Garage Heroes (In Training)

Learning as we go. Come along with us and Enjoy the Ride!

Guests & Interviews

GHIT 0104: Liam Fischer’s Hot Ones Style Tribute Interview

Liam Fischer with Snowboard

On this episode we finally talked Liam into coming on the podcast by making it in the style of one of his favorite shows on YouTube, Hot Ones.  Since Bill has almost zero tolerance for spicy food, Vicki tagged in to assist with the interview and we also took advantage of the opportunity and covered several aspects of teenage driving, driver training, and racing.  If you prefer, there is a live video recording on our YouTube channel, creatively named Garage Heroes In Training.

YouTube Link

B.R.A.K.E.S. Logo

B.R.A.K.E.S. website:  https://putonthebrakes.org/

Our Dominating with Dawson segment for this episode add Heel-toe Downshifting to our jargon repertoire.

  • Vicki and Liam Fischer
Vicki and Liam Fischer

We hope you enjoy it. The episode is still going for Liam and Vicki, lol.

Also, we would like to the thank the team over at Hot Ones for their great YouTube episodes and wish them the best of luck.  They can be found on their channel at “First We Feast” or by searching for “Hot Ones” on YouTube.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

Highlights from this episode include:

1)  Liam’s history of learning how to drive and eventually race cars, he is still relatively young at 19 years old.
2)  Some thoughts and suggestions on training a young driver in general and how it has been helped by racing and race training events
3)  We go into a fair bit of detail related to one of the best training events Liam has gone to with the B.R.A.K.E.S. program.
4)  Vicki breaks out into her “it’s like trying to nail jello to a wall” when talking about racing with teens on our team.
5)  Angry Goat Peppers “Hippy Dippy Green” sauce was very well received.  Two Thumbs Up.
6)  Why Bill gets father of the year a few years back
7)  We try to provide help and suggestions to new racers or soon to be racers throughout the episode.  Please remember to ask before hopping into the hot tub.
8)  Liam tries to compare the 2017 Toyota 86 to a stock ND2 Miata and a Stage 2 Flyin’ Miata turbo NB Miata, however the wings inhibited some of his brain processing capability and the virtues of learning to drive and daily driving a +/- 200 HP car.
9)  Vicki tries to come up with three good things about her first car.  And fails.  3 bad things were way easier.
10)  You start to see the affect of the hot sauces about 25-30 minutes into the episode
11)  Liam takes a walk about at 40 minutes in and can barely think to answer from then on.
12)  What car or cars got away for each of us.
13)  Liam reveals his love for the SpiderStang and Capri
14)  Da Bomb hot sauce lives up to it’s reputation
15)  “I feel like I met the devil” and “Why is it the tongue”
16)  Liam can’t speak and tries to use sign language, not the best for an audio podcast
17)  Liam wants a shot at the Datsun Z and Vicki surprises Bill with saying she wants to drive Black Betty
18)  The hot sauces apparently make Liam delirious when he comes up with his dream car to build into a race car.
19)  Vicki and Liam’s favorite and least favorite tracks so far.  NJMP makes both lists for Vicki.
20)   Liam calls Brad out for a round 2.  Silly boy.
21)  Liam’s brain left the building, several times during this episode
22)  Mental sort of gets a shout out, not really, but it was funny
23)  An endorphin infused discussion on endurance race craft approaches and ways to compete successfully, especially with longer stints.
24)  We end with Bill attempting to herd the two cats for a final question and then a delirious ranking of the sauces.

GHIT 0104: Liam Fischer’s Hot Ones Style Tribute Interview

GHIT 0103: Keith Tanner from Flyin’ Miata

Keith Tanner Racing
Keith Tanner

Keith Tanner who has literally written the book on improving the performance of a Miata, actually three books, and works with the team at Flyin’ Miata joined us for this episode to discuss his driving history and he was also willing to add to our recent series on the “Usual Suspects” and addresses many aspects of the use and optimization of all four generations of Miata’s/MX-5’s.  Since we have two MX-5’s on our team already and we are routinely passed by them at every race and HPDE event we have been to, we could not have this series without going over them.  The MX-5/Miata is one of the more flexible racing vehicles available and with little modification, it can be competitive in many types of racing, as well as being a perfect choice for HPDE and track days.  Additionally, the cost for wear and maintenance is quite low in terms of both cost and frequency, due to its light weight and the wide availability of parts. 

Our Dominating with Dawson segment goes over the term Trail Braking, what it is and how it can be used on a track as you increase your skill and experience.

We hope you enjoy this episode. 

