Our Team

GHIT 0121: GingerMan HPDE with NASA Great Lakes – Our Goals Going In

Jennifer, Vicki, and Bill are going to be attending the NASA Great Lakes HPDE at GingerMan, a new track for our team. This is a short episode where we cover our preparation for the HPDE and our goals and areas of focus going into the HPDE event. In addition, we cover coasting on a race track (Hint: Don’t) and how to avoid it in this episode’s Dominating with Dawson segment.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast

and team members in the GHiT

Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0121: GingerMan HPDE with NASA Great Lakes – Our Goals Going In

GHIT 0114: Time Travel – Our First team race at NJMP

We used our time machine to before we had a podcast and have a post-race review of the first every Garage Heroes In Training team racing event at NJMP. We had a blast! It was so easy that we doubled our team size and started racing two cars at each race. All you need to do is prep the car, race the car, and then drive home. Why was everyone saying this was hard? We didn’t understand. Yet.

On “Dominating with Dawson” we go over dive bombing, what it is, what it means, and how to avoid it, both from the passing and being passed perspective.

We thought we would have a post-race episode; it has been so very, very long. We hope you enjoy the episode!

Part 2 with our Thompson race will follow shortly. Hint: It did not go nearly as smoothly.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan
Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT Immature Endurance Racing Team

Highlights from the episode include:

1) How our team came to be and how our first 2 (well really three, oops) cars started

2) Alan fidgets in the background. Must have been shiny. He later goes for a walk in the bird sanctuary?

3) Liam and Cassian’s teenage humility, mechanical talent, and dominant driving skills coming into the their first race. The only question was who would get the fastest time of the weekend and who would finish second. The rest of the field was inconsequential relative to their skills. Lol.

4) Chris bashes Liam and Cassian’s domination dreams for the weekend at the Friday practice.

5) The rules do not preclude you from looking at a track map, nor looking at racing laps on the track before you go there.

6) We proved yet again the age old adage that it is better to look good than to be good and we looked Marvelous! Just ask Billy Crystal.

7) Our plan for 30-45 minute stints was tremendous (to start our weekend) but we probably should have extended them after the first set for everyone. It is still a great idea to start short on your first stint the first time out on track.

8) A podcast first, Vicki said track out correctly for the first time ever. Training is working!!!!!

9) We talk about our first ever track walk and the value of it.

10) All that we learned along the way.

11) “We found our idiots!”

12) What is a post-race weekend hangover and how to get tiger stripes on your left arm.

13) I think Alan started wither sorting nuts and bolts or washing dishes. Still tbd.

14) We learned so much during our first race. We were such newbies.

15) All newbies can go racing too!

16) A very good discussion of driver stints and optimizing for each driver and their experience level and preferences.

17) Alan proclaims his love (and slight stalker tendencies) towards watching the in car video from Futility Motorsports. Alan would appreciate a hand signal at the next race to say hi, if you could.

18) We go over our bad initial training of Jen with driving an manual transmission.

GHIT 0114: Time Travel – Our First team race at NJMP

GHIT 0104: Liam Fischer’s Hot Ones Style Tribute Interview

On this episode we finally talked Liam into coming on the podcast by making it in the style of one of his favorite shows on YouTube, Hot Ones. Since Bill has almost zero tolerance for spicy food, Vicki tagged in to assist with the interview and we also took advantage of the opportunity and covered several aspects of teenage driving, driver training, and racing. If you prefer, there is a live video recording on our YouTube channel, creatively named Garage Heroes In Training.

YouTube Link

B.R.A.K.E.S. website: https://putonthebrakes.org/

Our Dominating with Dawson segment for this episode add Heel-toe Downshifting to our jargon repertoire.

We hope you enjoy it. The episode is still going for Liam and Vicki, lol.

Also, we would like to the thank the team over at Hot Ones for their great YouTube episodes and wish them the best of luck. They can be found on their channel at “First We Feast” or by searching for “Hot Ones” on YouTube.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jennifer, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

Highlights from this episode include:

