The Challenge of Doing Your Personal Best

It's what makes us come back to the track...

Driving and racing on track is a “smart person’s game”

This sport is populated by enthusiasts with a wide variety of experience, perspective and motivation. In other words, lots of smart people. Many are very successful in their professional lives and personal pursuits. Naturally, they believe this demonstrated competence can and will automatically transfer over to the art and science of high performance driving and racing.

Most are disappointed. It’s not as easy as it looks on the screen!

I’ve heard countless drivers lament how difficult it is to build a solid foundation, to progress from one skill level to the next or come close to their desired level of competency, let alone achieve it. For a lot of folks, this challenge can become an obsession. For a few, it can border being unhealthy. But for most, it can be one of the most satisfying passions and pursuits of their lives.

When Skip Barber Racing School instructor Bruce MacInnes said that a studious and practiced driver with aptitude could usually prevail over a less learned driver with more “natural talent,” I was skeptical. In the three and a half decades since then, Bruce’s premise has proven to be true many times. I’ve seen it.

A student of the sport, practicing purposefully and with the goal of making every decision and control input in the car and on the track the BEST they CAN will often exceed their expectations, as well as their own perceived performance limits. That’s how we grow as drivers, and as members of this great community.

Whether you’re an intermediate or advanced solo high performance education driver, an instructor, a club racer or an entry level pro, the goal is always the same.

The best execution of fundamental skills.

Resetting your personal best.

Constant or stepped (the “ah-HA” moment) improvement.

In some small way, I hope to help you do that by sharing nearly four decades of accumulated experience, knowledge and wisdom. Plus, I’ll share with you some of the most valuable concepts and ideas I’ve learned from conversations with many other valued colleagues, clients and friends. I continue to learn, all the time.

There is no car that cannot be driven quicker

Driving on track can be a solitary experience with no easy way to benchmark performance. While we all appreciate the value of good friends in the paddock, attending regular events with groups and clubs we enjoy, once you’re strapped in, it’s all on you.

Even in some well-regulated series, there is usually enough of a difference in car performance potential and experience/skill of the driver that there is no good way to weigh where your personal performance ranks in the general scheme of things.

For those with less experience, comparing objective performance information (data) with another driver with a similar car/tire combination, or putting a pro driver in the driver’s seat to do a reference lap can showcase the most obvious path forward.

But, it’s one thing to know what to do and another to DO it!

Translational Driver Performance Analysis

I believe in the distillation of objective information to a few targeted goals to help drivers go quicker, without adding risk. I’ve been very successful doing this, for a long time.

I believe that most improvement comes from optimizing the fore/aft, acceleration/braking axis AFTER a detailed study of the track, learning and committing to subconscious memory WHERE you’re going next, and WHAT you’re going to do when you GET there.

I believe in the best execution of fundamental skills by the driver. Making every decision, every driver control input the best it can be. The rest will take care of itself.

I believe there is no magic to doing this well, but it’s NOT easy.

I look forward to sharing trends, tips, foundational information and helping readers use all the tools at their disposal to effectively self-coach themselves to go faster, with less risk.

What to expect from The Intelligent Driver

I plan on populating this site and sending subscribers informative, entertaining emails twice a month, which all free subscribers will receive. I’ll also highlight other writers and thinkers that I think provide important information and knowledge.

As a professional, I’ll be turning on paid subscriptions soon. This will unlock access to at least two more levels of specific information, written, illustrations, photos and videos covering all things driving/club/historic racing and instruction in the most practical sense. We’ll have a chance for more one on one time.

Most of all, together we’re going to have fun talking about a sport we all love. Please subscribe now and tell your friends!

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