Please subscribe to our podcast on iOS most use the Podcast app or Android users may use the Android App, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher etc.  We have also added this to our YouTube channel, especially useful with subtitles if you are hearing impaired, as several of our drivers are. 

If you could leave a review, that would help us greatly and you can also add any questions or topics you may want us to cover.

Thank you again and best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

Keith Tanner R&D
Keith Tanner often instructs on the Flyin’ Miata YouTube channel

Highlights include:

1)  How to choose which version of Miata depending on what your interests are and/or how your personal geometry needs may require, including potential to LS swap
2)  History of the Miata, how it came to be and how its racing pedigree arose and developed throughout the 30 plus years of production
3)  We mention Long Road Racing during the episode, but they have been recently replaced by Flis Performance for ND prepped cars for the Global MX-5 Cup Series
4)  How did Keith originally get into Miatas, including his gateway drug called Autocross and how he has expanded his interests and testing though the years
5)  How Flyin’ Miata develops and designs its parts internally and with its suppliers to serve a wide variety of needs and performance interests
6)  Can you say LS Swap?  Flyin’ Miata can!!! And it fits into a Miata as well, lol.
7)  Bill reviews how he came to have and lose the NB Miata to Vicki in a single day
8)  Overall advantages are lightweight, relatively cheap to operate and maintain, great driver feel, excellent handling and grip in turns, a great car to learn and develop your driving skill, and relatively bullet proof.  Disadvantages are relatively low power and acceleration (true momentum cars) and straight-line speed.
9)  NC Miatas (2006-2015) are in a sweet spot for depreciation and a bit larger than the other models.  It is also a bit difficult to install a full cage.
10)  NA and NB Miatas are a bit smaller, lighter, and “fun” to drive.  Downsides, they are getting pretty old.
11)  ND Miatas are smaller and lighter than NC, similar to the NA/NB’s and the power is increased above the others, especially the NA’s and NB’s.  Also it has the only adjustable steering wheel in the Miata family.  Weaknesses may be in the transmission area and you may want to augment the cooling.
12)  Recommends looking at used spec Miata for value, especially the 1.6-liter versions that are not as competitive in the series as the 1.8-liter cars.
13)  How to inspect and maintain your Miata, especially as the NA and NB’s are getting close to 30 years old or more.  Hint look at your cooling systems effectiveness, including the transmission and differential.
14)  Pluses and minuses of our Flyin’ Miata Stage II NB Miata, cooling and transmission etc.
15)  Advantages and disadvantages of the 5-speed vs the 6-speed transmission in the older Miatas
16)  Keith’s thoughts on gauges vs ECU control and how to tell if there is an issue without additional gauges and which gauges may be helpful in general
17)  Some of the potential issues involved with a LS Swapped Miata and some of the many issue that had to be addressed during their development to be able to have a system they could offer to their clients.
18)  We even get into the new ND and ND.2 models
19)  Keith discussed some stories about his past experiences in the Targa Newfoundland
20)  Bill and Keith compare stories when they both lost a wheel while driving and other lessons Keith learned while racing and testing over the years
21)  In the end, Keith even tolerated some of our more off the wall inquiries and concerns
22)  Alan valiantly tries to help a listeners with what gear to use when doing burnouts in a turbo NB Miata.

  • Keith Tanner Books on Miatas
  • Keith Tanner Targa Newfoundland
  • Keith Tanner two of his babies
Keith Tanner, Author, Racer, and Car Entusiast

GHIT 0103: Keith Tanner from Flyin’ Miata

GHIT 102: Sam Smith Auto Journalist, Driver, Racer, and Enthusiast

  • Sam Smith on the Proving Grounds set
  • Sam Smith at Indy
  • Sam Smith - Racing Driver
  • Proving Grounds Celebration

Sam Smith, Editor At Large for Road and Track and Co-host of the NBC Sports Proving Grounds television show joins us for this episode.  We try to cover Sam’s impressive history with the automotive and mainstream media, as well as his driving and racing history, but we only seem to have scratched the surface of Sam’s great stories.  You can quickly see his gift for storytelling and ability to recall details and intricacies, as well as his optimism and enviable modesty.  It is quickly apparent that Sam truly loves cars and especially those that he finds to be immersive and involving.

Also Ben reviews two videos pertaining to the driving style of the legendary Ayrton Senna on this Dominating with Dawson segment.

Links to the videos:

Senna Throttle Technique

Senna Footwork (with accurate audio)

If you want to contact Sam Smith, he recommends DM’ing him on Twitter or Instagram @ThatSamSmith.  Or you can read his articles on Road & Track and don’t forget to watch for him on NBC Sports Proving Grounds.

