Simon Pagenaud has long been a contributor to our SAFEisFAST tutorials. And now that he has an Indy 500 victory under his belt, he’s been kind enough to reveal some of his secrets. Believe me when you’re leading the 500, the final laps feel like you’re in a pressure cooker – and Simon kept his […]
On behalf of all the members of the RRDC, we are truly saddened to hear of the passing of Niki Lauda. When one thinks of comebacks, no one can meet the example set by Niki – from being given Last Rites to winning two more World Championships! I had the privilege to work with Niki […]
DRIVE LIKE ANDRETTI NOW ON NBC SPORTS In the runup to the 2019 Indianapolis 500, NBC Sports is airing the four-part series “Drive Like Andretti” with Mario reminiscing about his life from childhood in Italy, Croatia and the United States, through his brilliant career as one of the world’s greatest racing drivers to life after […]
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU’RE LEADING A RACE One of the toughest things for a young driver to learn is how to lead a race. There’s quite a difference between following… and leading. Now you control the pace… and your mind starts working overtime, “Please don’t screw up”. For our latest video, we’ve assembled an […]
PETE LYONS ON HIS UPCOMING RELEASE – LOTUS 72 In the day, following the Grand Prix Circus as a reporter-photographer, I got to watch and admire this breakthrough Formula 1 machine through nearly its entire racing life. But only with the perspective of time have I come to see the Lotus 72’s true historical significance: […]
BOBBY RAHAL TO RECEIVE 2019 IMRRC ARGETSINGER AWARD Race team owner and former champion race-car driver Bobby Rahal will be honored on June 27 by the International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) with the 2019 Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports. The 2019 award will be the sixth presented by the IMRRC. Chip Ganassi […]
COLTON HERTA IS SAFEisFAST ASK A PRO IndyCar’s youngest race winner, Colton Herta is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. It has been a successful start to 2019 for Herta, who at just 19 years of age won the IndyCar race at Circuit of the Americas with Harding Steinbrenner Racing. Herta also took a […]
A capacity crowd filled the Long Beach Hilton ballroom April 11 for the RRDC Evening with David Hobbs Presented by Firestone, which included auto racing dignitaries, corporate executives and champion race-car drivers. Hobbs, an accomplished driver and TV commentator, was honored by the Road Racing Drivers Club, prior to the running of the 45th Acura […]
AMERICAN HONDA SUPPORTS HOBBS EVENING AT LONG BEACH American Honda Motor Co., Inc., will support the RRDC Evening with David Hobbs Presented by Firestone by hosting the cocktail reception on Thursday, April 11, at the Road Racing Drivers Club’s 11th annual West Coast banquet at the Long Beach Hilton. Honda returns for the ninth consecutive year to […]
SIR JACKIE STEWART SET TO HELP FIND A CURE FOR DEMENTIA Sir Jackie Stewart has launched a campaign to find a cure for dementia which has afflicted his beloved wife Helen. She needs home care and Jackie contacted https://homecareassistance.com/charleston/ to help him. Stewart made the announcement today, March 21, calling the effort “my biggest-ever battle.” […]
DON’T MISS HOBBS UNFILTERED A reminder of the DO-NOT-MISS Evening with David Hobbs Thursday, April 11, in the lead-up to the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 11th annual RRDC Legends Banquet is once again presented by Firestone. Check here for details and a little peep at our man ‘Obbs. RRDC members in good […]
The Formula 1 community was thrown into both an emotional and organizational spin with the sudden death Thursday morning of race director Charlie Whiting just three days before the season-opener at Melbourne. Whiting, 66, suffered a pulmonary embolism. Michael Masi will fill Whiting’s positions as race director, safety delegate and official starter for this weekend’s […]
With the cost of racing escalating and track time at a premium, could esports soon become the best way for new drivers to enter motorsport? In our latest video, a group of drivers who participate both on the track and on the sim explain why esports is fast becoming the preferred training ground for new […]
