NASA

NASA’s TREC Endurance racing series

GHIT 0336: NASA’s TREC Endurance racing series with Bryan Lingruen

As you know, we love endurance racing. Endurance racing allows us to get a huge amount of track time and competition in a single weekend. NASA has recently started an endurance racing series to compliment their sprint racing and HPDE weekend events. The TREC series currently races at the same tracks on a Friday and the races range from 3 hours to 8 hours depending on the event and the venue. We talk with Bryan Lingruen about the start and history of the NASA TRES series and how NASA Great Lakes organizes and holds their events. This is a great option for additional racing and track time if you are going to a NASA weekend.

If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating, that we would appreciate that very much. Even better, a podcast review, would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving and we would appreciate it.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

PS If you are looking to stream or save your integrated telemetry/racing data with you video, Candelaria Racing Products Sentinel System may be the perfect solution for you. We are amid installing the system in two of our cars. If this sounds like something that may help you and your team, please use our discount code “GHIT” for a 10% discount during the checkout process at https://candelaria-racing.com/

PS2 Please do not forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, do not forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount, a savings of $40. Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order from https://apextrackcoach.com/

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Ben, Alan, and Bill

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers

GHIT 0336: NASA’s TREC Endurance racing series with Bryan Lingruen

GHIT 0261: Our NJMP HPDE Event – Part Deux

GHIT 0261: Our NJMP HPDE Event – Part Deux

We had a large group of drivers at the recent NASA Northeast HPDE event at NJMP’s Lightning course. Since schedules did not fully coincide last week, we broke our group up into two different episodes. We start off with our usual goals for the weekend and cover how the event went. For this NJMP HPDE, we had Audra on who had never been to this track and was driving her 2017 BMW M2 for the weekend. Adam came to the event and was going to use Bill’s M3 but due to mechanical issues, he had to use Vicki’s 1999 turbo NB Miata for one of his stints. Elizabeth was trying her new to her SpecE30 on the track. Lisa returns for a second visit on this event and drove Audra’s M2 at the event in the Hyperdrive session

If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast:

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

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 this episode include:

1) We start off with our personal goals for the event. Each event we try to make sure we each have at least one goal, but no more than 3 for the weekend.

2) Elizabeth had a bit of motion sickness after going out with Bill as a passenger. We may have found a cure for this, hopefully it will prevent motion sickness as well. We will test this again at our next few events.

3) Each level of the HPDE has a download session and some of the levels have classrooms during the weekend. We discuss the benefits of each and offer some suggestions for further improvement.

4) Highlights from the weekend and our traditional Good, Bad, and the Ugly

5) Adam advanced from HPDE 1 to HPDE 2.

6) Audra advanced from HPDE 1 to HPDE 2.

7) Vicki advanced from HPDE 2 to HPDE 3.

8) Elizabeth advanced from to HPDE 2.

9) We also shared a ton of Ahh Hah moments we had at this event. Its awesome to hear how everyone of us progressed.

10) Adam gave a good review of driving the E46 M3 vs the turbo NB Miata.

GHIT 0261: Our NJMP HPDE Event – Part Deux

Peter Hopelain and the Thunderhill 25

GHIT 0204: Peter Hopelain from the Technik Podcast about Racing and the 25 Hours of Thunderhill

Our second ever non-PG podcast, but it was so worth it.

Peter Hopelain joins us to discuss Bill’s bucket list goal of racing in the Thunderhill 25 endurance race. Peter has raced in the Thunderhill 25 nearly every year and recently won his team’s class. We had a great discussion of the background of the race and how to prepare and compete. Peter was also kind enough to stay on with us to discuss racing in general, his non-profit racing team, as well as some of his goals going forward. We are so appreciative of Peter taking his time out from his incredibly busy schedule and giving us so much of his time. He even put up with some of our Fast and Furious Storytime Questions. We would love to have him on again and cannot wait to go into more details of his driving history and exploits.

In this episode of Dominating with Dawson,

Vicki eventually asks Ben a question (after perhaps the longest intro of all time, lol) and we start to cover some of the adjustments that are available to your car. Each of these can help to dial in a car’s handling on track. We cover some of the basic changes and the effect that they will have on the way the car feels and handles. If you ever had a car that you wanted to adjust but were unsure how, this episode may be very helpful to you. Adjustment areas we reviewed included: Sway bar/anti roll bars, tire pressures, wheel alignment, etc. This is the likely the first of a many part series.

You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc.

Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating or even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it and it would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving.

For instance, leaving an Apple Podcast rating is very easy. If you go to your podcast library, under shows and click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review.

A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/PeterHopelain

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 to 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

GHIT 0204: Peter Hopelain from the Technik Podcast about Racing and the 25 Hours of Thunderhill

GHIT 0120: Christina Lam is our special guest driver

Christina Lam is a racing driver for several series, is an instructor for Skip Barber and NASA, as well as a frequent contributor to GrassRoots Motorsports magazine.Â We first started following her as her âAfter A Crashâ 9-part series started a few months back and became instant fans of her approach and her dedication to racing, education, and giving back to the racing community.Â On this episode, we go over how she started to be involved from a point of little knowledge and car/racing influences to where she is not only competing at national events, podium’ing many times, and instructing others to improve their skills.Â It is a fantastic and quite rapid journey from newbie to racing veteran and her latest challenge last season will inspire you and hopefully get you to reach further towards ever higher goals.Â

On our Dominating with Dawson, Ben goes over the difference in driving approaches for endurance racing, autocross, as well as various types of sprint racing.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

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) We have had a long, long work week in the garage, so long that Vicki blanked on her name for a moment and Bill canât spell SCCA, lol.

