Past Issues

Billy Johnson tackles the various methods of driver development in the first of two articles. This week’s Speed Secret is ~ Gut instinct is real. Trust it. ~ Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Stickers,” “Rocks,” “Scrubs,” “Slicks,” “Rains,” “Floods,” “Inters, Intermediates,” and “DOT.” Ross shares a video on vision, featuring an eye-track comparison between F1 driver Kevin Magnussen and a gamer-in-training.

Ingrid Steffensen helps you get the most out of your HPDE experience in “How to Train Your Instructor.” This week’s Speed Secret is ~ You have to BE before you can DO. ~ Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Marbles” and “Pickup.” Ross recommends Ingrid’s book Fast Girl: Don’t Brake Until You See the Face of God and Other Good Advice from the Racetrack (available through Amazon.com).

Billy Johnson presents Part Two on car control. This week’s Speed Secret is ~ Go ahead, be superstitious. ~ Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Agricultural racing,” “Off,” “Stuffed it,” and “Shunt.” Ross announces that registration is open for the next webinar (with Jeff Braun) “Free Stuff to Make You & Your Car Faster.”

Professional Chip Ganassi Racing driver Billy Johnson joins the Speed Secrets Weekly contributors with his first installment of two articles on car control. This week’s Speed Secret is ~ Balance loading the car on corner entry with a disciplined turn-in. ~ Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Crabbing” and “Pinching.” Ross gives you links to his past seven podcasts, including the one with the aforementioned Billy Johnson.

New contributor Cheyenne Young tells his fascinating story of learning driving technique without any track time or cars with high horsepower. This week’s Speed Secret references Hellenistic philosophy in “Use the Stoic’s Approach to Performance Driving.” Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Begin-of-Braking (BoB)” and “End-of-Braking (EoB).”

“The King of Motorsport” Jeff Braun (see SSW#243) pens “Feeling The Tire: The most import thing to setting up your car AND driving faster.” This week’s Speed Secret is ~ Frame Being Comfortable Being Uncomfortable. ~ Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Stand on it” “Pedal it” and “Flat it”; “WOT”; and “Red Mist.” Ross asks readers to share how they keep their driving notes.

Ross follows up on Peter’s two articles with his feature article “Strategy & Tactics Vs. Mindset.” This week’s Speed Secret is ~ Focus on a Harder Application of the Brakes ~ and Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Diamond the Corner” and “Square the Corner.” If you’re going to the Runoffs, either at COTA or Sonoma, Ross offers links to the upcoming “Art and Science of Racing in the Rain” webinar or your choice of Virtual Track Walks.

Peter Krause follows up on his article from the previous week with “More Gas, Less Brake?” and how data to help you understand where you can go faster in the braking zones. Ross continues the theme Speed Secret with “Think in terms of brake zones, as opposed to brake points.” Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Corner References,” “Turn-in,” “Apex,” and “Exit or Track-out Point.” Ross shares a video of his first two laps in the rain at COTA, in advance of the next webinar “The Art and Science of Racing in the Rain.”

Celebrated coach and Virtual Track Walk colleague Peter Krause tells you how to use data to your advantage in “Using Squiggly Lines to Make You a Better Driver.” Ross explains in this week’s Speed Secret how to use your left foot to sense what your car is doing (the third leg of the three-legged stool). Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Slip Angle” and “Contact Patch.” Ross announces his next webinar “The Art and Science of Racing in the Rain.”

Blogger Vivek Goel (Beyond Seat Time) asks “Are You Improving as Much as You Want To?” then gives you some advice about how to go about improving. Ross says it’s crucial to understand the difference between education and training. Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Back-siding a cone” and “Course Walk.” Ross waxes philosophical about the lack of mind-training tools in motorsport, while he develops the next level of the “unfair advantage” for drivers.

New contributor and driving instructor Steve Snavely has worked with both police officers and track drivers and sees parallels in his article “The Tunnel of the Red Mist.” Ross says get out of your comfort zone to improve. Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Slip Angle” and “Contact Patch.” And if you’ve ever wanted to drive a race car in Australia, now’s your chance.

Professor of exercise physiology Dr. Ed Potkanowicz gives you the ultimate rundown on heat, the warning signs of overheating in the car, and strategies to manage it in “If You Can’t Stand the Heat…”. Ross discusses tuning yourself to your tires’ slip angle. Speed Secrets Glossary defines “Flat it” and “Take a set.” A reminder that the “Self-Coaching for Drivers” webinar is fast approaching.