On Feb. 26, 1944, seven sports car enthusiasts met at the Boston, Mass. home of Chapin Wallour to form a club dedicated to the preservation of sports cars. That group of gentlemen may not have known it then, but the birth of the Sports Car Club of America® that evening changed the face of motorsports. […]
Road Racing Drivers Club President Bobby Rahal cordially invites you to attend the RRDC Evening with David Hobbs Presented by Firestone: Long Beach Hilton, Thursday, April 11 DAVID HOBBS – UNFILTERED If you were to choose one racing driver to spend a truly enjoyable dinner with, who’d be better than David Hobbs? While he might […]
SAFEisFAST – FIVE-TIME INDYCAR CHAMP SCOTT DIXON IS LATEST ASK A PRO Reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon is the latest on-line driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. Dixon is one of the most successful IndyCar drivers of all time, taking his fifth championship last year with Chip Ganassi Racing and having achieved 43 wins, the most of […]
PENSKE AND ROUSH INDUCTED INTO THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME Roger Penske and Jack Roush became the first two members of the RRDC to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in ceremonies Friday, Feb. 1, in Charlotte. Their citations emphasized their accomplishments in the premier stock car racing series: Roger Penske is known, […]
THE FAST WAY UP THE RACING LADDER FIVE YOUNG GUNS TELL WHAT IT TAKES It isn’t easy becoming a professional race car driver, and many a talented racer has fallen by the wayside. In our latest video, five of North America’s top young drivers discuss just what it takes today. Indy Lights Champion Pato O’Ward […]
BOBBY RAHAL IS THE 27th RECIPIENT OF THE PHIL HILL AWARD Bobby Rahal, Indy 500 winner, championship driver and team owner, businessman and President of the Road Racing Drivers Club, was honored by the RRDC with the 2019 Phil Hill Award. The 2018 award recipient, David Hobbs, made the presentation at the annual RRDC members’ dinner on […]
CLAY RUSSELL NAMED 2018 MARK DONOHUE AWARD WINNER Clay Russell, of Spartanburg, S.C., was named the 48th recipient of the RRDC Mark Donohue Award for his winning drive at the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Sonoma Raceway in October. This unique award is presented annually by the RRDC for outstanding performance, competitiveness and sportsmanship during […]
ALEX ZANARDI TO DRIVE FOR BMW TEAM RLL IN ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA With the full support of BMW Motorsport, Rahal, Letterman, Lanigan is fielding a pair of BMW Team RLL M8 GTEs for this month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, the No. 24 equipped with a very special set of hand controls for one of […]
MIKE HISS – 1941-2018 Mike Hiss passed away Dec. 19 at age 77 of complications from a 30-year battle with cancer. Robin Miller recalled Mike’s very interesting racing career on RACER.com: It didn’t last very long but Mike Hiss had one of the most majestic IndyCar careers ever. Hiss, who died Dec. 19 at the […]
TEN TIPS TO MAKE YOU A FASTER DRIVER Fellow racers, To wrap up the year, we’ve put together ten tips from some serious champions that can help you become a quicker driver in 2019. Our latest video begins with Fernando Alonso describing how to make a killer start. And then a stellar group of drivers […]
BILL WARNER NAMED ENTHUSIAST OF THE YEAR BY THE CONCOURS d’ELEGANCE OF AMERICA The Concours d’Elegance of America Board of Directors has named longtime friend and supporter Bill Warner from Jacksonville, FL as our 2019 Enthusiast of the Year. Bill has been around automobiles his whole life. As a teenager, he worked at the local Volkswagen dealership […]
DON MARSH (1930 – 2018) Don F. Marsh, 88, passed away in Dec. 2018. His obituary described his passion for the automobile: “His lifelong love of all things with wheels began as a little boy, a passion he pursued both professionally and personally. Don collected classic cars for years, toured actively all around the country […]
Fellow racers, The old saying used to be “In slow, and out fast”. But to win today, you have to be fast entering a turn, quick in the middle and on max power at the exit. There are tenths to be gained everywhere. In our latest video, a group of very quick champion drivers – […]
It was a vintage year in Napa Valley for RRDC members John Heinricy and Joe Aquilante, plus Joe Huffaker and Michael Varacins at the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Sonoma Raceway in the heart of California’s wine country, Oct 19-21. John Heinricy scored a pair of championships pushing his gold medal total to […]
