Richard Kelley joins me to talk about his experience of capturing some of the most incredibly powerful images of F1 drivers from 1972 to 1984. His photos of Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Jackie Stewart, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Gilles Villeneuve and others will connect with you and either make you smile, get goose bumps, or cry. His perspective as someone who has closely observed some of the best drivers in the world, as well as raced himself, make his advice about visualization, situational awareness and sensory input hugely valuable to every driver.
Richard has been a photojournalist, writer, communicator and historian for most of his life. In addition to his F1 photography, he’s worked for Car and Driver, Mitsubishi (where he was Motorsport Manager, and largely responsible for the Evo), and the Chicago Tribune. He also successfully raced Formula Ford and Atlantic.
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Spencer Pumpelly and I talk about what karting doesn’t teach, how to brake with ABS and release them to rotate the car, why an early apex is better than a late one, when a pass really begins, corner entry speed, and the importance of eliminating the fluff (that part throttle stuff that does more harm than good). Oh, and we also touch on the similarities between flying helicopter and performance driving (just in case you’ve always wanted to know!).
Spencer currently races for Magnus Racing and TRG, and has won in almost every level of racing he’s competed in. In this podcast, he talks about Le Mans and racing in ARCA. He’s also a great coach, as illustrated by his comment that, “The line is not the cause, it’s the result.” Great stuff!
Spencer’s Speed Secret: Eliminate the fluff!
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Peter Puffer joins me to talk about why we do what we do (driving fast around race tracks), the psychology of instructing a driver on track, and what makes a great instructor (hint: observing and paying attention to the student is a good place to start!). Peter also talks about how too much, and also too little, anxiety can negatively impact performance.
Peter, who is a psychologist as a profession, grew up around motorsport and started driving in HPDE events and track days back in 1997. Since that time he’s driven and raced at tracks throughout the midwest and elsewhere. He’s been a HPDE instructor for 18 years, and is the chief instructor for the Glacier Lakes Audi Club.
Peter’s Speed Secret: always be a student.
Peter can be contacted at peter.puffer@audiglacierlakes.org
Wallace Bradley joins me to talk about that thing we don’t want to talk about: when to stop driving. Whether it’s age, money, risk, or “been there, done that,” there comes a time when we all need to make a decision to cut back on our driving or stop cold turkey. How should we make that decision, and then do it?
Wallace started high-performance driving about ten years ago, and has been participating mostly in PCA events at tracks primarily in eastern North America ever since. Like many, he started instructing shortly after getting involved, giving back to the sport. As he also tracks a motorcycle, he’s been thinking about cutting back on the number of track days he does each year in his Porsche 944.
Wallace’s Speed Secret: Commit to yourself and your fitness.
Dave Weckl, a drumming legend, joins me to talk about the rhythm of driving and drumming, how playing music relates to performance driving, and what makes the best performers in anything great.
Dave is a true drumming legend. Modern Drummer magazine inducted Dave into their Hall of Fame and named him one of the 25 best drummers of all time, and he’s played with performers like Paul Simon, Madonna, Robert Plant and Chick Corea. He also has his own band, tours a lot, and has an online training program for drummers. But he also drives a Corvette on track, and has proven that driving is an art just like music.
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Dr. Shannon Irvine joins me to talk about mindset, confidence, mental triggers, fear… and so much more about the mental game of performance & race driving. We all know that the mental game is what makes the difference on the track – but what do we do about it? Shannon shares some deliberate strategies to help you improve your driving performance.
Dr. Shannon Irvine is an Entrepreneur, High Achievement Mentor, Host of the Epic Success Podcast, a PhD. in Neuro-Psychology and a Philanthropist.
Her mission is to help entrepreneurs go for their God given dreams by giving them the step-by-step blueprint to go from “Dream to Launch” in a way that honors what they value most.
Dr. Shannon helps her clients “neuro-hack” their success and build an Epic Life and Business that they love by harnessing the power of the brain to hardwire productivity, goal attainment, and high performance mindset mastery.
Through her courses, programs, and Epic Success Podcast, her clients learn the power of neuroachievement™ — her process for shifting how to think, act, and grow, so they can achieve anything they desire. They learn how to hardwire what they want, and delete anything that’s holding them back!
Shannon’s Speed Secret: Be aware of what you say to yourself, and what you think.
Shannon mentioned the Brain Priming audio series, and you can access it here: https://drshannonirvine.com/mindyourbusiness
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Adam Jabaay is back (he was my guest on Episode #11), and we’re talking about his Slip Angle podcast, about the Gridlife events, and what makes a great driving event. He tells us about how Gridlife is launching a wheel-to-wheel race series (Touring Cup), and what brings young drivers and spectators to driving events.
