One more time

 

10 speed secrets for the rest of us

By Carl Heideman
Oct 28, 2023

[Editor's Note: This article originally ran in the May 2016 issue of Classic Motorsports, but we feel like these speed tips are timeless.]

Not quite ready to dedicate your entire life to your on-track escapades? How about some tips for the rest of us—those who'd just like to fully enjoy our classics, whether it's slicing through Road Atlanta's esses or traversing our favorite mountain pass? Carl Heideman has gotten intimate with just about every form of classic machinery, from '50s Fords to Britain's best. He knows a bit about what makes our classics tick and has some speed secrets to share.

1. Look at Your Ignition

You don’t need the latest and greatest high-tech ignition system in your car, but you do need one that’s strong and dead-nuts consistent. Hold a timing light on your engine while it’s running at 5000 rpm: If it’s not giving you a super-stable reading, your ignition system could use some work. We usually find that a fully rebuilt distributor–again, that’s rebuilt, not just cleaned up–teamed with a Pertronix ignitor solves a lot of woes.

2. Conjunction Junction

Hoses, lines and wires do fail, but problems usually occur at a junction. Are your systems as simple as they can be, or is your fuel pump actually powered by three wires spliced together? On a related note, how are your grounds?

3. Keep It Simple

Going Fast Doesn't do you any good if the car keeps breaking and can’t finish a race or make it over that pass. Constantly check the car for loose wires, stray cables and simple adjustments that have gone out of spec. For example, does your throttle still open all the way? And is the cable going to last the whole weekend, or is it about to pull out of its stop?

4. Know When to Shift

Just buzzing to the redline before shifting isn’t good enough. If you’ve gone to the dyno, you can figure out your best shift points and put them to use. An illuminated shift light can be your friend here, although a piece of red tape stuck on the face of the tachometer works well, too.

5. Measure Stuff

Get a probe pyrometer to make sure your tire pressures and alignments are correct. Tire temperatures should be even across the tread. Get an infrared pyrometer to make sure your brakes are all about the same temperature. Know exactly where your ignition timing is set. The bottom line is that when you measure things and record that data, you can take an informed, diagnostic approach to speeding up.

6. Organize Your Tools

Call us lazy, but we don’t always like going through our entire toolbox before beginning every repair. Hand tools are relatively inexpensive, so we’ll buy some duplicates and keep them bunched together for specific fixes. For example, we’ll keep together everything needed to bleed the brakes. It makes for less stress when time is short.

7. Get Some Feedback

Talk to the guys who are going faster than you and see if they’ll give you some pointers. If they’re good, they’ll know what works and why they’re passing you. If they’re nice, they’ll tell you. When and how you ask can be important here. After their third beer during the evening social is probably better than while sitting on the grid.

8. Common Sense Rules

Everyone has their theories about why they’re faster or better. Listen to them all, but learn to separate the snake oil from the superstition from the silver bullets. If something doesn’t make sense, it probably doesn’t work. Most factors come down to math, physics, and thermal law. A Ph.D. isn’t necessary–if you understand some basic concepts, your common sense will provide the answers you need.

9. Test, Test, Test

There are now so many testing opportunities out there that it’s silly to not take advantage of them. From local autocrosses to noncompetitive track events, there are plenty of opportunities to shake down a car before that big weekend. Not sure your skills are sharp enough? Hire a seasoned driver for the day.

10. Avoid Slop and Bind

We see two common and opposite problems on race cars. Sometimes things are sloppy–like linkages that have too much free play or wear. Sometimes things are in bind, like an anti-roll bar whose geometry doesn’t match the suspension. Too often we see both at the same time, which can be dangerous. An anti-roll bar that is in bind will wear components, causing slop that will eventually lead to catastrophic failure.

 

The Racing Line | Full Documentary | 2023

Taylor Hawkins
430 subscribers
3,055 views Premiered Jul 29, 2023

Chasing a dream decades in the making, former NASCAR driver Charlie Luck returns to racing alongside his son-in-law Jan Haylen with hopes of winning the 2022 Fanatec GT World Challenge America championship. DIRECTED BY TAYLOR HAWKINS SECOND UNIT ARAM KHAMENEHI MUSIC BY ADAM BLACK SPECIAL THANKS TO TOM MOORE KELLY BROUILLET WRIGHT MOTORSPORTS SRO KEITH RIVERS TITLE DESIGN COLUMN ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE FROM NASCAR SUZUKI EUROSPORT LUCK STONE RACING WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL IMSA SRO

 

Nuts & Bolts: My Racing Rules

By Tim Suddard
Dec 17, 2012 | Posted in Columns | From the Jan. 2008 issue | Never miss an article
As I travel this big world of ours and visit events ranging from the Monterey Historics to the Goodwood Festival of Speed to the regional Triumph gathering I attended last weekend, I get to chat with a lot of readers.

