How to Dump a Slump

Every driver goes through ups and downs during a racing season, but occasionally, the down times can feel inescapable.  After going through such a period in the past month, I had to figure out how to reverse my fortunes and dump the slump.

It started in the Power Series race at Kentucky.  I struggled to come to grips with the setup and driving style it required, and early in the race, I got loose and hit the wall.

The following week at Indianapolis, I qualified mid-pack and struggled to gain spots early in the race.  During the first round of pit stops, a car was sitting sideways in the middle of pit road, and I couldn’t avoid it.  That hit gave me irreparable damage, and I puttered home in 14th place.

The next Sunday night at Pocono, I finally qualified better but took damage early when my lane checked up on a restart.  After getting that mostly fixed and recovering to 7th place, I got caught up in a wreck on a restart.  It wasn’t my fault, but it didn’t matter.  My race was over.

The worst result came in a heartbreaking run in iRacing’s 24 Hours of Spa.  Together with my teammate Karl Modig, we decided to try a two-driver effort for the full 24-hour race.  I billed it as a way to test my own endurance, and see how long — and how late — I could last.

Despite a few mistakes in my early stints, Karl kept us in contention and even took the class lead with eight hours remaining.  After his valiant triple stint, I jumped in for a triple of my own around 2 am.

The first two hours were difficult as I worked through traffic trying to preserve the lead while staying safe.  Halfway through my third stint, the second-place car — and our only real challenger for the win — wrecked out.  It was a huge relief knowing we only needed to have a clean race for the final four-and-a-half hours.

But three laps later, disaster struck.  A faster GT car looking to unlap himself was catching me going into the fastest corner on the track, Blanchimont.  As I contemplated where to let him pass, I momentarily lost focus and carried a bit too much speed into the high-speed kink.  The car spun and smashed into the wall.  A single mistake that happened in less than a second cost us a 24-hour-race win.

In this particularly disappointing four-race stretch, I went from a championship contender to an also-ran at best and a road hazard at worst.  And it was capped off by losing a race not only for myself, but also for my teammate.

In the weeks since then, I managed to recover and go from wrecking to winning once again.    Here are three steps I used to dump my sim racing slump.

Move On from Your Mistakes

I used to be the worst about dwelling on my mistakes, especially in racing.  One weekend before going on vacation, I lost a Spec Racer Ford race at Watkins Glen because of a late spin, and I agonized over that moment all week at the beach.

A few years ago, I resolved to stop second-guessing myself and living in the past.  After the four recent wrecks, those moments replayed in my mind for a bit — that’s only natural — but I didn’t continuously question “what if I had been on the inside at Pocono?” or “what if I let the other car pass sooner at Spa?”.  After all, you can’t change the past no matter how many times you re-live it.

Instead, I tried to learn from the mistakes, whether it was pushing too hard at Kentucky or losing focus at Spa.  The other two wrecks were arguably cases of bad racing luck: just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  And no reminiscing, no matter how thorough, can change that.

Get Back to Basics

Back in the spring, I wrote about a great race I had in the Volkswagen Jetta at Monza.  After that race and a few other good ones in the Jetta, I decided to run that car for a full season this summer.

Although it’s a slower car, it often offers closer and more competitive racing than in most high-level GT cars.  And running a car like that can be a great way to bone up on basic racing skills like braking, hitting apexes, attacking, and defending.

The one bright spot during my slump came in the Jetta.  In a 40-minute race at Suzuka, I managed to take an early lead over the talented drivers behind and score the victory.  It ended up being the highest strength-of-field for that class all week, so my 155 championship points led all drivers.

Although such success isn’t always a guarantee, stepping back down to a lower-level series can be a great way to feel competitive amid an otherwise frustrating slump.

Run What’s Fun

When your confidence is low, racing can sometimes feel like a chore.  To avoid burnout and regain interest in racing, the best solution can be to take a virtual vacation and find a car, track, or both that you enjoy driving.

For me, there’s no better combination than stock cars on a road course.  And in that sense, I got lucky that the NASCAR schedule — and several NASCAR-based leagues — hit the road in mid-August.

To help cure what ailed me, I signed up for the ITSR B-Car Series, which races Xfinity-spec cars every Thursday night.  My debut appearance was at Watkins Glen, and I took the win over a long-time competitor and former championship rival.

The next Sunday night, the Power Series went to Watkins Glen, where I had won before and badly wanted to win again.  Although several strong challengers showed up, I was able to out-qualify and out-race them all to score the victory.

And the next Thursday, the B-Car Series went to Mid-Ohio.  Historically, it hasn’t been my favorite road course, but I again found the speed and consistency to take the pole and the win.

The final test of my recovery came in my return to the McLaren for the first time since the Spa crash.  Karl and I again teamed up to run the three-hour Blancpain Endurance Series race at Monza, and while he would start and finish the race, my tasks during the middle stint were to stay competitive, save fuel, and bring the car back in one piece.

Although several spins around me nearly knocked me out, I stayed focused and completed my tasks, ultimately handing the car back to Karl in sixth place — a position we held to the finish.  It was an eight-position improvement from our starting spot, and a checkered flag I waited through a month-long slump to see.