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Garage Heroes (In Training)

Garage Heroes (In Training)

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

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Race Bar

DwD Storytime – The One About Fred Lobster

Fred Lobster

DwD 0271:  DwD Storytime – The One About Fred Lobster Trying to Kill Ben and Ann 

On this issue of Dominating with Dawson, we have our second DwD Storytime episode. Here, Ben recounts a recent track day event where he found a peculiarity in the “Fred Lobster” car. This led to a weird issue where the steering and brakes would not respond.  If this was a new car, it would likely be a safety nanny programming issue. However, since this car is far from new, the true root cause is still tbd.  The story is spectacular and the way that Ben dealt with the issue is something that we all can learn from.  You never know when something can break or behave in an unexpected manner on track. Part of growing as a racing driver is being able to deal with an ill behaved car or another car that does something unexpected.

If you would be interested in helping grow our sport of high performance driving and our 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, we would appreciate it. Even better, a podcast review, we would greatly appreciate it. That 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, look under shows. Then click on the podcast you can leave a (5?) star rating and enter your review. 

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

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.

Best regards,

Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill

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

DwD 0271: DwD Storytime – The One About Fred Lobster Trying to Kill Ben and Ann

GHIT 0184: A Race Bar Farewell to Jandy

The Jandy Man

After a very long delay in editing, here is the episode we recorded several weeks ago (pre-Christmas) as a farewell wish to Jandy before he went on a long-term deployment.  We did not expect to take as long editing, but we easily had triple the number of guests we have ever had and that made things a bit complicated.  This is a fun episode with a good bit of Storytime from past racing events.  Good luck to Jim on your deployment.  We hope to see you back soon.  And thank you so much for your service!

In this episode of Dominating with Dawson, we give and introduction to the basic braking techniques and when you should use them on a track.  The typical braking technique that you use nearly every time on a public road is never the proper technique when you are driving on a track and concerned about your lap time.  But here we describe the main types of braking that you will work to use on track as your experience grows.  We even go into a few techniques that you may not want to use initially, but we think you should be aware of, even on day 1.  The main technique that you will want to use at first is threshold braking.  Then there will also be a few turns where you only want to brush brake or even just lift off the gas pedal or throttle.  In addition, we introduce the concept of trail braking.  We do not recommend working on trail braking on day one for most drivers, but at the same time, we also don’t feel it is beneficial to be closed minded on only braking in a straight line.  Especially if you have a more well developed braking proactive where you apply trail braking naturally.  The key aspects to remember is to apply pressure quickly but not just stomp on the pedal to avoid upsetting the car or locking up the tires.  Just as important is the concept of gradually releasing the brake pedal to help keep the car stable throughout the turn.  Stomping on or popping off the brake pedal, as well as any of the pedals, is to be avoided. 

As always, if you have any questions that you would like us to cover with Ben, please let us know in a (5 star?) podcast review or via email at [email protected] or in a comment on our social media.

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/FarewellToJandy 

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.  We have two systems for our team and Bill is looking to add a third for this season, pending CFO approval from Vicki.  They are a great system and truly invaluable in safely increasing your speed on track and/or autocross etc.

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)  It took almost 15 minutes just to herd the cats, so we put that as a “bonus” after the credits rolled

2)  Guest roll:  Jeff Caplan/Ron Mexico, Ann Moran/Giggles, Ruth Bates/Master Bates, Patrick Mchugh/Richard “Dick” Freelane, two secret commando guests who will go by Pat and Chris, Matty/Opah, Taylor Purcell/The Droner Boner, Estaban/El Banos, Lara Vernon, and our guest of honor Jim Andy Jandy Webb.

3)  Story time upon story time ensues.  Most are examples of what not to do, so we aren’t sure this episode will make you faster but it should make you laugh a few times.  Always remmerbe: The Jandy Man can! and usually does.

GHIT 0184: Wishing a Fond Farewell to Jandy – With Race Bar

GHIT 0134: RaceBar is Back to talk about the Charlotte Roval Race with Lucky Dog

  • Race Bar on Track at the Charlotte Roval
  • Race Bar on Pit Lane
  • Race Bar
Race Bar Invaded the Lucky Dog Race at the Charlotte Roval

At our recent Lucky Dog race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, we were lucky enough to be in the paddock next to RaceBar.  Yes, they are back.  Jeff/Ron even took a stint in our race truck.  On this episode we go over the entire event from their perspective and how Race Bar helped us throughout the weekend.  As we covered in our earlier race review episode, the entire event was a blast and Race Bar was a large part of the fun.  Jeff Caplan/Ron Mexico, Jandy/Daddy, Patrick McHugh/Richard “Dick” Freelane, and Kaitlyn “Pineapples” Morgan joined us for this episode.  We were greatly outnumbered.

We deal with hydration at track days, races and on the track in our Dominating with Dawson segment for this episode.  We cover various options and what we have found to be effective at the track and in some of the highest temperature and humidity days we have seen both at the track, in the paddock and especially in the car which is usually much hotter than the local environment, especially when dressed in your safety and fire rated gear.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

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)  Apparently, we have been abducted by RaceBar.  Who knew.

2)  It took less than four minutes for us to absolutely lose control of the episode.  Did we ever get it back.  Still tbd.

3)  Was Charlotte Intimidating?  Nope.  Was racing on a big oval intimidating?  Nope.  Was racing with Lucky Dog intimidating?  Nope.  Was RaceBar being next to us in the paddock intimidating?  Oh yes, yes it was.

RaceBar Never Sleeps

4)  We had a great time hanging with Race Bar but, we really had to tag out around 10 or 11 in order to function.  Not sure how they do it.

5)  RaceBar strongly endorses the Lucky Dog series and it balance of good racing and lots of fun.  This was the best race ever for RaceBar.  Ever.

6)  We talk about the great highs and lows of endurance racing, sometimes at the same event in the same hour.

7)  The pleasures of being serenaded over the radio by Dick Freelane as he drove around the high banks at Charlotte during the race.  Ron Mexico has a book recommendation that you may choose to ignore.

8)  I think we made an impression on RaceBar with our track food skills.  It made their top list.  Twice.  We may be drafted to be on site food services.  we know Jeff will bring his own fork if needed.  Lol.

9)  We talk a bit about how our team tries to deal with issues and our occasional setbacks.  The priority should always be the driver and the team.  We can build more cars.

10)  There appears to be a plan for the race truck/The Bad Hombre/El Jeffe.  Not sure we know what it is or if we have a vote.  I think we lost all voting rights once Ron Mexico got into the race truck and drove it around the Roval.

RaceBar has a plan
RaceBar has a plan

11)  We cover our race team theory and philosophy at the current point in our learning curve.

12)  Race Bar has a list of he top 47 highlights from the race.  It is quite a list.  Quite the list indeed.

13)  Tips for ways to help and get started at a race if you are ever interested.

14)  Why track security woke Cathy up in her Hello Kitty PJ’s around 2 AM one evening.  What happens at Race Bar, stays at Race Bar.

15)  Why you should always say no to a story that starts with “Do you want to see a man in a van by a river…”

16)  Confirmation of who took the “L” off of our “Mr. Pool” E36.  Unfortunately, it does fit the car, even more now.

17)  Stories of driving the Citrus Race Truck without power steering trying to catch another Race Bar vehicle.

18)  Slap cup drinking games and rule interpretation seemed to vary and why Lonnie may have had a slow start one morning.

19)  How Deaf Power Racing came to race with us at Charlotte.  There are certain advantages to not being able to hear “Baby Shark” all weekend.  Potential options for adopting them into a Race Bar west.

20)  Apparently there is a plan.  We are now aware that there is a plan.  We still don’t know the plan, but we think we probably should at some point.

21)  We reveal the story of the arrival and unloading of El Jeffe at the garage when we returned.  I’m not mentioning any names since I don’t want to have to sleep in the bathtub.  Worth a listen.  And thank you to the listener who suggested we change our name to “Garage Heroes In Traction”.  Thank you Blake.

22)  We may have plans for a Summit Point track event.

23)  We attempt to CSI the potential reasons behind our Chevy S10 keeps eating Steering Pumps like Seymour from “The Little Shop of Horrors”

24)  How the Oooga Booga method for fixing the Fuel Pump worked and gave us a few more hours on the track before we needed to replace it the next morning.

25)  How the speaker flew off during the race and how much of a fan some of the corner workers were of their music selections during the race.  Also, we go into the joys of having a 120 dB stereo system in your race car that is remote controlled by people that are several hundred miles away from the track.

26)  A Good, the Bad, and the Ugly to be remembered.

27)  Ah Hah moments we all learned from the Charlotte race.

28)  A good discussion of Jennifer’s accident and how it feels after a bit o reflection.  A good thing for all potential racers and racing teams to hear.

29)  Potential next steps for our team to grow.

30)  VIR sweeps the best track ever for Race Bar.  And we get a bit of history of how VIR came to be.

GHIT 0134: Race Bar is Back to talk about the Charlotte Roval Race with Lucky Dog

GHIT 0117: Race Bar Returns – A Discussion of How Many Teams are Helping with the COVID 19 Pandemic

Race Bar is back!
Race Bar is back!

Jim “Daddy Earth” Webb, Pat “Richard Freelane” McHugh take over another episode of the podcast (lol), but it was for a great cause and contribution to our society during this COVID 19 pandemic.  Jim and Pat have been working with James Ballenger from Ballenger Motorsports to raise funds and to fabricate and distribute face masks, face shields, and all kinds of assorted PPE for the Richmond region and anyone in need across the country.  Hopefully, you can add to the relief effort in some small way.  To bring it back to racing, we did get into a good discussion on the details and decisions related to converting your car from an OEM fuel system to using a fuel cell.  This is a truly inspiring story of what a bunch of race drivers and James Ballenger’s team and Ballenger Motorsports were able to accomplish in a short amount of time. 

Race Bar Car

As we always say, racers are some of the best and most generous people we have met.  This crisis has still not passed, so if you or anyone can help, it could literally be lifesaving and I am also sure we would like to be in a better position if there is ever a bounce back in the infection rate.  It took a bit to get the editing done, but the message and need remains the same.  Even if you can’t be of assistance in fabricating or assembly, there is always something that needs to be done that would assist.

The Dominating with Dawson segment deals with what to do and what not to do when going on track for the first time.   

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)  Working to make a difference in trying to contain and protect people from the COVID 19 virus

2)  Some of the unexpected challenges of helping deliver PPE to those in need

3)  How even little steps are significant, especially if we compound upon each other

4)  Karen makes an appearance for the first time on the podcast, lol.

5)  You can learn more at [email protected] or contact them through email

6)  The parallels between this program and what happens in an endurance race are amazing.

7)  This effort will continue into the future as the economy starts to resume and a larger population of people can use shields and masks.

8)  If you want to donate to the effort, you can go to GoFundMe.com under Virginia Needs PPE

9)  Bill volunteers to let James and the team pass us during our next race.  It is the least we can do, lol.

10)  Even the next generation of Race Bar, Oliver, comes in for a brief podcast experience.

11)  A short Race Bars race car fleet review and its recent new addition with a super-secret theme

12)  Fuel cell discussion on details, locations, options, and aspects of the conversion and installation including some of the best options for venting the fuel cell.

13)  Ben is still sorting his nuts and bolts.  We hope he finished soon. 

14)  Jim’s latest deep dive is in the area of fuel discriminator valves.  Because Race Car.

15)  Rob Krider’s magnetic towels for catching fuel as you fill gets another shout out.

16)  Some good discussion points on the morals of resuming racing events at this point.

GHIT 0117: Race Bar Returns – A Discussion of How Many Teams are Helping with the COVID 19 Pandemic

GHiT 0070: Race Bar – Baby Shark Racing team takeover

  • Baby Shark at Night
  • Baby Shark
Beware the Baby Shark!

GHiT 0070: Race Bar – Baby Shark Racing team takeover

We have lost all control

On this week’s episode, we lose all pretenses of control with our guests from the Race Bar/Baby Shark racing team stage a coup of the podcast.  Strap in for one of the most unique episodes that we have ever had with your unofficial hosts for this week James Webb and Jeff Caplan.  Jennifer, Alan, Vicki and Bill were just along for the ride on this one.  With that, here is the Baby Shark episode, just when you thought it was out of your head from NHMS!!!

On this episode, we attempted to cover:

1)  Just who is Ron Mexico and why is Ron Mexico and how is Ron Mexico and a virtual tour of VIR

2)  Bill Breaks the record for horn sound effects needed in one episode to retain our Non-E rated streak

3)  It takes almost 6 minutes to get to our intro, you’ll see why

4)  We did not have the entire team on, but probably couldn’t handle them if we did

5)  The origin of the BMW 7 series race car/bar and our introduction at the last NJMP race

6)  How and why Baby Shark came to be and how the livery came to be

7)  The differences in Lemons teams and Champ Car teams as well as their response to Race Bar

8)  Our great new race driver Jeff Wright and his NHMS experiences

9)  Deaf Power Racing team impending launch

10)  Alan wants a car stereo upgrade to our cars, yet another bad idea

11)  What PCCA thinks of Race Bar at their HPDE

12)  Their 10-year plan

13)  The GHiT goals and reasons why we are doing this

14)  Several drive by guests came on as well

15)   Vicki explains why we stopped on the way home from NHMS and how the Three Pedal Mafia came to our rescue, again

16)  They share their issues with car growth in their stable as well

17)  Ron Mexico interviews at least twenty people for unknown reasons

18)  The world series even makes a surprise appearance

19)  Story time from the VIR 24 hour race with Ron Mexico and trash can football

20)  Team intervention and exorcism goals for 2020

21)  and we ended with a very entertaining and even useful Good, Bad, and the Ugly

Bill eventually admitted defeat and just went with wherever we wound up

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast and team members in the GHiT 

Our Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHiT 0070: Race Bar – Baby Shark Racing team takeover

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