No matter what the initial topic, it usually doesn’t take long for the conversation to come around to vintage racing. It seems that many of you are on the sidelines, watching these daring feats as fellow enthusiasts drive the wheels off these 50- and sometimes nearly 100-year-old cars. Is it as fun as it looks? How scary is it? Is it dangerous? Expensive?

Over the years I have put together a few thoughts—let’s call them rules, if you will—about vintage racing. While many were discussed in this issue’s cover story, I wanted to add some of my personal views on the subject. While it may sound fairly easy to slap on some Weber carbs and a cam, add some bigger tires and a roll bar, and go racing in your MGB, it really isn’t quite so simple.

First and foremost, vintage racing is wheel-to-wheel racing; as such, it is very intense and somewhat scary. A fast touring lap or even a driver’s school is one thing, but when you come into Turn 1 at VIR three-wide for the first time in a pack of 20 snarling MGs and Triumphs, with everyone scrambling to hit their brakes at just the right time to make that right-hander, you quickly realize that vintage racing is as real as rain and can be very, very intimidating.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the whole situation and lose focus as your brain actually tries to drive the car that you’re following. (If you’re wondering if that’s even possible, ask the novice who rear-ended me at Mid-Ohio a few years back.) There is no real way to avoid those first-time jitters, but you can be better prepared for them.

Rule 1: Learn Your Car If you are not already intimately familiar with your machine and don’t know how to drive it at the limit, then you have no business being out there. Trying to find the edge of your car’s friction circle in the heat of battle is a recipe for disaster. Know your car. Know its limits. Know when the brakes will start to fade and know exactly what it is going to do when you hit the brakes too late or get on the gas too early. The best way to acquire these skills is to start with autocross competition and then progress to a track day or on-track driving school, ideally one that features a small field.

Rule 2: Keep It Simple I see so many racers head right for the engine compartment when building their car, then get to the track and immediately start bragging about unobtanium pistons, dyno-tested horsepower, billet cranks and the like. These guys scare me.

If you are a regular reader of our publications, you know that we like big power as much as the next guy does—maybe even more—but you will also notice that we almost always start with safety gear and driver ergonomics before moving to chassis and brakes.

I raced my Triumph TR3 for many years with a nearly stock, 110-horsepower engine. Sure, I never even got close to winning a race, but I was learning the game from the back of the pack. Believe it or not, once we installed a comfortable seat, the right Auto Meter gauges—ones that I could actually read in the heat of battle—and a dead pedal for my left foot, we started dropping two seconds per lap at our regular tracks.

Rule 3: Suspension Is Key Once we had a comfortable workplace, next we worked through our suspension and brake setups until we could reliably stop the old girl and get her through a corner with reasonable predictability.

Real racers will call a good suspension horsepower for the turns. True, it’s not as much fun to brag about shock valving and anti-roll bar rates, but they’re what separate a winner from the rest of the pack.

Rule 4: Add Power When Ready I didn’t start winning anything until we put together a big-time, 140-horsepower engine. However, by then I was so familiar with the car and the other drivers that I felt comfortable running with the faster front group.

A little side note about the guys at the front of the pack: They know what they are doing and expect the same from you. Despite beliefs to the contrary, vintage racing—at least at the front of most packs in the serious sanctioning bodies like SVRA and HSR—is real racing. Yeah, we might be running 50-year-old cars and we may not have huge sponsorship commitments, but many of us are running the wheels off our cars and are out there to win, not just show off the cars at speed.

Rule 5: Manage Your Fear When people ask me if I’m scared to race, I quickly answer yes. It is my contention that driving an old car at high speeds is scary. If that doesn’t scare you, even a little bit, then there is something very, very wrong with you.

That doesn’t mean that all fear is healthy. You have to learn how to make it work for you. Sure, fear can eat you up, but if it’s managed correctly, it can instead help you make smart decisions that make you a better driver.

Unfortunately, all the sensible things I say to myself on the way to the track or when I am sitting in the paddock are all pretty much thrown out the window in the heat of battle.

Rule 6: Enjoy the Moment When it comes right down to it, there is no more exhilarating feeling and no purer form of concentration than when you are reeling in that guy in front of you or holding off another competitor as the checker approaches.

