That one day I did a podcast with Ross Bentley – Speed Secrets Weekly Podcast on karting

(I really don’t have a ton to say here, as I’ve just been gathering up podcasts that I’ve been doing and posting them on the blog for fun.)

I’m fortunate enough to have been able to have met, author, driver and coach Ross Bentley at a indoor kart track almost 10 years ago now.

He invited me and colleague on his podcast, as a way to introduce grassroots car racers to the sport, so they knew about the additional seat time that they could be getting.

I had a ton of fun, and since then Ross has let me submit a few articles to his weekly newsletter.

“Send It” NKA Podcast – Christian, Race and I talk about TAG and stuff. #keepkartingfun

Just around the time that COVID quarantine and esports races really picked up, I did a podcast with Christian, and Race Liberante with National Karting Alliance to talk about local and regional kart racing. (Probably because we were all missing our karts)

It was good episode (at least I thought so) and conversation, so I wanted to get this onto the blog.

We also talk about how karting could be using technology and social media more in 2021, to help promote and grow the sport.

Karting Data: Getting ready for Tri-Cities Shootout

Writer’s Note: So, before I get started, these posts are going to be a bit of stream on consciousness as I write down my thoughts. I might come back and edit these later, or I might make other posts (shrugs).

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This weekend, we have the Tri-Cities Shootout, which is a night race that is held in the Richland area. It’s one of my favorite tracks to race on, but outside of being on the podium in a freak rain race there, I haven’t had the best success at this track.

So this morning, I decided to pull up some of my data from some reason practices, and races there and see if there were any areas where I could improve.

Spoilers: There are a ton. (Sigh.)

Step 1: See where there is noise

So, why am I blogging about my karting data?

So, why did I decide to blog about my data?

The decision came after reflecting back over my race season this year. I finished 6th out of 34 in our local region series, the In City Prints Cup.

Why karting will help your car racing

It’s that time of the year, where most of my autocross and road racing friends are packing up their cars for the fall and winter.  During the ‘off season’, they would love to be able to get more practice time in, but when you’re running a club racer like a Spec Miata or a Spec Racer Ford, getting practice time is an incredibly expensive premium.

Very few people have the resources to simply rent a full-size track, afford transportation and manage the regular consumable costs in order to practice sufficiently between big races or during the winter months.

So I’ve been working on some karting data videos…

…trying to look like I know what I’m doing. 😛

So I’m excited for a new opportunity that I’ve been working on the last few weeks with AIM Sport. We’ve been developing some data analysis videos for using the Mychron5 and Race Studio 2. For those who aren’t aware, the Mychron/Race Studio combination is the system that a majority of competition karters use for data-logging and acquisition. However, the concept of data acquisition is a daunting concept for most people to take on.

Help the newbies. Karting needs it. #keepkartingfun

Helping some new drivers and people who want to learn to tune by using the LO206. Simple and easy to get them started.

We all know what it’s like to be new when we started karting. It can be a bit overwhelming. You don’t know anyone, you don’t know anything, and generally you’re not that fast. It’s a very critical time when deciding whether you want to keep doing it or not.

When I got started, I was fortunate enough to have some friends who encouraged me to go out to do some track days with them, until I got up to speed. If that hadn’t happened, it would have been likely that I would have quit to do something else.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have that luxury, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Everyone can do their part to help new people get into the sport of karting, by just lending a few minutes of their time to provide some helpful tips. It’s not only valuable, but immensely satisfying to create that support structure. 

Moving things in the right direction #keepkartingfun #lo206 #Theartofkart

In life, things never go as you plan, but sometimes they end up better.

Originally, I had planned to go to the third and fourth round of the Gold Cup, but other events stepped in. However, an opportunity came up for a set of test days to help setup Ched Follis’ 206.

Between spending time at both PGP Motorsports Park and Sumas International Motorsport Academy, it was an opportunity to get some more seat time with the 206 and try some new setup changes with the four-stroke at two different tracks with Ched and Leo.

I’ve been enlightened to the 206 #keepkartingfun

I’m admitting right now. I’ve been enlightened to the 206.

I say enlightened, because although I’ve known about the engine package for a while now, yesterday was my first race in one. I had no idea what fun I’ve been missing out on!

Making karting fun again – Turning track days into test days. #theartofkart

 

So in my last post, I admitted how having to worry about my engine exploding was making karting less fun, so while I’m working on that, I’ve been focusing on also how to improve my approach to my driving.

I’ll admit, though no surprise to anyone, that I am not the fastest driver in the world. Therefore, I always want to work to improve my driving skills, and my understanding of how to setup my kart. After a few years of racing, I’ve gotten to a point where “just getting seat time” isn’t becoming as beneficial. I need a more focused approach in how I practice and test, so I can work on developing specific skills with my racing, setup and racecraft.