Thinking back on my iRacing oval career, it sometimes feels like an out-of-body experience. Or perhaps more aptly, that some other, more talented oval driver took over my body whenever it came time to turn left. That’s the best explanation I can fathom for how a sim racer who, despite growing up on the Papyrus Read more about Ten Best Drives, Part 4: Doing Left Turns Right[…]
If you ever listen to team communications during a race, you’re likely to hear one thing no matter which driver you tune to: “this car is driving awful!” Few things on the track draw more ire from drivers than a bad-handling car, and rightfully so. A successful setup can help make the most of out Read more about Driving Styles, Part 3: Setup for Success[…]
With all due respect to the many safety improvements that have been made, the biggest change to race cars over the past 50 years is surely the addition of wings, spoilers, splitters, and other devices that harness downforce and help the cars go through corners faster. By the 1960s, as racing tires became capable of Read more about Driving Styles, Part 2: The Lowdown on Downforce[…]
For a competitor, there might not be a more anticipated opportunity than to fight for a championship. It’s the ultimate test of your skills against the very best that your opponents have to offer, and the reward is the greatest honor you can receive for your performance. Of course, these championship fights are often the Read more about Championship Butterflies[…]
I haven’t tallied it up, and frankly, I don’t need to. I already know that in the past Power Series season, I finished more races with crashed cars than in the rest of my three full-time seasons combined. It was the disappointing result of bad luck that seemed to recur like Groundhog Day at 190 Read more about Bad Juju[…]
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 Read more about How to Dump a Slump[…]
Last night’s Power Series season nine All-Star Race at Gateway Motorsports Park had the sort of excitement and drama that would make NASCAR jealous. Of course, NASCAR’s all-star events haven’t always been duds like we’ve seen recently. Years ago, many of those races were classics, and I was there to witness several of them first-hand. Read more about Calculated Risks on All-Star Night[…]
During my Power Series season nine campaign, along with racing for fun and for wins, I was racing to support a good cause. I was inspired by a series-wide fundraiser in season eight that was organized by league competitor and top-notch replica car painter Kyle Guerry. In 2014, Kyle pledged one dollar to the Victory Junction Read more about Racing for a Cause[…]
After winning the Power Series’ season eight championship on a last-lap pass and a tiebreaker in points, I knew entering season nine that it would take a mighty effort to top that memorable performance. From the first qualifying session of the season, I realized just how tough that task would be. At the Auto Club Read more about Another Season in the Books[…]
Ever since my feet could reach the pedals, I have been sim racing. Actually, in the early years, those pedals were propped up by a cardboard box, because seven-year-old me wasn’t about to let a little vertical challenge stop me from playing those games like my dad did. I wasn’t very good at first, and Read more about My Sim Racing Story[…]