Believe me, everything else becomes secondary. You don’t think about that fight you had with your wife the night before, or wonder how you are going to come with the money for your kids’ next semester of college. You focus only on the sounds of that wailing engine, the other competitors, and the corner workers urging you on to victory—and that total release is why we do it. It’s also why you might just want to give vintage racing a shot yourself.

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...eid=20232a15cc

 

How to find grip while racing on a wet track

By Chris Tropea
Dec 27, 2023 | Rain, Tanner Foust


Is racing in the rain really an art? Someone should write a book about that. Regardless, finding grip on a wet circuit can quickly become a challenge for the inexperienced.

Luckily, pro driver Tanner Foust is no stranger to wet conditions and shares his tips and tricks for finding grip in the rain.

Presented by CRC Industries.

 

https://classicmotorsports.com/video/video-how-pack-toolbox-autocross-track-day-or-race-weekend/

How to pack a toolbox for an autocross, track day or race weekend

By Chris Tropea
Jan 22, 2024 | Tools, track day, Toolbox


Having an organized toolbox is one of the first steps to ensuring that your track event goes as smoothly as possible–so if and when something breaks, you aren’t wasting time searching for the 10mm socket.

Here's what we take to the track, especially when running our VW Fox budget racer or our LS-swapped Nissan 350Z.

What are some of your toolbox must-haves?

 

WHY VERSTAPPEN is SO FAST? - Driving Tecnhique EXPLAINED

Alberto Naska ENG
35.9K subscribers
370K views 4 months ago

What makes Max Verstappen's driving style on RedBull so special in Formula 1 compared to others, such as Charles Leclerc on Ferrari? …

 

Cool under fire: Why Max Verstappen is thriving in a more competitive F1

Read this at least twice and really study what he says.

Mark Thompson/Getty/Red Bull Content Pool
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emailBy Chris Medland | June 19, 2024 10:27 AM ET

When the Red Bull RB20 was unveiled at the team’s Milton Keynes headquarters earlier this year, there were two schools of thought. One was that the radical change in appearance suggested Red Bull had found something that would help it extend its advantage over the field, while the other was that the new concept would carry risk and potentially allow others to close in.

After the opening two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, it was the former opinion that seemed to have legs. Verstappen had cruised to two comfortable victories from pole position, winning by over 25 seconds and 18s to the first non-Red Bull car respectively.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had already crowned Verstappen champion by the end of the fourth race weekend in Japan — where he bounced back from the retirement in Australia with another victory — having previously gone further and said the Dutchman could win every race after the season opener.

But Verstappen himself was having none of it. As Red Bull has faced increasing threats at many tracks — beaten by a quicker McLaren in Miami, nearly seeing that repeated in Imola and then pushed down to sixth place by Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes in Monaco — he has stayed calm. That’s all due to a mindset that was in place back on that launch day at the Red Bull factory.

“I would say last season was pretty incredible what we did as a team, and it will be pretty hard to replicate something like that,” Verstappen told RACER. “I always knew that, so I never went into this season thinking that, ‘Ah, let’s try and do even better than what we did last year,’ because that’s basically impossible.

“So I was always ready for the challenge, and naturally of course with the regulations that we have I think the cars are getting closer to each other, which is good for the sport. We just try to stay on top of things — we really try to improve our car, learn from the weak areas in the car as well — and I’m sure if we can get on top of that then we still have a very strong package.”
Tighter margins, changeable conditions, varying track types…for Verstappen, it’s all part of an enjoyable challenge. Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images

Heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, there was a lot of talk about the weaknesses of the RB20 when it comes to curb riding, and how the team was going to be under threat again. That proved true, with George Russell taking pole and Verstappen fending off both McLaren and Mercedes drivers, but ultimately emerging victorious.

Red Bull had still been leading both championships even prior to a big weekend in Montreal due to Ferrari’s failure to score, and given the focus there has been on the team’s form, Verstappen admits it’s strange the way expectations almost lead to criticism of the pace-setters.

“People very quickly get comfortable to a lot of success and then they almost expect you to keep on doing that same thing in a way,” he said. “But then in the back of their minds they don’t want you to do that. I don’t know, it’s a bit weird.

“From my side and the team’s side, we are just very focused on always trying to improve, trying to do better, but naturally the competition gets closer as well. They have strong weekends as well, but that’s fine.”

What was perhaps telling about the race in Canada was the way Verstappen and Red Bull handled a chaotic situation. It’s true that being put under more pressure can lead to a greater chance of mistakes, but at the same time this is a partnership that has grown used to winning for a number of years.

The opportunity to take another victory amid rain showers in Montreal was not a surprising position to be in, whereas the main challengers — Russell and Lando Norris — each have just one win to their names.

