Monday, April 18, 2011

List of links for OneTrackMind drivers & seminar folks

Thanks to everyone for making the inaugural OneTrackMind driving seminar a success. 

Please correct a typo in the FAQ handout (a dot instead of a dash)
The OneTrackMind blog address should be:
While things are fresh in your mind, please send me an email and give me your candid thoughts about this event. 
OneTrackMind.brad@gmail.com

For future seminars in Kalamazoo, is there another track driving topic you’d like to hear more about?  Tuning your car for track conditions? Moving from the intermediate to the advanced group? Further discussion of the line at GingerMan Raceway or another local track?  What’s your suggestion?
I’d especially like to thank those who volunteered to serve on our panel. 
Our first speaker, Rob Schermerhorn, is the owner of Hooked on Driving/Midwest (Like them on Facebook) has announced several new events on their driving school schedule, including dates at GingerMan Raceway. Check the website and the Facebook page for details. 
It’s not too late to sign up for the Monday May 2 event at Autobahn, which follows the Windy City BMW driving school at the track.
Here are some links for Hooked on Driving:
Facebook page:
Rob Schermerhorn’s email:
Autobahn event info:
Hooked on Driving instructional videos:
Rob’s lap of GingerMan Raceway with new Turn 10 extension:
Thanks also to Claudio Kaempf, a Porsche Club of America racer who owns and operates Foreign Car Services at 1104 Portage Street (at Lake) in Kalamazoo. Many
of his customers are regular track drivers. Claudio and his staff are well prepared to get
your car ready for the track driving season.
His shop’s website:
A Kalamazoo Gazette video about Claudio the racer by Bradley S. Pines at GingerMan:
A Kalamazoo Gazette story about Claudio Kaempf by Bradley S. Pines:
A Kalamazoo Gazette slide show of Claudio Kaempf by B.S. Pines:
Eve Dolenski is the treasurer of the BMW Car Club of America’s Michiana chapter, a sponsor of the event.
The chapter website is:
The chapter’s Facebook page is here:
The club runs an autocross series at the Tire Rack in South Bend. 


To sign up many other cool car events go here:
Michael Betz is a longtime member and the webmaster of the Porsche Club of America’s West Michigan Region.
The region’s website is here:
Our local racetrack, GingerMan Raceway, hosts many driving schools and spectator events on its newly expanded 2.2 mile road course just east of South Haven on Phoenix Road. 
The track’s website includes a varied schedule:
GingerMan Raceway’s Facebook page (Like this too and read Brad’s story about Juan Marchand on this page):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gingerman-Raceway/134580229919594
CGI Driving School puts on events on several Monday's at GingerMan Raceway:
Your event organizer and moderator was Brad Pines
Contact Brad:
The OneTrackMind blog (in its infancy - we’ll alert you to updates)
Homework:
Here are two books and a video that I ask many of my students to try:
"Speed Secrets" by Ross Bentley (first book - red cover)
"Going Faster” DVD:
"Going Faster" by Carl Lopez book:
Some more driving event links:
Cool track maps for your car windows:
National Auto Sports Association (NASA) Midwest region puts on HPDE events as part of
their racing weekends. Note GingerMan on their schedule:
Grattan Raceway in Belding:
Autobahn Country Club near Joliet, IL:
Waterford Hills Road Racing in the Detroit metro area:
Lane Automotive, just south of I-94 in Watervliet, has lots of Bell, Simpson and other helmets, other safety gear:
My favorite hard core sports car magazine Grassroots Motorsports. Their advertisers sell helmets and everything you’ll need. Pick up a copy and look at their website:
OG Racing driver supplies:
Safe Racer:
G-Force racing helmets, safety gear:
Pyrotect racing helmets, safety gear:
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Thursday, April 14, 2011