2) How she started off racing in Autocross one weekend and then had the opportunity of a lifetime drop in her lap a short time later (driving on a little place known as The âRing).

3) Christinaâs first time on track was her first time driving a stick. This may be a good rival for what we ended up doing to Jennifer at her first race at Thompson Speedway. Not our best plan, but we did learn from it.

4) We share post-race hangover stories and several great ideas for further race cross training. Rally, V8 supercars, Ice racing, so much fun to be had, so little time.

5) What is involved with being a one-person team and how she accomplishes all that is required for a race weekend. The big key is prep. Second rule, prep. If you need a third rule, be prepped early.

6)Â We go into her accident last year and how she recovered, both physically and mentally, as well as her new race car.

A slightly used E46 — A “Lightly Used” E46 BMW Race Car

Wheel took quite a hit — A “Lightly Used” E46 BMW Race Car

7) What is involved with an SCCA protest

8) How Christina found her #46 M3 shell to start her new build

9) How much sleep she lost while working to prep for new car the upcoming 2019 national SCCA Runoffs in 60 days.

10) Christina goes into the plusses and minuses of an E46 M3 vs E46 330âs etc

11) Christina shares some of her nerves and almost PTSD after the wreck, what she had to work through and getting back into the car on track at VIR

12) What it is like being a female in a predominantly male sport at the track.

13) How Christinaâs first car quickly turned into a second car.

Honorable mentions and sponsors that have helped Christina along the way:

Drive Gear Racing: for arrive and drive ice racing. Seems like a terribly great idea.

Hugh Stewart from High Speed Motorsports: http://www.hispeedmotorsports.com/

Katherine Legge @ www.KatherineLegge.com

Simona De Silvestro @ www.Simonadesilvestro.com

TC Designs @ www.tcdesignfab.com

Hoosier Tire @ www.hoosiertire.com

Epic Motorsports @ www.epicmotorsports.com

Racing Harness Technologies (856() 912-1237

Skip Barber Racing @ www.skipbarber.com

GHIT 0120: Christina Lam is our special guest driver

GHIT 0119: Eric Meyer – NASA Great Lakes Chief Instructor

Eric Meyer and Ross Bentley — **Eric Meyer alone and with good friend and colleague Ross Bentley**

Just in time for the upcoming NASA Great Lakes event at GingerMan, Chief Instructor Eric Meyer was kind enough to join us and discuss his past and current association with racing and instructing, as well as the genealogy and philosophy that has led to the current NASA Great Lakes HPDE program curriculum. It is by far the best of the HPDE instruction we have attended across the country and we think highly enough of it that we regularly attend their HPDE events that are sometimes well over a 10 hour drive each way from us. Eric also is another great counterexample of the false age-old adage about “those who can do, and those who can’t teach” as he has won a ton of racing trophies in Grand Am, World Challenge, and Touring cars, among others. Our Dominating with Dawson segment goes over the practice of left foot braking, its potential advantages, and how to try to begin to incorporate it into your driving repertoire.

We hope you enjoy the episode and we would love to see you at the upcoming NASA Great Lakes event in GingerMan!

Eric Meyer in RX 8 — **Eric Meyer racing in two of his RX-8’s**

**Eric Meyer racing in two of his RX-8’s**

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) How he originally started racing at a track and how quickly and deeply the hook was set.
2) Some of the issues that he encountered when first entering the sport and how they shaped his interest in helping others
3) Where he sees opportunities to continue to improve our sport and how he can give back to the racing community.
4) How NASA Great Lakes history has led to their focus on the educational path has led to the current HPDE structure. It is a great balance of driving on the track with the classroom and download education.
5) Eric turns the table on Bill to answer Bill’s own question. It was tremendously fun and allowed Bill to brag about the NASA Great Lakes HPDE.
6) A discussion on the priorities of teaching driving skills and situational awareness as foundational aspects of the NASA Great Lakes HPDE.
7) We believe that we may have uncovered Eric is secretly competing in sewing. We may be wrong.
8) Eric also goes into some of the philosophy of what his team is looking for to progress through the levels as well as some of the criteria in transitioning from level one to level two, as an example.
9) We discuss several of the drills that you will do within the various HPDE levels, some of which we have lovingly stolen and use on our track day practice sessions.
10) We even go into some of the educational techniques former podcast guest John Santiago uses in the HPDE 1 classroom and track sessions. Vicki and Jen will be getting the full experience next weekend. Bill is jealous and will attend as many of their classroom sessions as his HPDE schedule permits.
11) How has the COVID related challenges and rules impacted the event and the HPDE sessions specifically, especially the traditional right seat style in car coaching and the various group classroom sessions. It sounds like things may be even better than the prior structure.
12) One of the surprises we may see at GingerMan may have been revealed.
13) Eric says that we need to add Mosport to the track bucket list and Bill is already pondering how to possibly get to the Chin event at Barber in November.
14) Tips and tricks to the upcoming GingerMan event, both on track and off. Jen is thrilled with the runoff areas GingerMan affords to assist with learning with less potential detrimental impact.
15) We have an informal agreement to meet at the local microbrewery. Now we just need to have time and energy.
16) A Pinto makes a podcast appearance again, much to Vicki and Jen’s pleasure.
17) We aren’t absolutely sure if Eric really liked our Fast and Furious questions but he really faked it well if he didn’t.
18) Eric has a weakness, and apparently it is Mazda rotary engines.
19) If you are ever at a bar and need to know how many kegs you can fit into a 1964 Oldsmobile Cutlass, this is the podcast for you!
20) Bill forgets to thank Eric for an earlier long conversation they had related to Bill’s goal of becoming a qualified instructor as soon as possible.

GHIT 0119: Eric Meyer – NASA Great Lakes Chief Instructor