In the midst of Champ's $500K race in a slow door car, let's talk about that argument. The argument for going slow, real slow. How could being one of the slowest competitors be an advantage?
We all want to have the perfect race. Be 00 every time, take 00 every time. But what happens when we have a bad run but win. Maybe we miss it on the tree or you don't execute the finish line as planned. How do you overcome that run and get back up there for the next round?
Continuing on last week's episode on how tight to set up on the starting line, this week let's talk about what happens when you have those outliers. What do you do? Do you adjust your delay box? Do you throw those reaction times out?
One of the most common questions I get is how tight do I set up on the starting line? There is a simple answer in my mind and it's probably not what you are expecting.
We don't control the narrative around our lives. We can, however, look in the mirror and judge ourselves. Are you happy with what you see? How can you change what you see in the mirror to be the person you want to be?
There is no doubt that racing can be really frustrating. There are a lot of negative triggers everywhere. It's easy to let yourself fall into a less then positive attitude. The solution? Choosing the better attitude, optimism.
If we spend to much time at the track in competition and when it becomes to much, we are no longer growing and that can compound quickly. When we step back from time to time, it shows us just how much we love it and how to not take it for granted.
Up to this point we have talked about what is better door car or dragster. We have talked about what is the ultimate door car and the ultimate dragster. Today let's shift gears and talk Super Classes. What is the best tool for the job?
We've talked about the ultimate door car now let's talk about the ultimate dragster. What does the perfect weapon of choice look like? How fast should you go? What should some of the characteristics be?
Where are all my door car drivers at? We are continuing our discussion on the Perfect Weapon and if you have decided that the perfect weapon for you will never be a dragster? Then your speaking my language! Let's discuss what it takes to have a great door car.
What is the "perfect weapon" for sportsman drag racing? The ultimate car if you will. This will be a fun series here and we'll dive into some thoughts on what the ultimate machine is for the various forms of racing in our sport. This kick off episode talks about the perfect weapon is what you make it.
Racing today is filled with social media, live feeds, podcasts, etc. It's very easy, for all of us, to put successful racers up on a pedestal. We often then judge ourselves in comparison to other racers, especially those on the pedestals. Stop saying you can't do what those successful racers do, because you can.
This episode is dedicated to the future generation of racers in our sport: Junior Dragster racers. Showcasing the impact of this new responsibility that our junior drivers acquire when they start their journey.
In our culture, we take pride in doing the "hard thing". We lean into everyday challenges. And in our sport, we have many difficult facets we lean into. What if these difficult things are not the hardest tasks that we undertake in our pursuit for on track success?
You have a goal. A vision for yourself or yourself as something more than you are today. Listen to this episode to find out about the two specific things that I have found that will help speed up this process.
Can you be "world class" at more than one thing? In this episode, we explore the role of "balance" when it comes to choosing to be our best on the race track.
Your attention is one of your most valuable assets. How do you protect and maximize it behind the wheel?
“'In terms of how people react to art or entertainment, you learn that it sometimes goes well and it sometimes doesn’t. It doesn’t mean that the cause and effect are connected.' That's a quote from renowned actor/director Ben Stiller. Obviously, he's talking about art and entertainment here, but I think there are some obvious (and perhaps, not so obvious) parallels to our own form of performance on the race track."
What separates Peter Biondo from Peter Piper? Mental toughness. In this episode, I discuss how some of the best racers in our sport deal with overcoming mistakes, and how it may be one of their greatest advantages.
Flexibility, or "versatility" is one of the common traits among the greats in our sport. Does driving a variety of cars and competing in different classes make us better drivers? In this episode, I answer this question with some recent experience in my own vehicles.
Lacking a compass, an old scouting trick is this... If you're lost in a forest, unsure of the way out, or even what direction to move, you locate three trees in a row. One close by, another a little ways away, and one farther off in the distance - all in line with each other. And you move from one tree to the next, picking another tree farther down the line each time that you progress. That's a literal interpretation: actually finding our way out of a forest. The generality applies to a variety ...
In this age, it’s easier - more natural than ever - to judge ourselves and our racing in comparison to others. Between social media, live feeds, and frankly people like Jed and I, It’s so easy to put successful racers on a pedestal: Racer X wins, and is never worse than 010 on the tree for 9 straight rounds. Racer Y dominates, holding .06 or more. Racer Z’s matched the dial in 8 times in 9 rounds. And we think… Damn. I can’t do that!
Very selfishly, part of this podcast is for my own benefit: as I work through some of these ideas in the process of my own day-to-day life. On our way here, not even halfway through our trip, our new (to us) motorhome broke down. It was certainly not the way that things were planned! The reason I share this, not to pat myself on the back, is because I'm actually really proud of the way that I handled this situation.
In racing, I think we face this juxtaposition a lot, often in settings that can elicit high emotion. We’re passionate about what we're doing. We put a lot of time & work into it. We’ve typically got aspirations surrounding competition. We’ve often got an expectations - both about our performance and how things will go in general. And, occasionally (perhaps more often than not), something doesn’t align w/ those expectations! How we deal with that, I'd argue impacts not only our peace of mind,...
How do you frame personal performance? Is your self talk directed toward being THE best, or toward being YOUR best? There's not necessarily a right or wrong answer; but it's interesting to dive into the connotation and the mental framework of each approach - not necessarily to think about what others are doing, but to think about which approach may best serve each of us.
Are you a perfectionist? Have you convinced yourself that such perfectionism serves you? I've often held myself to incredible standards... And I've been very hard on myself when I've failed to uphold those standards. Often times, that constant drive - that incessant pursuit has helped make me better. Perhaps you feel the same way. And yet, what got us to where we are, isn't necessarily going to be what gets us to where we want to be....
