Conversations around diversity and inclusion are hard, but necessary. I’ve been trying to get more engaged in these social conversations, and trying to take the conversation one step at a time via a few different platforms.
Of course, I’ve been wanting to having these conversation with a lens of diversity in motorsport, so that’s what this podcast episode is trying to start.
I wanted to take some time to talk about the importance of how the words we use matter, as I start along this journey.
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.
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
Continue reading
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.
So, I just realized today that it’s been almost three years since I’ve written a post for this blog. Three years.
I remember, when I used to post here three to four times a day. Although it’s not like I haven’t been busy. A lot has changed, largely for the better.
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. Continue reading
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about an experience I had earlier this year, that albeit frustrating, provided some key takeaways that I wanted to share.
I had volunteered to help a grassroots race team get off the ground earlier in the year. It was an interesting experience, because I was working with someone new to me who had asked for my help. It was different from working on a project with my friends. (Honestly, it was more like working with a client from my day-job, as an consultant.) I was only around for about two months. It didn’t really work out, just really due to an improper character fit with the people involved.
I’ve cropped this photo to remove the ‘team owner’s’ name/face from the original photo, but we definitely had the pace for a victory here, if the exhaust had not failed. (We didn’t know that we had to safety wire them, as it was my second 206 race ever!)
After a few races: Continue reading
As follower of my blog know, I love racing. I get inspired by many so many elements of motorsport. However, one of my hidden secrets is my love of racing animes and mangas.
There something about how them that make me just want to get into my kart and hit the track. So, since I was in the middle of binge watching through some right now, I wanted to share three of my favorite anime that inspire me to go racing. So let’s get started with a classic… Continue reading
…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.
*Not going to lie. I’m not sure how long this post will stay up. But, it is a matter of ‘my site, my rules’, so here we go.*
There aren’t many black people at the racetrack.
Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a matter of safety or acceptance. Some of people I’ve met while racing have been some of the nicest, and most understanding people I know. I’m just saying when I go to the racetrack, there aren’t very many black people there.
I’m not angry about it. It’s just something I want to see change.
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