Adam races a Honda in SCCA and NASA events, is a founder and organizer of the Gridlife events, hosts the Slip Angle podcast, and has a passion for older motorhomes. Having purchased the Time Stretcher 3000 from Sears many years ago, he manages to fit 26 hours of activity into each day.
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Don Kitch joins me to talk about the art of racing in the rain, as we sit together at Pacific Raceway in Seattle, the very place where Garth Stein’s book, The Art of Racing in the Rain came to life – and the “home” of the upcoming Patrick Dempsey movie. Don and I dissect eight of my Speed Secrets that are aimed at driving fast in the rain, as well as our love for simply being at a race track.
Don and I have been close friends for over 25 years, and have worked together throughout that time, sharing a race car at Daytona with Team Seattle, coaching drivers, conducting high-performance driving schools, and having our luggage get lost during air travel. Don is the owner and chief instructor for ProFormance Racing School, and the founder of the Team Seattle program that has raised millions of dollars for the Seattle Childrens Hospital. He began racing in 1982… and some think he will never stop! For sure, he will never stop sharing his knowledge and passion for high performance driving.
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Greg Woodrowjoins me to talk about what makes those crazy Aussie V8 Supercar drivers so good, and specifically the training they have all had racing Formula Ford. We also talk about the state of motorsport in Australia, the advice that Luke Youldon and Bruin Beasley of Erebus gave during my Inner Speed Secrets seminar in Melbourne, and finally, some of the fun that we had together – and what we learned – when I was down-under recently.
Greg is the owner of G-Force Motorsport and G-Force Events located in Melbourne, Australia. After twenty years as the agent for Mygale Cars in Australia and New Zealand, where he built an unbeatable empire of Mygale products that have won the last ten Australian Formula Ford Championships and the last ten New Zealand Formula Ford championships back-to-back, Greg sold the Mygale business and now runs a race team for Formula Ford and Porsche drivers, as well as motorsport-orientated events that involve corporations at every level.
Greg’s Speed Secret: Never give up. Un-ending commitment makes the difference.
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Chuck Tucker joins me to talk about HPDE instructing – what the best instructors do, how the classroom sessions need to work with the in-car instruction, the secret of the “secret goal,” and the best driving drills being used today.
Chuck, who is an engineering professor in real life, changes into his superman instructor suit when instructing with NASA Great Lakes Region, as well as the PCA and BMW clubs.
Chuck’s Speed Secret: Ask your student questions – then listen.
You can find Chuck on Facebook, as well as email him at ctucker@illinois.edu.
If you’re ever looking for a good track map, just go to SpeedSecrets.com/Trackmaps.
Andy Pilgrim joins me to talk about racing and traffic safety education. He tells us about his experience co-driving with Dale Earnhardt Sr and Jr at Daytona, why he’s won so often, and the work he’s doing in the traffic safety education world – and why you should care. Andy tells you how you can get free copies of the training videos he’s produced.
Andy has won in just about everything he’s driven from the factory Corvettes to Cadillacs. He’s committed to giving back by helping save young drivers’ lives, through his Traffic Safety Education Foundation work.
Andy’s Speed Secret: Eyes to the vanishing point.
To learn more about Andy’s traffic safety initiatives, go to his Traffic Safety Education Foundation website at www.tsef.org. And you can also contact him through his website at www.AndyPilgrim.com.
Randy Beikmann joins me to talk about the ideal line – the one that results in the fastest lap times – something that he’s been modeling from a mathematical perspective, and then relating to real track driving. What he shares will give you a deeper understanding of why you drive the line you – or should drive the line you’re currently not!
Randy is a former engineer for General Motors, and currently teaches engineering at Kettering University. He’s written the super-important book, Physics for Gearheads – a must-have for anyone interested in understanding vehicle dynamics and driving at a deeper level. As important is the fact that he’s also a track rat who drives a Porsche Cayman in PCA events.
Randy’s Speed Secret: Power is not the end-all. Traction is more important.
You can purchase Randy’s Physics for Gearheads at Barnes & Noble, or on Amazon.
Trey Shannon joins me to talk about how to improve your fitness for performance and race driving. We talk about how to train your breathing, vision, sense of balance, and your fine muscle control to improve your footwork. Trey provides some great tips for simple exercises you can do at home, without expensive equipment.
Trey runs Podium Performance Fitness in Charlotte, NC, where he trains drivers like Tom Long, Colin Braun and John Edwards. As a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and with a Engineering degree, you know he looks at fitness training in a analytical and specialized manner.
Trey’s Speed Secret: Take the pressure off yourself.
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For more information about the Improve Your Braking & Corner Entry webinar, go to SpeedSecrets.com/Braking-Entry