks they drive. Thinking about this remark my mind came to this question: What defines a ‘technical track’? I really don’t have an answer and I’m curious what makes one track more technical than another, and then perhaps you could address how one prepares for a more and a less technical track.”
Q: Is setting a goal of beating my competitors wrong?
Q: “I’m a big fan, and believer, in your ‘mental game’ stuff, but I’m struggling with one thing! I totally get it that we should focus on our own performance and not that of others, based on the fact that one we have influence over (ourselves) and the other (our competitors) we don’t. BUT, if I make a goal to beat an individual competitor/team (or indeed, all of them; i.e., win a race/championship), am I making a mistake by focusing on the performance of others?”
Q: Should I skip gears when downshifting?
Q: “Following up with a question on Heel & Toe that was asked recently. My question is about downshifting through a corner and the correct timing. My example is a corner where you begin braking from 5th gear and want to exit in 3rd. My current method is brake, clutch, shift into 3rd, release braking, blip, release clutch and accelerate out of the corner, never having used 4th gear. I have noticed in car videos of drivers, in the same corner, rowing through 4th gear and finally into 3rd. There are also multiple blips involved. You can also hear multiple blips listening to cars while standing as a spectator at the same corner. This seems to me a lot of extra work when a lot of concentration is need for cornering.”
Q: What does “taking a set” mean, and how do I use it?
Q: “I’ve been track driving for a good while and don’t understand the car “taking a set.” How do we sense when the car sets, why do we need it to set, how do we take advantage of car set? My Tahoe does what might be described as taking a set on entrance ramps, and when it does it will take more throttle. My V8 944 with Moton suspension never seems to “set” when running on track.”
Q: Why do I sometimes go slower in the afternoon?
Q: “Sometimes I go to the track and set my best time of day on my third or fourth lap in the first session of the morning. It makes for a discouraging afternoon. I suspect tire pressure build up might be part of it, or maybe track conditions, but I think it has mostly to do with me. I usually don’t see lap times till the session is over. Any suggestions?”
Q: Do drivers talk about getting into an altered state?
Q: “What I’d like to ask you is, do drivers ever talk about the altered state of being while behind the wheel? I love it, it’s total focus, no drifting of thought, time is irrelevant, here/now/input/output blazing away. I like to think it’s getting in touch with Fight or Flight, eat or be eaten. 99.9999 percent of our lives is not in that realm, thankfully. But it feels so wonderful to pull into the paddock, drained, mentally and physically.”
Q: How do I know if I’m over-slowing by left-foot-braking?
Q: “I am very comfortable using left-foot-braking and have found many situations where it seems to be an advantage, but other than lap times, how can I know if I’m really using left foot braking too often or too much? I switch between right and left foot, depending on the corner, and sometimes I feel that I over-slow the car when braking with my left foot.”
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