Driving School and HPDE FAQs

What is a Driving School and what does HPDE stand for?
Driving schools are recreational, non-competitive events held on twisty, and sometimes hilly, road courses. Often, an instructor rides along with the driver during all sessions on the track. HPDE stands for either High Performance Driving Event, or Driver’s Education, which I prefer.
A BMW M3, Porsche 911 and an Audi sedan during a driving school.
What kind of car do I need to drive?
Any safe, well maintained car will do. I’ve had students in economy hatchbacks, rental sedans, but mostly sporty cars. Most tracks don’t allow trucks, SUVs or minivans, however. If you've got a convertible, you'll need rollover protection, like an approved rollbar. Some tracks will allow cars with pop-up bars, like the Porsche Boxter. Check with the organization and the track before sending your registration fee.
Do I need any special equipment?
The only thing you’ll need is a Snell SA2005, or later, helmet, although some organizations do have loaners. I prefer full-face helmets. Buy a copy of Grassroots Motorsports magazine and check their ads for vendors like Discovery Parts www.DiscoveryParts.com Be sure to wear natural fiber long pants (some require long-sleeved shirts) and closed toe shoes.
How fast will I go and is it dangerous?
There are no speed limits. Anytime you drive your car, there is some element of risk. There are rules of the road while on the track to keep everyone safe. Having an experienced instructor with you really helps. In 100+ events, I’ve had no damage to my car or any other I've been riding in.
Will my regular insurance cover me at track events?
Although these are educational events and not competitions, most policies won’t cover you while on a race track. There are several insurance companies who will sell driving school/HPDE event insurance, if you wish. 
Who puts on driving schools like you’re talking about?
Many organizations. Hooked on Driving www.HookedOnDriving.com puts on events at several area racetracks and is part of a national program. The National Auto Sport Association www.nasaproracing.com blends its HPDE program into their racing schedule. Many car clubs, like the BMW Car Club of America www.BMWCCA.org and the Porsche Club of America www.PCA.org and other clubs put on schools. Check your local racetrack websites for events you may attend in your own car.
Brad Pines instructing at a BMW CCA
Driving School at GingerMan Raceway.
Where are these events held?
At twisty and challenging road courses around the nation. I am fortunate to live in Michigan, which has three road courses. GingerMan Raceway is in South Haven, just about seven miles inland from Lake Michigan. A bit northeast of Grand Rapids is Grattan Speedway, in Belding, and Waterford Hills Road Racing is in the Detroit area near the Oakland Airport in Clarkson. Do an internet search for road course, or try www.trackpedia.com to find one near you.
How much does it cost?
It varies, depending on how many days the event runs, where it is (some tracks, like Road America, are very expensive to rent) and other extras, like lunch. Figure about $200-$400 per day. Open track days are less, but offer no in-car or classroom instruction and require track experience.


If you have another question, post it in the comments section, and I'll add the question and answer here.


Can't wait to meet you in the paddock,

brad
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Monday, April 4, 2011

Hello, I'm Brad Pines (an introduction to a track-aholic)

Hello, I’m Brad, and I’m a track-aholic.
(chorus) “Hello, Brad.”
I am addicted to driving sports cars on racetracks, but I’m not headed to rehab anytime soon. I’ve been a regular at the track since the latter part of the 20th century. In 2000 I swapped seats to become a Right Seat Ranger, an in-car instructor at club driving schools on area road courses. I turned pro in 2013, working for Xtreme Xperience and in 2014 became their first Chief Instructor. Still with XX, I'm now a Senior Lead Instructor.
I’m a car guy. I own more driving shoes than dress shoes, teach heel-and-toe downshifting and how to dance through the climbing esses at VIR. 
This blog is intended to be a place for track drivers to pick up a few pointers, express their opinions and help keep me on the right track as an instructor. 
Of course, I should introduce myself. I’m Bradley S. Pines, once prematurely gray, and now always willing to spend time hooking others on my favorite passion - high performance racetrack driving.
Here I am doing by best Stig impression while instructing at a BMW CCA driving school.


In 2014 I accepted the post as Chief Instructor at Xtreme Xperience, the nation's premier racetrack supercar experience. At Xtreme Xperience www.XXSpeed.com I work in a team of professional drivers and instructors in making sure each of our customers is safe and enjoys driving a supercar like a Ferrari 488 GTB on a twisty and challenging racetrack.

 While living in Michigan, "back in the day," I returned to my old stomping grounds, Summit Point Raceway, outside Washington, D.C. to learn from two excellent chief instructors, Bruce Reichel and Miriam Schottland, at driving schools run by Bill Scott Racing. While there, instructor Barry Brown, an SCCA Showroom Stock racer, took me for a ride in my own unmodified Miata. 

My instructors had been very positive during my first day, but riding with Barry, going around corners far quicker that I had, braking far harder, set off a light bulb in my head. “Oh, that’s fast,” I realized. And I was hooked. 

Among the many things that I learned from Bruce was gentle brake release for optimum grip. "Melt off the brakes," is what he said to me and what I repeat to my students today. Miriam taught me to rotate the car through weight transfer. I was able to drive away from my racetrack buddies after she taught me to induce trailing throttle oversteer on Summit Point's tight Jefferson Circuit. 

I owe Bruce, Miriam and Barry a debt of thanks that I try to repay each time I work with a new student. I spent several years attending track driving events before becoming an instructor myself at Virginia International Raceway in March, 2000.

John A. Lacko took this portrait of me instructing at a
driving school at GingerMan Raceway in 2013.
I blame my father for my love of sports cars. No, he’s not a car guy, but when I was six, he bought a 12-year-old MG for my mother to drive.  She quickly became pregnant with my little sister, so he and I would make trips together in the open sports car, often to the new hamburger joint in town, McDonald’s.
Wind swirled through the open roadster as we drove and the road seemed to rush by, inches from my outstretched fingers. The cut-down doors of the low slung MG and the smell of the canvas top made each ride with Dad a very special time.

My mother was the real 'car guy' in the family. She drove so fast on the Naval Air Station where I was born that the base cops, the shore patrol, called my father to ask her to keep it under 100-mph. They couldn't catch her in their jeeps, they said. She drove a Porsche around the Monte Carlo Grand Prix circuit when we lived in France, and she was fast through the Alps behind the wheel of her Volvo 122S Amazon, the BMW 2002 of its day. 

My first car was a 1970 Mercury Cougar, with a 351 Cleveland V8 and a Hurst 4-speed. It was followed by a trio of Datsun Z-cars, the last a 1978 280Z. I've never owned a car with an automatic transmission. (My son's car doesn't count).

 On October 5, 1991, I left Stetson Chapel in Kalamazoo with a new bride on my arm, and new car key in my pocket. Outside the chapel I was surprised to find a new, bright red sports car, a wedding day gift from my wife, Joyce. Never has a groom flown away on a Hawaiian honeymoon with such mixed feelings. A friend sheltered “Mrs. Peel,” my new Miata, in his garage until our return.
Today, I'm often driving a car I bought at the tail end of a reverse midlife crisis. Since I already had a blonde trophy wife and a red convertible, I needed a grown-up car that would seat five and have a real trunk. I’d been driving nothing but two-seaters since college. 

 So, after a wide search, I bought a car club member’s well cared-for 1998 BMW M3 in 2006. I promptly turned to my Grassroots Motorsports magazine library for their project car stories and began upgrading the brakes, tires and suspension. In German, the color is called 'Hellrot,' or bright red, so I'm always sure to obey all traffic laws. 

Yes, I still have the Miata. When people ask how long we've been married, I reply, "About 175,000 miles, so far." As I write this, we're headed for my Miata's "Mrs. Peel's" 30th birthday.
In the many years that I've been in the right seat, instructing my drivers on their first day of a driving school, I remember how I felt in their place. I've ridden in many BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Audis, Mercedes, WRX-STis, Miatas, RX7 & RX8s, EVOs, Corvettes, Vipers, American muscle cars, Honda S2000s, and even economy hatchbacks and sedans at the track. 

 Just as I constantly strive to improve my driving, so too do I try to improve my instructing. That’s where, you, dear reader, come into play. If you see something that makes sense to you, or something that doesn’t, sound off, please post a comment or send me an email to let me know.
I look forward to seeing you at the track, always improving, and here at the OneTrackMInd blog.
Brad Pines

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