PETERSEN MUSEUM HONORING PARNELLI JONES THIS WEEK In celebration of Parnelli Jones’s legacy and his contributions to automotive engineering and motorsports, the Petersen Automotive Museum will welcome guests to this Thursday night’s opening reception of “Legends of Los Angeles: Southern California Race Cars and their Builders.” This very special reception will honor Parnelli Jones and […]
SILVERSTONE, England (Nov. 5, 2018) – This past weekend, 2018 Team USA Scholarship winners Colin Mullan and Jake Craig wrapped up three-plus weeks in England at Silverstone Circuit with a stellar showing in the 18th annual Walter Hayes Trophy, named in honor of one of the founding fathers of Formula Ford. More than 100 drivers […]
With Donington and Brands Hatch in their rear view mirrors, Jake Craig and Colin Mullan are more than halfway through Team USA Scholarship’s English adventure for 2018. In their own words, here’s a quick look back at how these two young racers got to this point: JAKE CRAIG: “My main goal for the 2018 […]
SAFEisFAST: THE ART OF WINNING Speed may get you on pole, but what usually wins races is Racecraft – that ability to think while you’re white knuckling it wheel-to-wheel… and end up in front when the checkered flag falls. But how do you master Racecraft? To find out, we’ve assembled another all-star panel of Champion […]
BRANDS HATCH, BOOTS ON THE GROUND After a successful “warmup” race meeting the previous weekend at rainy Donington Park and three days of testing this past week at Brands Hatch, both Team USA Scholarship racers Jake Craig and Colin Mullan felt well prepared as they headed into the British Racing & Sports Car Club’s 47th […]
500 WINS FOR TEAM PENSKE Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking the 500th victory for Team Penske over more than five decades. “Thanks to everyone throughout our organization for their hard work and all their dedication for helping us reach this […]
DRIVER VS ENGINEER: DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP We’ve all experienced that feeling: your car is handling like crap – and you have no clue why. That’s where the race engineer comes in. Armed with the latest technology and mountains of data, engineers have the answers right at their fingertips. If only you could get on the same page – […]
DON PANOZ PASSES AWAY AT AGE 83 Serial entrepreneur Dr. Donald Panoz passed away Tuesday morning at age 83. He had been ill for several weeks and spent his final days in the company of his family and closest friends. Dr. Panoz, co-founder of Milan Pharmaceuticals in 1961, made his fortune there by creating and […]
BILL WARNER TO RECEIVE 2018 NICOLA BULGARI AWARD In ceremonies during the Wheels & Heels Annual Gala at the LeMay Car Museum in Tacoma, WA, this Sunday, Sept. 8, Bill Warner will receive the 2018 Nicola Bulgari Award. This award is presented annually based upon the recipient’s contributions to preserving America’s automotive heritage, the use […]
F1 DRIVER PIERRE GASLY IS LATEST SAFEisFAST ASK A PRO Toro Rosso F1 driver and former GP2 champion Pierre Gasly is the latest online driving instructor for SAFEisFAST.com. Gasly is competing in his first full season of F1 with Toro Rosso ahead of a move to Red Bull Racing in 2019, where he will partner […]
CHOOSING YOUR SAFETY GEAR Today’s driver safety equipment is incredibly good. But it can also be incredibly expensive – $2500 for the newest trick helmet. $3000 for the latest, greatest driver’s suit. To find out what you need to be safe, we put together a group of industry safety experts who explain how to choose the best […]
DE FERRAN OPENS PROBLEM SOLVING TOOL BOX IN WOKING Late last month, McLaren F1 installed consultant Gil de Ferran as Sporting Director to replace Eric Boullier who stepped down in the lead up to the British Grand Prix. De Ferran will apply his personal self-improvement habits to helping the Formula 1 team identify and sort […]
DARIO FRANCHITTI IN 2019 MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS Dario Franchitti will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America as the Open Wheel honoree in the 2019 class of seven. The RRDC member’s lassmates include Augie Duesenberg (Historic category), Phil Remington (Sports Cars), Kevin Schwantz (Motorcycles), Don Schumacher (Drag Racing), Tony Stewart […]
