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Garage Heroes (In Training)

Garage Heroes (In Training)

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NJMP

Live Race Update – from 2022 NJMP Thunderbolt

Hoopties
GHiT ladies team
On Track
Jess and Audra

GHiT 0343: Live Race Update from the 2022 NJMP Thunderbolt Race with the 24 Hours of Lemons

In a short, mostly live episode from the 2022 NJMP Thunderbolt paddock, Vicki and Jen are joined by Audra and Jess from the Shifting Points podcast to talk about day 1 of this years 24 Hours of Lemons race.  The ladies were driving in our 1993 Honda Civic DX that had a tribute livery to our friends at the Everyone Racers podcast and the Three Pedal Mafia, along with Chrissy and Chris’s Mom (and Dad).  If you know, you know.  Audio quality was a bit off as we were outside and had several friends come by to “help” with the podcast.  

It was a great weekend and we will have our normal wrap up episode as soon as we can.  As always, the race hangover is real.

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. This includes 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 would be a podcast review. That helps 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. By entering “GHIT” at checkout, you will get a 10% discount 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, Jeremy, Alan, and Bill

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

Jess Stratton

From the Shifting Points podcast’s- Her First Track Day

A Motley crew
Jess Stratton on track

GHIT 0338:  Jess Stratton From the Shifting Points podcast’s First Track Day

We have an upcoming race at NJMP’s Thunderbolt track next weekend, so we took advantage of the NASA Northeast’s HPDE event this weekend to get a bit of track time for our friends from the Shifting Points podcast who will be racing with us.  This will be Jess Stratton’s first ever race and today was her first ever track day and great preparation for the race.  Vicki was going to explode if we made her wait any longer for a review of the day, so here is an unedited episode with Vicki and Jeremy asking Jess Stratton about her first time on track.  Oh, Bill was there too.

Audra and Lisa will be arriving tonight for Sunday’s events.  We will obviously be talking more about this weekend in upcoming episodes of our podcast and perhaps even on the Shifting Points podcast.

NJMP HPDE June 2022
Jess Stratton going on track

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 would be a podcast review. This helps 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. Entering “GHIT” at check out for a 10% discount 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, Jeremy, Alan, and Bill

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

GHIT 0338:  Jess From the Shifting Points podcast’s First Track Day

Jess and Audra

GHIT’s Race at NJMP 2021

  • Chris Fix Fixing
  • Loki Truck Hood

GHIT 0207:  Our race at NJMP – June 2021 Our 24 Hours of Lemons Race at NJMP Thunderbolt for 2021

We are all suffering from a serious sleep deprived, post-race weekend hangover, and we are all calling in from across the US with varying internet speed and connections.  It starts with the somewhat normal Race Bar takeover and then we go into the NJMP 2021 race.  For this event, our drivers consisted of Vicki, Alan, and Jennifer and our two adopted teammates Aaron Diamond from the Saabs of Anarchy racing team and Elazar Mann from Race Bar.  It was a great weekend with many, many highs, and a few notable lows.  It was almost back to normal, well as normal as a Lemons race can be, and it was great to see everyone again.

In this issue of Dominating with Dawson,

we start off with our latest GHIT swag t-shirt that we made for the Dominating with Dawson and how we surprised Ben with it a few weeks back.  We then try to get back into our topic for this episode where we go into several things that you can practice on the public roads and during your normal driving that will improve your track driving or refine skills that you may want to start to employ on the track.  It is a great time to practice driving with left foot braking, heel-toe downshifting, as well as other less obvious areas of high performance driving.  Luckily for Bill, Vicki missed his joke, so he did not have to sleep in the tub after this episode, leaving a bit more room for Bill, lol.

Vicki Driving in el Jeffe

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/LemonsNJMP2021

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

El Jeffe on track

Highlights from this episode include:

1)  The Trophy truck/El Jeffe/Bad Hombre/Loki truck made its way to the track a bit late, but the theming of the truck and our drivers was a big hit in the paddock and with several of the young fans at the track.

  • Our Team with a Special Fan
  • The team on El Jeffe

2)  The race weekend started off with some small issues with the El Jeffe that we worked through the entire weekend.  Then we had a few other issues as the weekend progressed.  In other words, a normal endurance racing weekend.

3)  Aaron does his best robot impressions, but the connection improves after a few minutes.

4)  We had an issue with the engine losing power and having difficulty starting.  Unfortunately, we were not able to diagnose and fix the issue at the track, but let us know if you have any suggestions.

5)  Our two guest drivers describe the glory involved with driving the El Jeffe Trophy truck.  Since Aaron usually races a front wheel drive (Saab) and Elazar is usually in a mid engine car (Toyota MR-2), the truck is a bit different.  It is not what anyone expects.  We think Aaron and Elazar are both hooked.  

6)  In addition to our power/electrical issue, we also had a continuing issue with our new exhaust design.  We fixed it Lemons style to keep racing and then we made a plan to fix it permanently, of course this was after sending Jennifer out for her stint.

7)  Bill makes a terrible American Pie joke.  He says he was really tired.

8)  Aaron has raced in Lemons for almost 5+ years and had only two black flags in the entire endurance racing career.  However, in true GHiT fashion, he managed to get two more in a single stint on Saturday.  As Mars Blackman said, “Its got to be the shoes.”

9)  Elazar describes how he dealt with a total brake failure going into the high speed turn 1, truly an example of dealing with a brake issue in one of the best ways possible.  To add a bit to the weekend, Elazar was again subjected to a loss of the mounting bolt on the upper front control arm on the passenger side.

10)  Alan goes for donuts, well just one donut, on our door.  He may also have to adjust the HANS device or seek another design.

11)  So in the end, we missed the checkered flag on Saturday by about twenty minutes and we missed it by again by about the same amount.  Cue the sad trombone.

We had a great time, we learned some more, and we were able to spend some time with our old friends, our new friends and our soon to be friends. 

A special shout out to our sister Jennifer who came to her first ever Lemons race and saw how much fun this can be.  We hope you come back again soon.

  • IOE Winner
  • Amanda in her 1937 Buick
  • The Bob Ross Narwhal
  • 1937 Buick
  • The artists take a bow

GHIT 0207:  Our race at NJMP – June 2021

HPDE at NJMP Lightning with NASA NE

2019 ND2 Miata

GHIT Podcast 0203: Our Latest HPDE with NASA Northeast in May 2021 at NJMP Lightning

We review our latest high performance driving education (HPDE) event at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Millville, New Jersey.  We had four drivers at the event from our team.  Jennifer, Vicki, and Liam were in the HPDE 2 run group for this weekend. Bill was in the HPDE 3-4 group.  We each learned quite a bit a this event and we are all better drivers after these two days on NJMP Lightning.    

On this episode’s Dominating with Dawson, Ben goes into the acronym OSB. OSB is sometimes used to describe someone in a learning environment where it stands for “Other Sports Beckon”.  We believe that anyone can learn how to drive at a track or an autocross event.  While there are differences in everyone at the rate that they learn, or their initial skill/experience level, literally everyone can get to a very proficient level. But they take need to be open to learning and be willing to put in the effort to improve.  We then move into how different teaching approaches are better able to match with different student personalities and how the needs of the student may change as their experience and skill level progresses.

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. This 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/NJMPHPDEMay2021

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, we have a 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) Car reviews:  Jennifer was in a 2019 ND.2 Mazda Miata with the stock OEM Continental tires and brakes.  Liam was in his 2017 Toyota 86 TRD with Hankook RS4 tires and Raybestos ST-43 racing pads.  Vicki was in her 1999 NB Miata with a Flyin’ Miata Turbo, Hankook RS4 tires and ST-43 racing pads.  Bill was in his 2004 BMW E46 M3 with yellow Pagid brake pads and Michelin Pilot SuperSport 4 tires.

  • Turbo Miata NB
  • 2004 E46 M3

2)  Telemetry we used for this event:  Apex Pro and Garmin Catalysts.

3)  How we owe our friends Jeff and Jim from the Three Pedal Mafia for saving our weekend by letting us use their family’s RV.  Let’s just summarize by saying our prep for the vent did not go as planned.  Situation normal.

4)  Vicki’s prep to her turbo NB Miata did not go as planned before the event and at the event, but we did a few adjustments and all went well.  It should be back up and running for our HPDE at Mid Ohio this coming weekend.  Pro tip, do not try to adjust your wiring harness while the car is running.

5)  Vicki and Jennifer’s thoughts on being in HPDE 2 vs HPDE 1.  It was Vicki’s second time in HPDE 2 and Jennifer and Liam’s first time in HPDE 2.  We also go into some of the differences in the HPDE’s between this event and some of the other organizations we have attended.

6)  Let’s talk about point by’s at every post stint debrief, lol.

7)  Vicki’s impressions of driving the E46 M3 on track for the first time.

8)  We go over our goals going into the event and how we did during the event and what we learned over this weekend.  We also go into some of the challenges we each face as we progress and grow as drivers on the track.

9)  Liam pops in for a quick summary towards the end with his thoughts on the weekend.  He also had a great time at the event and finally had a chance to be on track with the Garmin Catalyst.

GHIT 0203:  HPDE at NJMP Lightning with NASA North East

GHIT 0046: Our Race Wrap Up from NJMP 2019

Our review of our 24 Hours of Lemons Race at NJMP’s Lightning Track

Our NJMP 2019 Highlight
Our NJMP 2019 Race Highlight, yep.

Our 2019 NJMP Lightning Race Review with the 24 Hours of Lemons series includes: 

  • Quick review of the Lightning track Review
  • Alan’s many visits to the Black flag area this weekend
  • We had a few self-induced incidents and a few outside influences during the race
  • It was Kate’s first race
  • Kate Before Her First Stint
    Kate Before Her First Stint
  • Kate After Her First Stint
    Kate After Her First Stint
  • Podcast Reviews finally, Thank you. 
  • Arrival with two not fully working cars set us back for the weekend and we really never caught back up
  • Shout out once or twice to Judge Craigers
  • We had a few issues with the Cars, mostly because we came with not fully finished cars
  • Jennifer was in a tunnel during the episode
Our weekend in a nutshell.

Car highlights included Speedy Cop’s new Aquarium via 2 AMC Pacers, the Big Bad Caddy and “Wurst Shifter” pit vehicle, Race Bar Car, Godzilla, the new Three Pedal Mafia race car, Matt’s new Surfin’ Bird T-Bird, Mom Rocket team for keeping that grassy spot very clean all weekend, The racing Hudson, and the Sunbeam. 

  • Everyone was there, even Godzilla Made an Appearance
    Everyone was there, even Godzilla Made an Appearance
  • Speedy Cop's Latest Creation
    Speedy Cop’s Latest Creation
  • Three Pedal Mafia's Godzilla
    Three Pedal Mafia’s Godzilla
  • Many shout outs to all the teams there, we only mentioned a few of them, but everyone was great. 
  • We were passed by many if not all of you who were there,
  • Track was easier but aggression was higher
  • What should be our team penalty for getting black flags?  Any suggestions welcomed.  Please leave a comment. 
  • We end with our traditional Good, Bad, and the Ugly, as well as what did we learn from this event.
  • Kate kept up with Black Betty for 5 laps!  It would have been slightly more impressive if they weren’t yellow flag laps, lol. 
  • We all also learned how to fill a hot tub with a pickup truck

Our results from NJMP were that El Jeffe/The Hombre/The Race Truck finished 60th overall out of 133 and 25th in B out of 68 cars with a fastest lap of 1:29.082.  The SpiderStang finished 105th overall and 49th in B with a fastest lap 1:36.75 by our guest driver Matt who does not want to drive it any more, lol.

Did we have fun, always!
Did we have fun, always!
We will be Back
We will be Back

GHIT 0046: Our Race Wrap Up from NJMP 2019

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