Proving Grounds

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast and team members in the GHiT Immature Endurance Racing Team

Highlights for this episode include:

1)  How his current Caterham 7 project car progresses from a box to a functioning car
2)  His automotive past and how he worked his way through the tangled web of automotive journalism to have a successful professional career in a very tough business area
3)  An overall discussion on driving being a skill and a sport, but definitely learnable by many is not all
4)  Now Nigel Mansell confirms we are not going to be a pro racing driver anytime soon
5)  Sam’s racing history is pretty incredible and has some absolutely spectacular cars including a McLaren F1 and F1 GTR, an actual Formula 1 car, and a few great stories of his racing (with Mental) at the 2019 NASA 25 Hours at Thunderhill in the rain and the ever so lovely mud.
6)  Bill valiantly tries to sell a Citroen SM, for a friend.  Still available for a good home.  We know a guy.
7)  Bill digs a hole on a comment that will likely lead to issues from some of our friends and soon to be friends who are Porsche fans.
8)  How his schedule has been impacted by our current social distancing due to the Covid 19 virus
9)  When car technology and societal sanity intersected, perhaps for the worse.
10)  Sam’s experience with racing the RX-7 Black Betty (rambutan) when it was still set up as a time trial car.  He misses the old, scary setup.
11)  His thoughts on modern cars in general, are they too fast, too intrusive, and are there any good drivers’ cars still available and the potential impact it may have on racing in the future.
12)  Sam also lists several of the current cars that are highlights within the available assortment at your local dealer for both on and off-road driving fun.
13)  Electric cars and electric car motorsports/racing, and the varying degrees of success for each.
14)  Thoughts on autopilot and potential impending issues in the transition to full autonomy (SAE Level 5)
15)  His experience with test driving a true Formula 1 car and how he grew to acknowledge the difference between his level and those gifted individuals driving at the level of Formula 1, as well as the actual level of performance of the car itself.  The tip of the spear is very, very pointy indeed.
16)  Breaking News for one of the first times:  Sam’s “Ugly” story is one for the books!  It involves another one of our original bucket list guests to be (hopefully) Jason Camissa and a Ford GT, but we will go no further.

GHIT 102: Sam Smith Auto Journalist, Driver, Racer, and Enthusiast

  • Sam Smith racing in a van
  • Sam Smith racing an Exocet
  • Sam Smith at Laguna Seca
Sam Smith racing in a Van, an Exocet, an da BMW Alpina 2002

GHIT 0101: Rob Krider from the 4X National Champion Double Nickel Nine racing team

  • Rob Krider
  • Rob Krider - Hands On Racing Driver
  • Rob Krider on our Podcast
  • Double Nickel Nine Intregra
Rob Krider from the Double Nickel Nine Racing Team

Rob Krider who is a driver and managing partner of the Double Nickel Nine Motorsports racing team joins us on this episode.  Rob has a problem in that he and his team won’t let anyone else win, lol.  His team is the reigning 4-time national champion in NASA’s Honda Challenge series, while also having both team cars on the podium each year.  Our discussion covers not only their team history but what they have learned since starting in the 24 Hours of LeMons series and progressing through other racing series and classes.  Within this episode, there is useful information that can be applied to any racing series and any racing team can improve your results with little, if any, expense.  To see a lot of Rob’s team in action folks can watch the documentary film “Double Down” about racing in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill where his team took an ex-24 Hours of LeMons car and beat the factory Mazda racing team. Link to the video at www.team559.com.  

Double Down
Double Down – A Great Documentary on Endurance Racing

In addition, Rob was kind enough to guide us through the latest in our series covering the Usual Suspects of racing car platforms and went into a deep dive about racing Hondas and Acuras, especially in endurance racing.

Finally, Ben covers both Understeer and Oversteer in the latest Dominating with Dawson series.  We just couldn’t cover them separately, so we went for a double shot. 

We hope you enjoy this episode.  It will make you faster! 

PS If you are interested in watching or reading more of Rob and his teams exploits, please go to:

KriderRacing on Instagram
www.RobKrider.com
www.Team559.com
www.DoubleNickelNineMotorsports.com

And don’t forget to get a copy of Rob’s book “Cadet Blues”, a humorous look at one of his most fun driving training events at www.cadetblues.com

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

Highlights from the episode include: 