Although there have now been multiple times that either McLaren, Ferrari or Mercedes have offered a genuine threat for wins, Verstappen is less concerned about any areas the car needs improving. That’s not to say he doesn’t want to see gains coming from the team’s development program, but his main demand is to execute race weekends as effectively as possible.

“I don’t think there is a specific weakness, it’s just some weekends you know you nail things a bit better than others,” he said. “That is how it goes, and of course when other people are closer you can’t hide anymore behind a weaker weekend or whatever. Last year maybe we had that luxury a little bit more, but that’s not how it’s going now.

“But so far this year I’ve always felt really comfortable with the car — I felt like always in qualifying also I was really getting the most out of it. So from that side I am not really worried or feel like it needs massive improvements. We just need to try and up our game with the performance of the car, try to understand a few things that really caught us out in Monaco, and try to improve that for the future.”

Charles Leclerc’s failure to score at the last race turned a potentially tightening championship battle into a much more comfortable lead for Verstappen, who now has an advantage of 56 points.

A fourth straight world title is very much on the cards, but Verstappen sees the fight going deeper into the season than last year — when he wrapped up the title in Qatar with six grands prix still to run — even if his lead has been built on circuits that started this year that he’s not the biggest fan of.

Ominously, Verstappen says Red Bull is taking nothing for granted despite the run of success it has enjoyed at many of the upcoming venues.

“It’s going to depend on a lot of different things. We have a lot of different kinds of tracks,” he noted. “I always find the beginning of the calendar an interesting few tracks. There are a few more tracks that will come that probably will favor us a little bit, but on the other hand with everyone getting closer you have tighter battles.

“Every single weekend you need to try and really optimize your package. You can’t say, ‘Ah last year we were really strong here, it’ll be all right.’ No, every time that you come back you still need to try and nail the setup of the car; you really need to be on top of things, and of course we always try to do that.

“We expect that from ourselves, but it’s not as easy. Even last year, we had a lot of strong weekends but there was a lot of hard work every single weekend to try and get to that result.”
The greatest this year or of all years? Call it how you like, Verstappen is just enjoying every moment. Clive Rose/Getty Images/ Red Bull Content Pool

Even if wins do become harder to come by, or somehow this year does turn into a true title fight that sees Verstappen dethroned, the 26-year-old is unfazed by such a scenario as long as he’s doing a good job, because outside comparisons and opinions mean little to him.

“I have no desire or need to compare myself to anyone else,” he insisted. “For sure in other disciplines they might be better, but whatever, I’m not interested to compare who is better or even know. It’s the same in F1, like, ‘Who is better?’ ‘Who is the best driver ever?’ I don’t care. I’m just here in the moment. I try to do the best I can, that’s all that is very important to me.

 

10 lessons all competitive racers wish they knew earlier

Jun 22, 2024 | Vintage Racing, Classic Racing, Peter Krause | Posted in Features | From the July 2019 issue | Never miss an article

Story by Peter Krause

Racing can age a person quickly. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the learning curve at nearly every level is so steep that if you stick with it, you will become a better, smarter and safer driver. This sport tends to self-select, so flakes don’t generally hang around too long.

Racing schools usually have a similar curriculum that follows the basics: How to keep everyone safe while inculcating good practices and acquainting drivers with a glossary that’s like a foreign language if not in words, then in concept and execution.

Contrast this with that first day at an actual race, where the veteran drivers gather around the newbie friend and dispense advice laden with their heroics–like how, for example, they cheated death by this much as they were split by the leaders lapping them for the second time in a session.

If only that hive mind could be transferred to the novice in one fell swoop. But it can: Here are 10 bits of wisdom to help quickly build that foundation.

1. Racing Is Real

No matter what they teach you in school, you are rarely prepared for racing reality before you’re dumped into the general prison population.

School is a cossetted, caring environment, full of hypotheticals and theory. Race weekends do not operate that way. Racing often devolves into everyone for themselves. (It doesn’t have to be that way, but too many people watch sensationalized pro racing and then set out to emulate that.)

Bottom line: Keep your wits about you. Take nothing for granted. Trust no one to do the right thing until they demonstrate that they can do the right thing.

2. No One Else Cares

You’re always going to be racing with the people immediately ahead of you and those immediately behind you. Deal with it.

Remember that great “I was seventh!” YouTube video featuring Ken Zalner? (If not, look it up.) Even though he qualified seventh, for whatever reason Ken was held on grid and let out last; from there, he proceeded to pass nearly the entire field during the pace lap in order to claim the spot that he felt he deserved. It’s epic.

It’s also a supreme example of the fact that no one except you cares where you think you should be. You have to earn your place, not take it or feel entitled to skirt the rules in order to get where you think you ought to be.

3. Keep Your Emotions in Check

You can’t win a race on emotional, visceral responses, though you can surely lose one on them. Again, the dreaded combination of unrealistic expectations and emotions bubbling to the surface can often compromise a good effort. More often they can result in an expensive body shop bill. (Have you priced a Porsche 911 re-tub recently? It can sure punch a hole in even the most robust racing budget.)

Be calm, look at the long game, and balance the risk with the reward. If in doubt, don’t. As the great Skip Barber instructor Bruce MacInnes says, “If it feels good, watch out!”


Photography Credit: Patrick Tremblay

4. Passing Is an Art

Not only is passing a learned art, it’s also one that depends on several planets coming into alignment–and then you have to be close enough to take advantage of the opportunity.

Early on in your racing career, carving through the field like a scalpel generally only happens in your mind. That scalpel is often more like a lead knock-off hammer: crude but effective, with both drivers scrabbling around the corner, breathing hard, and emerging with great relief that they narrowly averted disaster.

When done correctly, passing is beautiful, the synchronized ballet defined by a carefully crafted plan executed with great precision. Strive for that “smart” pass, one that begins at the exit of the previous corner (or even before). Avoid the divebomb, hail Mary lunge that ends in tears for both drivers.

5. Assume Nothing

Two of the most dangerous words in motorsports? “I thought.” How so?

“I thought they saw me.”

“I thought they were going to stay off track, not come back on.”

“I thought they were going to brake later.”

“I thought I could stay ahead, even though my tires were going off.”

Each is an admission of a misjudgment–often a costly one, if not in bodywork, then in the hard-won trust of your competitors.

Don’t be “that guy.” Be trustworthy. Do the right thing. Race with people and accumulate the intelligence needed to trust them before leaving less margin for error.

6. There’s No Such Thing as “Owning a Corner”

More than a few car-to-car incidents have occurred when a driver feels that he or she has beaten the competition to the turn-in point, only to find a surprise: That other car isn’t in their mirrors, but rather directly alongside or, heaven forbid, a nose ahead. The result? Nothing good.

If you’re the passing driver, the best defense against this situation is a good offense. Present your car sooner, placing it right in the other driver’s field of vision. Take away that driver’s ability to claim that they didn’t see you.

The best drivers, when alongside each other, let the corner sort it out: Two abreast and whoever gets back to power first and can corral their steed most effectively on the exit, wins.

Until the next corner.


Photography Credit: Kristina Cilia

7. The Car Is Always More Capable Than You Are

So many control inputs are based on what the driver believes the car can accept, not what the car will accept. Not a few times have I coached drivers who, when suddenly confronted with a spinning car in front of them, engaged in perfect threshold braking, often shocking themselves (and me) with their excellent execution of this fundamental skill. Afterward, it’s easier for them to ask more of the car’s braking system.

If the car doesn’t inspire confidence when tasked, fix it so it does. There is no car that cannot be driven faster by someone else. Think about that.

8. No Place Is Filled With More False and Misleading Information Than the Paddock

The post-session chronicles in Connie’s Pub at VIR can rival some of the biggest fishing stories ever told. These stories are usually not malevolent or designed to deliberately mislead, they’re just the massaged recollection of an imperfect data recorder, the human brain.

We often remember things the way we would have liked them to be, not necessarily as they actually happened. It’s not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind when you hear all of those stories about friends who were flat through this corner or braking at the last marker for that other one. Start easy and add speed gently, because it’s very hard to take it off.

9. Do Your Homework Early

Today, there is no excuse for not using the prodigious resources available online regarding track specifics: What pads or tires work best, the general track culture, whatever. Sure, some of these are subjective valuations, but gathering knowledge about the track you’re going to run is like adding arrows to your quiver. You will profit from it if you do your homework.

10. Be Realistic

Adjust your expectations downward so that you can be pleased when and if you exceed them, especially early on in your track and racing career. I see a lot of the intensity of daily life creep over into this wonderful, calming and pleasantly distracting avocation–and not for the better.

So take a deep breath. You’re only as good as your last performance; build from there. Be aware that every driver often reaches performance plateaus where they’re stuck no matter how hard they try. It’s only when they step back, deconstruct what they’re doing, and improve the quality of every individual on-track decision and execution that they end up driving quicker, easier and with more headroom.

Inevitably, going faster with less effort and less risk is the worthiest goal. Good luck!


Photography Credit: Bill Stoler