GHIT 0208: PGR Racing – Racing In an EV in the 2021 One Lap of America EV Race Car: Ready or Not
“Tony Stark” was the obvious lead in to this episode with PGR Racing and their EV racing car that recently competed in the 2021 One Lap of America. On this episode, Andrew DeKoning and Chad Martin go into the pluses and minuses of racing an electric vehicle in the One Lap of America and racing an EV in general. We really had no reference to racing an EV, except for those unfounded rumors on several golf courses. Bill was stuck late at work so he sounds a bit “tinny” for most of this episode. We learned a ton during the episode about racing EV’s and we even know what PGR stands for now.
In this episode of Dominating with Dawson,
we go over what a contact patch is and how it is the key to driving and racing. The contact patch is the portion of a tire that is in contact with the track surface, and the contact patch is influenced by the weight transfer during the driving. The control of the contact patch through the control of the weight transfer is the key to maximizing your traction and use of traction during driving and is a direct measure of the potential speed and track time that you can achieve. And we may have ended up planning a race with Ben Dawson.
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A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/PGRRacing
We hope you enjoy this episode!
PS
Please don’t forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, don’t forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40. Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order. They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc. The recently released second generation systems and app increases the capability of the system greatly.
Best regards,
Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers
Highlights from the PGR Racing episode include:
1) We have never driven an EV on track so Andrew and Chad review some of the differences that they feel, hear, and the driving changes that are required related to changing from an internal combustion engine (ICE) when transitioning to an electric vehicle (EV). Regenerative braking is also another significant difference between the two, along with the weight associated with the batteries.
2) Where an EV excels currently and where there are still limitations and challenges to racing EV’s.
3) What PGR Racing modified on their Tesla Model 3 to help with the challenges of the One Lap of America and why they chose the Model 3 vs the other available EV options.
4) Details on the upcoming test of autocross’ing a Tesla in Autopilot. No back seat driving though, thankfully, lol.
5) Bill fights not to make the Tesla model name joke. He may even have succeeded. (Hint: the model names are S, 3, X, and Y)
6) A recent market change is the availability of several options for making the car suitable for track use and there are several more expected to be coming in the future.
7) The downside of changing tires right before the start of the first event on the One Lap of America. Key word: mold release.
8) Everything you ever wanted to know about charging for the transits and at the track.
9) Did the Tesla have any mechanical issues and what the PGR team did to prepare the car for the event.
10) Tips that they have learned from their One Lap of America experiences in an EV.
GHIT 0208: PGR Racing – Racing In an EV in the One Lap of America EV Race Car: Ready or Not
