It has been some time since the last update here, I will work on updating the news more often from here on out. It has been a fantastic year of racing and coaching with the future looking to be more of the same. Some Highlights so far have been coaching Ron Farmer in his #474 ST2 corvette for the year where he racked up countless wins, poles, track records and put a cherry on top by winning the NASA National Championships in ST2. There were many other great happenings such as Greg W. starting his first race in his new Spec Boxster where he had a great showing at HPR in CO. Another great Spec Boxster highlight was the year long performance of Micheal H. running up front all year and grabbing his first race win as well. In historic racing action Alex W. went on to grab his first win and dominate his class at multiple events in his 75′ Porsche RSR. Alex’s good friend Darren C. went on to take many top 5 finishes as well as a top 5 in points in Ferrari Challenge racing his F430C. Corey H. had an impressive showing at every track he showed up to in PCA Group G competition taking home top honors across the country in his RS America. Rob C. found the go button in his x51 powered 996 racecar in NASA and PCA competition across the country and is still out there chasing checkered flags as his season is still going strong. Although I am highlighting most of the racers I have been involved with this year, I must give a nod to all those who chose to have me as their coach for driver development as well. It is a joy and pleasure to assist those looking to improve their skills at the track and I really have a great time being part of their progression. A few folks have taken on iRacing and I have delivered some custom fabricated setups costing them many midnight hours of sleep in the process. If you have not yet experienced iRacing I highly recommend it. Drivers of every level can learn a few bits by practicing on a sim. As for my own seat time, I have had a great time with Steve H. and his #45 Chumpcar/24hr Lemons Integra this year. We have a great group of drivers on and off the track experience is a blast. As a team we were able to win the only 24hr race held at Texas Motor Speedway and I still can’t believe the car did not break after breaking during tech inspection before the race. I was also able to race with the Hill’s in their 360 Ferrari Challenge Car during the NASA 8hr race at TWS and with Scotty P. in his Porsche 996 Cup in the same race. The Ferrari finished 2nd and the Porsche DNF’d due to a right rear wheel bearing failure. Thanks for the seat guys, it was a lot of fun! Other than some karting, riding bikes and a 1st time barefoot skiing this about sums up the past year. Look for shorter updates coming soon and thanks for taking the time to read this one, J.
Bill is another driver that proves motorcycle riders turned auto races are a quick study. He is very fast for the amount of time it has been since he started driving at the track. Even so he is always looking for a little more and with the Hallett race approaching there is no time like the present to do some testing. We were able to find some time and in his first race he was able to be within a second of the fastest drivers and finish on the podium in a class of more than 10 cars. Great job and look out fellow Spec Boxster drivers, J
Scott had just finished a PCA weekend at Road America and wanted the data and video analyzed in preparation for his running of the SCCA National Championships. After going over everything Scott came over and we reviewed all of his outings finding valuable information and forming a strong strategy for the SCCANC. When he returned he was the fastest car in the GT2 practice sessions and missed the last due to a mechanical. Come race time the mechanical resurfaced and Scott was not able to take the green…watch out for the #65 in GT2 next year! Great drive Scott, J
Well, Guy and I have been to the track a few times this year and as you can see from the left front tire he is really starting to use the car to it potential. His lap times have improved by around 5 seconds and best of all he is getting more and more consistent at this pace. I expect good things from Guy next season and have enjoyed every time to the track with him. As always…my pleasure, J
Steve decided to head out to Colorado for the PCA races and wanted some coaching and track side support. We loaded up my truck and trailer and I headed down the road with his nephew Nick from England and Steve and Mark flew out to meet us. We had a great weekend and the track had a fun mix of corners. Steve drove very well and was able to come up to speed quickly. His races were hard fought and it was a lot of fun seeing Steve work hard for his podium positions. Well done, J
It is always a pleasure when Guy and Corey come out for some track time. They are both focused on bettering their driving and I am happy to be their coach. It is great to see Guy getting a handle on his GT3 Cup car and Corey’s G-car is really getting fast. I look forward to their next race as I think they are going to be very happy with their results. Cheers, J
Looking for a driver tune up Greg decided to do 2 days of coaching at ECR. He showed up with an impressive Caymen tuned up by John Gladwill. After doing some right seating and going through the data we were able to find time on the track. We focused on some new stratagies to be able to extract the time and Greg’s did his job as a driver to bring it out. This was an enjoyable 2 days with Greg, once again I am reminded that the finest people I have met have come from the track. J
Dr. K will be heading to Bondurant after this session to get his racing license. He has come long way and is starting to carry a good pace. It is always great to be at the track with Kordy as his desire to race is so strong. It will be great to see his 1st race some day. J
What else should you do for your birthday, but take your freinds and your toys to he track. It is always a special day when someone has supercars and actually takes them to the track and uses them. Once again the Ferrari 599, Bugatti Veyron and Carrera GT got a workout. Brett decided to challenge himself in the GT and put up a very impressive number. Now if he could just find the time to do a little racing things would get really interesting! Cheers, J
An X50, S2000 and Boxster made for a very fun day today. All three drivers were able to improve in areas on the track allowing them to all post personal best lap times. It was busy jumping from car to car and I am very pleased with the results. J
Pat and Tom were ready to go when the track opened and we had a great day of driving. Seems Tom’s brakes didn’t want to work as hard as he did so unfortunately he had to miss the last session. Pat was carrying a ton of speed around the track and was truly setting sail in big bend. It was also great to see the impress left on both drivers after going over the crest into 9 flat out for the first time! Pat will be a car to watch in Group E PCA racing this year. I look forward to next time we all head out to the track. Cheers, J
What can I say…when a GT3 on slicks prepared by John Galdwill shows up you know the day is going to be awesome. Bill is an increadible driver considering he has only been driving at the track for a little over a year. By the end of the day Bill had found some pace and most importantly consistency. Once again it has been proven that when you go from motorcycles to cars the results are usually impressive. If you ever see this Red GT3 coming get out of the way!
Brian has an amazing passion for driving that is evident the minute you speak with him. He is a great driver who is always at the track when time permits and it was a pleasure to spend the day with him. It is not every day you spend a day at the track in a Carrera S with a farmer. Great job today and I look forward to the next time. Cheers, J
Ginger has been driving over the years at most of the events Drivers Edge puts on. She was interested in having someone help her acheive the next level in her driving. We did a bit of skid pad work and began to encourage an earlier throttle application point. She developed a new trust in her car control ability. This coupled with a few tweeks here and there produced a few seconds per lap of improvement. Great job Ginger, J
Tom and I have been working on a day at the track for some time and we finally found one that worked. Tom is a great driver who has been at the track for some time. With Tom we were able to sort out a few new lines and learn to trust his 996 at the limit when most drivers get a little uncomfortable. We were able to find Tom a few seconds today and with the move to slicks I am sure he will be hard to follow in the future. Cheers, J