I am often asked how I prepare myself for each race weekend. We have already discussed the many business, fitness and media aspects that fill a race car driver’s day; however, there is still something to be said for preparing your actual driving for each race.

The hardest thing I come up against in this area is that the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup only receives a very small amount of track time at each race event. At each race weekend all I receive is 30 minutes of on track practice and then it’s straight into qualifying. The half hour practice session means you really only have about 15 laps to (a) learn the track (b) shake off the rust from being out of the car for weeks (c) decide how to approach qualifying. Sometimes, should you have fresh brake pads, the first few laps are wasted trying to properly put the new pads through a heat cycle. Continue Reading…

The race season is now into full swing as we have already completed the first 3 rounds of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. There is currently a four week break between my last race in Utah and our next event in Ohio on the Father’s Day weekend.

One question I get asked a lot is “What does a race car driver do when they are not at the track”? In my last blog I talked at length about the realities and trials that each young driver must face in regards to the business side of auto racing. So much of a driver’s time is taken up with that. But there IS more to racing than just driving and business.

Take for example the fitness side of things. At first glance, one would think that being a driver means you simply have to sit in a seat and steer a wheel. Admittedly I used to be under that impression as well until I got into the sport. But I quickly realized after my first season of racing karts that if I were to move up to the fast 125cc machines, it was going to be a necessity for me to begin physically training. Continue Reading…

This is a guest post by James from Car Throttle - your performance car experts!

A favorite genre of many auto fiends is the “sleeper” - a car that looks like grandma’s Mercury but goes like stink. In this day and age of flashy, showy performance - with all the standard body kits, huge spoilers and obnoxious red badging automakers seem to believe belong on performance cars, the sleeper is a dying breed. The streets used to be littered with them, too. Buick Regal T-Types with Grand National running gear and a freaking landau roof, Galant VR-4’s with turbocharged 4G63’s and 4WD stuffed into an innocuous Galant body, heck - even the Fox-body Mustang LX 5.0 was a sleeper, with the thundering fuel-injected 302ci “5.0″ (actually a 4.9L) V8 but none of the GT’s plastic trashy bodywork.

Still, for those that would rather not have any show with their go, there are still sleepers left to pick from - if you know where to look. Sometimes you have to look in the strangest of places, but you can find burly horsepower under the hood of some unassuming cars these days. Let’s take a look at the top ten.

10) Toyota Camry SE V6

“A Camry? Really?” I know, I know. The Camry is the equivalent of the Antichrist to anyone that actually likes cars. But that makes it the perfect sleeper, at least in SE V6 trim. You see, under the hood is a very modern 3.5L 24v V6, which makes a rather considerable 268 horsepower coupled with a 6-speed auto.

Without a doubt, the rest of the car is mind-numbingly boring - but if you’re after velvety-smooth horsepower and strong mid-range in an utterly unassuming wrapper, the Camry SE V6 has got you covered. Just remember to take a No-Doz on long trips… the Camry might’ve misunderstood what “sleeper” means, and when you’re not smoking tires with your torquey V6, it’s likely to put you to sleep. Fast enough to embarrass a V6 Mustang, and good enough for 10th place. Continue Reading…

Not everyone can survive owning an smaller economy car, but can’t afford something high-end. Nor can they use an impractical sports car for the everyday slog. That doesn’t mean that this increasing group suffer by driving something drab. So here are some cars that are priced right for their markets and offer some enjoyment of driving to the owner.

2010 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ

The Fusion and MKZ brand new for 2010 to better compete with the offerings from Honda, Toyota, and Chevrolet for the Ford while the Lincoln goes after Infiniti, Lexus and Cadillac.

The Fusion is priced to compete and even undercut its rivals, with a base price of under $20,000. Most other competitors a few thousand more. The MKZ is a bit more expensive, with $34,600 buying you leather, wood and chrome accents on the exterior.

Both cars are all-new this year, riding on the new Mazda6 platform again. The Fusion retains the three-bar front grill to keep in line with the previous-gen car, but now has a more pronounced front-end and Terminator-like headlights. The rear gets more styling cues in the bumper and trunk lid while the LED taillights dip in one corner to give the rear more of an appeal. Continue Reading…

In a time when the American car companies are holding on for dear life, consumers’ savings have all but evaporated, and more stringent CAFE regulations looming in the future, the Big Three are giving us power-hungry, tire-thrashing car lovers a goodbye party with the cars listed below. I’m sure there will be fighting for supremacy from loyalists of each brand, but what we all have to remember is this may be the last time we see anything like this from Detroit.

I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy one of these vehicles, because I certainly did… Continue Reading…

There are certain perks to be a journalists, and one of those is being invited to a racetrack to thrash around in several vehicles at once.

At the end of April, I attended the eighth-annual Spring Rally hosted by the Midwest Automotive Media Association. The event took place on and around Road America, located in the tiny Wisconsin resort town of Elkhart Lake. I spent two days pushing sports cars to the extreme on the track as well as testing them in everyday situations on the street. Now, I’m going to tell you, the reader, all about these vehicles.

Starting Tuesday, I’m going to share my thoughts and feelings on some of the vehicles I got to sample, both on the street now, and some that haven’t been released yet. So tune in to see the good, and the bad. You will find something you will like, I guarantee it. Continue Reading…