046 – Kevin Fandozzi: How to Treat a Tire!

Kevin Fandozzi joins me to talk about tires – how to break them in, warm them up, and pressure them. We also talk about how tires are developed, what Kevin did to his tires to podium at the recent SCCA Runoffs, and where Continental Tire is going in the sport. Be sure to listen to his advice in the last 10 minutes or so of the show – it’s super valuable stuff.

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?”

045 – Michael Silver: Learn to Drive Fast in Less Than a Year

Michael Silver and I talk about how he got to be so good a driver in a short period of time – less than a year. And it’s not just seat time, but how he applied the seat time that made the difference, as he shares here. Oh, and we also talk about astronauts and how Michael communicated with them in space, as well as his incredibly varied background.

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.”

044 – David & Dylan Murry: Learning to Drive Fast

David Murry and his son, Dylan join me to talk about the track day business, how to manage modern cars on the track, why NASCAR is a great option for young drivers, how important a driver’s reputation is in this sport, reading a car’s handling, what a son learns from his father who is a racer. And then Dylan and David provide their simple but important advice to you.