1) Liam’s history of learning how to drive and eventually race cars, he is still relatively young at 19 years old.
2) Some thoughts and suggestions on training a young driver in general and how it has been helped by racing and race training events
3) We go into a fair bit of detail related to one of the best training events Liam has gone to with the B.R.A.K.E.S. program.
4) Vicki breaks out into her “it’s like trying to nail jello to a wall” when talking about racing with teens on our team.
5) Angry Goat Peppers “Hippy Dippy Green” sauce was very well received. Two Thumbs Up.
6) Why Bill gets father of the year a few years back
7) We try to provide help and suggestions to new racers or soon to be racers throughout the episode. Please remember to ask before hopping into the hot tub.
8) Liam tries to compare the 2017 Toyota 86 to a stock ND2 Miata and a Stage 2 Flyin’ Miata turbo NB Miata, however the wings inhibited some of his brain processing capability and the virtues of learning to drive and daily driving a +/- 200 HP car.
9) Vicki tries to come up with three good things about her first car. And fails. 3 bad things were way easier.
10) You start to see the affect of the hot sauces about 25-30 minutes into the episode
11) Liam takes a walk about at 40 minutes in and can barely think to answer from then on.
12) What car or cars got away for each of us.
13) Liam reveals his love for the SpiderStang and Capri
14) Da Bomb hot sauce lives up to it’s reputation
15) “I feel like I met the devil” and “Why is it the tongue”
16) Liam can’t speak and tries to use sign language, not the best for an audio podcast
17) Liam wants a shot at the Datsun Z and Vicki surprises Bill with saying she wants to drive Black Betty
18) The hot sauces apparently make Liam delirious when he comes up with his dream car to build into a race car.
19) Vicki and Liam’s favorite and least favorite tracks so far. NJMP makes both lists for Vicki.
20) Liam calls Brad out for a round 2. Silly boy.
21) Liam’s brain left the building, several times during this episode
22) Mental sort of gets a shout out, not really, but it was funny
23) An endorphin infused discussion on endurance race craft approaches and ways to compete successfully, especially with longer stints.
24) We end with Bill attempting to herd the two cats for a final question and then a delirious ranking of the sauces.

GHIT 0104: Liam Fischer’s Hot Ones Style Tribute Interview

GHIT 0089: Top 10 List of Things We Learned From Racing

Our First Two Years In Racing

Alan in Repair Mode — **Two Years and Still In Training**

For this shorter episode of our podcast we thought it would be helpful and fun to go over our individual lists of the top ten things we have learned in our first two years of low budget endurance racing. We also had a few items added in from Kate as well as several thoughts from our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

In addition to our top ten list, highlights include:

1) If its worth doing, it worth overdoing, again.
2) Bill’s math side is affecting his line and apex visualization and target, still
3) Jen needs to work on her subtlety
4) Vicki is confused with what racing means, but refers to it assuming she is addressing new drivers
5) We review our top choices for low cost endurance tires and brakes at this point
6) Square tires are not desirable
7) Vicki and Bill discuss tire pressure and its potential effects on traction and grip and car handling
8) Bill pretends to be Richard Dawson
9) Black flags are not atta boys or girls
10) Jen learns about blips and has homework for the morning
11) Jen’s cat makes an appearance by rubbing on the microphone and says hi
12) Alan apparently makes an appearance via Jen
13) We talk about the video Mental said not to talk about
14) Another discussion on the difference between front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars
15) Jim makes another drop in appearance
16) Matt F, Randy B, Roger M, Jason H, and James M were kind enough to add a few items to our lists
17) Purple mist with sparkly pop rocks

It seems like the only things we learned were from the Three Pedal Mafia. Hopefully, you can find a team willing to help mentor you early in your racing team’s growth to assist you.

Best regards,
Bill, Vicki, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0089: Top 10 List of Things We Learned From Racing

GHIT 0083: Our 2019 Review and 2020 Goals Episode

On this episode, Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, Kate and Bill went over our 2019 season and our 2020 goals. Are we on the same page? Do we even belong in the same book? Listen in and find out. Some of it was news to us, lol.

Areas covered included:

2019 Review:

1) How did our Team’s 2019 go in your opinion, Highlight and Low-light
2) How did your personal season go? Highlight and Low-light
3) Things you want to keep the same/similar and Things we need to change or improve
4) Biggest team weakness or missing need
5) Best Race or HPDE and Worst Race or HPDE
6) Our traditional Good, Bad, and the Ugly

2020 Goals:

1) What race goals do you have For you, For the team, For cars
2) Personal, Non-driving/racing goals
3) What driving/HPDE goals do you have, Any tracks or races interested in for 2020
4) Any additions to our team in terms of People, Tools, Training, Paddock, Cars,
5) Roles/Responsibilities, and Team talents missing/needed
6) What would define a successful year? For you and for our team
7) What would you say to the other members of our team

We try to do this every year and would recommend it to you and your team.

Bill’s inner planner sometimes takes over.

Best regards,

Bill, Vicki, Jen, Kate, and Alan

Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training podcast
and team members in the GHiT
Immature Endurance Racing Team

GHIT 0083: Our 2019 Review and 2020 Goals Episode