CategoryMiscellaneous

Driver Cooling and How to Stay Cool in the Racecar

Three 944 Spec racers celebrating on the podium at Circuit of the Americas.

Racing doesn’t just happen on the track; much preparation goes into each event. But if you can’t stay cool in the racecar, no amount of physical or mental prep will salvage your results. Overheating in the racecar can lead to poor performance and results, unnecessary incidents, DNFs...

NOCO NLP30: The Budget, Lightweight Lithium-ion Racecar Battery

NOCO NLP9 lithium-ion battery next to the factory spec lead-acid miata battery.

The old adage goes something like this: You can build your car fast, cheap, and reliable. Now, pick two. This principle seems to hold true with racecars and most things in life. But occasionally, a product comes along that seems to laugh in the face of this principle. I actually got excited when I...

Failure Points: NA Miata Front Wheel Bearing

Crushed ball bearings from the NA Miata racecar wheel bearing.

The harsh environment of the racetrack pushes a car right to its limit and beyond. As such, racecar failures are bound to happen in many different ways. Failure Points is a new series that dissects these moments and what to do when things go wrong. This time it is the front wheel bearing of the...

Formula DRIFT at Road Atlanta: What is this Doing Here?

The paddock at Formula DRIFT Atlanta showing its scope.

An actual drifting event on Driftopia. Shocking I know. For a little background, I started this site based on a love for drifting and motorsport just as drifting started to emerge in the United States. Building several s13’s to compete in local competitions when I was still in college. But...

Running a Rear View Camera in the Racecar

The minimalist interior that contributes to the NA Miata weight reduction.

One of the things I have enjoyed about my foray into Super Touring racing with NASA is the open rule book. Building a car to a power to weight instead of the strict rules that go along with Spec racing. This has opened up many engineering possibilities and things I would like to try. One of those...

PRI 2023 Part 2: Car Showcase

PRI inverts the racing pyramid so to speak. With drag racing being so popular in the US, the show definitely caters to those that prefer things in straight lines. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something for everyone at PRI. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of fully...

PRI 2023 Part 1: Product Showcase (Winners and Losers)

The Performance Racing Industry show held at the Indiana Convention Center did not disappoint. I walked the entire show for 2 days, stopping at every vendor along the way, looking for cool products and inspiration. Unsurprisingly, I found many. Although winners and losers may sound harsh, this is a...

PRI 2023 Preview

If you are looking for a dry and sort of informative intro to the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show, you have come to the right place. I am attending the show with a group of racers and I realize that a lot of you may not be familiar with PRI. Hence the preview.

Pressing Pause on the Race Season!

Fracture of my right big toe in several places.

Apparently, I am not a ballerina. This profound realization came to me as I crawled across the living room floor while dealing with a very sharp and clarifying pain. Moments before, I was walking down my stairs, half asleep on my way to bed, and by some butterfly effect of miss position, I...

The Obituary of Memphis International Raceway

Leman start at Memphis International Raceway for the 944 Spec field.

I wasn’t quite sure what to say at the time. Memphis International Raceway is where I learned to race and was a fixture, on and off, throughout my childhood. It was a polarizing track. Home mostly to drag racers, but a few of us were proud to call the road course home.

2022 Wrap up: Part 1?

Spec E30 doing what Spec E30's do.

This is becoming a theme for me and one I am not particularly happy about. The last two years have been full of change coupled with excessive work. I left a job and business that I worked for nearly 20 years, looking to move into a career around my passion. And before I could execute any such plan...

Will Club Racing Survive 2022?

Image of the magellan tent on top of my aluma tilt trailer.

I see a concerning thread on social media as we approach the full-blown race season. Namely, more and more club racers are talking about race budgets falling apart due to insane gas prices and unchecked inflation. Which got me thinking, what can a racer do to mitigate these extra costs?

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