1)  Some of his team’s best learnings since starting in LeMons several years ago
2)  Rob and Bill commiserate about putting together team communication emails and texts that are summarily ignored
3)  How Double Nickel Nine Racing team has “added” to the various series rule books through creative race car engineering
4)  Jennifer asks the dirtiest of the dirty question that you can ask a race car driver
5)  The value of a spare/donor parts car and Vicki tells Bill to go buy another car.  He left the podcast to search CraigsList
6)  Team structure and organization techniques to maximize performance across all levels of racing, even a two-car team of 60 people for the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill
7)  Their scouting trip preparation for national races
8)  What is the Double Nickel Nine garage involved in
9)  A comparison of large LeMons fields to some smaller or shorter or higher performance fields
10)  How they communicate within their team, especially on track with their spotters
11)  Storytime of Alan’s stint at Thompson last year where he would not come in for a driver change.  Rob fully approves.
12)  Rob gives the advantages “keys to success” in Honda and Acura racing
13)  Diapers win races, well they used to anyway
14)  Rob shared some endurance racing wisdom, like pit stops practice and it’s not about top lap times but it is about endurance
15)  What is a Honda Taco and how it is to drive one
16)  We finally find a way to compare ourselves to Roger Penske
17)  We go over several tips and tricks from several of Rob’s helpful articles, many are linked below
18)  Be a Racing team or Beer racing team?  Correct answer is: Yes
19)  You can hear an alert for every time Bill’s computer went blue screen of death if you listen closely.  It happened often
20)   Bleed brakes after every endurance session
21)  Rob and Alan bond over tire balancing. In the end, it comes down to the preparation done before coming to the track
22)  Get things done as soon as possible.  Don’t start when you have just enough time left to get it done.
23)  Internal competition for fastest lap is detrimental to team performance and overall team success.
24)  Rob’s team has learned that for endurance races, lap timers are not allowed within the car.
25)  EJ2 Track Rat has a fashion suggestion for next year’s nationals
26)  How to choose an engine machine shop to work with
27)  Rob’s documentary film about endurance racing, titled “Double Down” is available free on YouTube, 1 hour 15 minute run time on the Krider Racing YouTube channel.
28)  Tactical Ops Brewing’s Double Nickel Nine IPA named after the race team with an image of their Honda Challenge car on the bottle. This stuff is high test at 10.9% ABV!

And here are some of our favorite articles that we discussed on this episode: 

GHIT 0101: Rob Krider from the 4X National Champion Double Nickel Nine racing team

Double Nickel Nine Racing Team
Double Nickel Nine

GHIT 0100: Ross Bentley – The Ultimate “In Training” Guest

Ross Bentley - Teacher
Ross Bentley – Teacher

Ross Bentley was kind enough to come on as our guest and help celebrate our 100th episode.   Ross is known throughout the racing world as a great driver, author, and coach about high performance driving and racing, where his racing experience at the highest levels is augmented by his passion for learning and sharing to help raise the knowledge base as a whole for the good of our sport.  This discussion was aimed at learning more about Ross and his history, but when you have a chance to ask him a question about racing, you take advantage.  We are hoping we can get him on again in the future.  Maybe every 100 episodes, but we would hate to have to wait that long.  

  • Ross Bentley - Racer
  • Ross Bentley - Driver
  • Ross Bentley - Author
Ross Bentley – Racer, Driver, and Author

PS We rarely request anything, but during our discussion, Ross seemed to be unaware of the impact his books have had.  If you have a moment, please post a picture of you with his book/books on Instagram with the hashtag #ThankYouRoss to show him the impact he has had.  Thank you.  

On this week’s Dominating With Dawson, we go into the first of an ongoing series where ewe get into some of the jargon involved with racing.  This week we review Rotation, what it means, and how to use and control it.  

This episode’s highlights include:

* How Ross fascination in cars and racing started and his history in racing

* His thoughts on the impacts of current amateur and amateur endurance racing on our sport

* With racing, what is not enough.  Go for the Why!

* Skid pad use and discussion

* Alan admits to an issue with Turn 1, all of them

* Tire grip and how to control/manage the grip on individual tires while on track

* Why and how at the limit driving can be different for different drivers, even in the same car

* The equal, if not even more, importance of knowing what you do “right” as well as what you did “wrong” and by how filling your lap with doing things right will remove the time to do something wrong, leading to improvement.  

* Areas where drivers typically could improve at various levels in their learning career processes and various habits and processes to build upon

* How to improve you driving through cross training

* His prescription for moving from a novice driver to a very successfully, advanced amateur racing driver

* He clarifies the difference between driver training, driver education, and driver training.

* Vicki picks Ross’s brain on front wheel drive vs rear wheel drive to absolutely no one’s surprise

* The best description of the importance of how you release the brake we have ever heard and BOB vs EOB based drivers

* It looks like Ross’s podcast is coming back and we cannot wait!

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0100: Ross Bentley – The Ultimate “In Training” Guest

Speed Secrets
Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley