Motorsports

Driving a Race Car as a Senior Citizen

September 27, 2023 by stevebeeler

Driving a race car as a senior citizen is not so much about winning races but more about battling Father Time. How to turn back the clock? Vision, fitness, hydration, nutrition, driving style, and car set up.

Vision

Corrected, my vision was fine on an eye chart but motorsports demand much more than reading small letters. What I did not know was that cataracts had affected my depth perception and ability to track objects. Functionally, my racing vision was mediocre and getting worse. Year over year, I was struggling to match my lap times.

During a routine eye exam, I flunked the glare test. Cataracts! Lens replacement surgery noticeably improved my functional racing vision. Things like brake marker boards are no longer fuzzy and moving around.

Fitness

I have always trained for racing through weight training and running. People who have known me for years will remember the squeeze balls that I squished during meetings. I am still squeezing one. 🙂

Still, I gradually wore out during a race weekend. On Friday, I would feel strong. On Saturday, not quite a strong but still OK. By Sunday, my tank was empty…and my lap times showed it. I had lost endurance.

I have changed how I train. To allow my older body to recover, I now train a bit harder a bit less frequently. Back in the day, I could lift one day and run the next. No longer. Now I rest two days between strenuous workouts. With this additional recovery, I am maintaining strength while re-building endurance.

Hydration / Nutrition

Hydration has never been an issue. I take in fluids almost continuously during a race weekend, ice water and half strength Gatorade…the red fruit punch is my favorite.

But I have been known to be too busy to eat. Nutrition is now an equal priority with hydration. Not bigger meals, I eat something every hour.

Race weekend hydration and between meal nutrition

What is eaten, of course, matters a lot. Older athletes require more protein. So protein bars, chocolate milk, mixed nuts, cashews, turkey sandwiches, and the like are on a race weekend menu. Click HERE for an article on protein and fitness.

Driving Style

My eye-hand coordination and reflexes are not what they were 40 years ago. With that reality, I have made a subtle change to my driving style.

In general, a positive turn-in that squares off corner entry with a late apex is the fast way around a race track. This method requires fast hands to correct corner entry oversteer and my hands are not that fast anymore.

My senior citizen driving style is a gentle, slightly early turn-in with throttle manipulation to hold a long apex. Maybe not quite as fast in, but still pretty fast out, and with much less chance of a spin.

The key to making this method work is steering with the throttle. Everyone (or at least everyone going fast) picks up the throttle before the apex to maintain speed. If the car is not holding a long apex, a tiny bit less maintenance throttle (not more steering angle!) will tighten up the line and position the car for corner exit without losing much, if any, speed.

Click HERE for in-car video that illustrates this senior citizen driving style.

Car Set Up

In this new driving style, the throttle is not an on-off switch. What is required is a long, linear throttle linkage and very stiff return springs. My Lola’s throttle pedal travels almost 2 inches between stops and, with four return springs, snaps back hard.

While my right foot is manipulating the throttle, my left foot is providing balance. A dead pedal in the left corner of the foot box provides a consistent balancing point.

Lola T-540 footbox with dead pedal on left and throttle pedal on right

My shock and bar settings have been evolving towards a stiffer, faster reacting car. This seems counterintuitive as my personal response time is getting slower with age. However, a gentle corner entry gives me confidence that the rear will not step out and a stiffer car is easier to steer with the throttle. The in-car video supports this theory…my hands are quiet and the car appears to be neutral.

Final Thoughts

I suspect that vision is the single most important factor in my improving on-track performance but fitness is close behind.

Training, hydration, and nutrition are not independent. So while I cannot attribute to each their contributions to my improving endurance, I can certainly say that I have more energy on Sundays.

Changes to driving style and car set up are also related. They were not part of a grand plan but were the result of trying new things. The OODA and PDCA problem solving and continuous improvement models apply perfectly in motorsports.

At 68 years old, I had somewhat of a comeback season in 2023. My lap times were very good and I did not fall off the road even once. Beating Father Time? No, but at least holding my own driving a race car as a senior citizen. Maybe I can hang on until the 2033 Formula Ford World Tour…

If you found this blog interesting, visit my Motorsports and FF50th pages for more related content.

Race Trailer 5S

August 26, 2022 by stevebeeler

5S is not just for manufacturing. Here’s an example from motorsports: race trailer 5S. With a little organization, everything needed for a weekend of club racing can be squeezed into a small trailer.

As you might expect from its name, 5S is a five-step process with roots in lean thinking and the Toyota Production System. 5S is a pathway to a clean, uncluttered, organized workplace reducing waste and improving productivity:

1) Sort Get rid of what is not needed…declutter!
2) Set In Order Organize by neatly arranging and labeling
3) Shine Clean
4) Standardize Schedule regular cleaning, organizing, and ordering
5) Sustain Make the first four steps a habit

My Lola T-540 Formula Ford filled up the floor of my old 12-1/2 x 6 trailer. Packed in around the car were an auxiliary battery, an air bottle, a fire extinguisher, a folding table, fuel jugs, tool boxes, chassis stands, and ramp extensions.

The trick to making such a small trailer work was to fully utilize the space above and below the car. Above you would find mounted tires, spare parts totes, noses, a nose frame, a quick jack, a battery charger, drain pans, funnels, lawn chairs, and a big duffel bag with shelter panels. Below were the poles for the shelter.

While a beautiful example of 5S, the many loading and unloading sequence constraints were getting old. So after 20+ years of faithful service, I retired my minimalist trailer for a new 16 x 7 aluminum V-nose from R&R Trailers …but not it’s race trailer 5S methods.

With a little more floor space, my new trailer is much more efficient to load and unload. As before, the space above the car is fully utilized. Spare parts tote capacity has been doubled. Nothing is located on the floor around the car, a huge plus. Loading and unloading sequence constraints are a thing of the past.

The shelter poles are now carried in a tray above the car, a welcome ergonomic improvement. Spare tires are again carried in a rack across the back of the trailer. The E-track also secures flat items like tables against the walls of the trailer.

I built a small workbench and two shelves into the nose of trailer. The workbench is drilled for a vise and a small arbor press, a significant functional upgrade. A helmet shelf organizes my driving gear between sessions.

To eliminate the need for long, heavy ramp extensions, I ordered the trailer with a beavertail and designed a custom ramp door flap. These short structural foam blocks from Race Ramps weigh only two pounds each! What a joy to just roll the car on and off the trailer.

Just as before, everything still has a place. Without the sequence constraints, I can load and unload in just over an hour. When something is needed at the track, I know exactly where it is.

The so what of race trailer 5S? Less is still more but sometimes a little more goes a long way. My old trailer, while loved and admired, was just a little too small.

There are many parallels between motorsports and manufacturing. While there is much good to be said about a small factory footprint, just don’t get too carried away. People and materials need a little room to move around.

For more on race trailers, click HERE for my blog on trailer and tow vehicles.

Ice Racing

January 29, 2021 by stevebeeler

My annual Minnesota ice racing adventure is trip into a parallel universe. A front-wheel drive modified street car with studded tires on ice drives nothing like a Formula Ford with slicks on pavement. Inside out, upside down. For one weekend, I must relearn how to drive a race car.

Tire characteristics explain most of the difference (see chart below). On pavement, a racing slick’s cornering force increases linearly with slip angle before a soft peak at about 6 degrees. A studded ice racing tire generates far less cornering force and, because of stud geometry, builds up slowly to a relatively sharp peak…at 30 degrees!

On ice, straight line stability is frighteningly absent. Since ice racing tires don’t generate much cornering force at low slip angles, the back of the car wanders around at yaw angles that scream “crash” in my pavement racer head. This feedback loop must be turned off. It usually takes a couple of sessions to turn the scream down to a whisper.

A “Scandinavian flick” initiates the corner sequence. On approach, the car is briefly steered away from the turn before simultaneously braking and turning into the corner. In combination, the weight transfer and pendulum effect quickly rotate the car to that magic 30 degree slip angle.

On a short corner, the Scandinavian flick is an easy technique to master. Slide in and squirt off with snow flying. Beautiful.

ice racing local aces vs visiting tourise — Aces…and a tourist

Long corners separate the local ice racing aces from visiting tourists like me. The drag from the sliding rear tires can overslow the car. What follows is a futile series of understeering wobbles. Not fast and not pretty.

The studs carve up the ice and snow collects on the outside of the turns. This “cushion” of snow can be used to turn the car…a very clever solution to the long turn problem. But if you jump the cushion the snow will pull you right into the larger snow banks that line the course. Ouch!

ice racing hard ice — Perfect conditions…hard ice and a soft cushion

In ice racing, the track is changing constantly. Ideal conditions for ice racing are cloudy and 20 degrees F. The studs grip the ice and the cushion is snowy, soft, and friendly. Below zero F, the ice becomes too hard for the studs. If it is a sunny day around freezing, the cushion will be slushy, heavy, and eager to punish the smallest misstep.

ice racing soft ice — Soft ice with a heavy cushion and standing water

Late in the season, the cushion can melt forming huge puddles around the course. These “sippi holes” are treacherous. The best way drive through them is as straight as possible. Otherwise, the standing water will almost bring a car to a complete stop. Here’s a 30 second sippi hole sampler…try not to flinch!

The great Danny Ongais has a simple driving philosophy: you are only going fast when going forward. The “Flyin’ Hawaiian” would do just fine out on the ice.

For a more complete ice racing experience, here are links to two of my YouTube videos:

Rush Lake 2018

Pokegama Lake 2019

Visit the International Ice Racing Association (IIRA) website for schedules, rules, and more on this wacky form of motorsport.

Checklists

January 8, 2020 by stevebeeler

My motorsports hobby runs on checklists. Checklists provide three essential functions before and during a race weekend: communicate work instructions, provide visual confirmation, and increase my available bandwidth. That’s quite a bit from a few sheets of paper on clipboards!

Here are three of my most valuable checklists:

Race Weekend Packing List. It takes a lot of parts and tools to operate a race car, even a relatively simple one like a Formula Ford. The Race Weekend Packing List, of course, lists everything that is to be loaded into the trailer. Every race weekend is a little different, so an “Added Starters” section allows for flexibility: extra sun screen and Gatorade in July, sweat shirts and hot chocolate mix in October. The primary purpose of the Race Weekend Packing List is to ensure that nothing is forgotten. It is so much easier to check these boxes in the shop than to be at the race track without something!

Checklists

Lola T-540 Checklist. This comprehensive, three-page checklist organizes the preparation of the car. Unlike the Packing List, the Lola T-540 Checklist has multiple columns. In the shop, everything is checked off to ensure that the car is race ready. At the track, not every nut and bolt must be checked before each session. Line items that must be checked off (lug nuts, tire pressures, fuel, body fasteners, etc) are left blank, those not needing attention that session are hashed out. The work content in each column is different, reflecting required maintenance frequencies. Across the columns and down the rows, the Lola T-540 Checklist outlines the maintenance plan for the weekend and visually confirms the readiness of the car. This example from the FF50th took on quite a bit of rain…

Hewland Mk9 gear change with checklist

Hewland Mk9 Gear Change Checklist. Every so often, the decision is made to change gears at the race track. No need to panic. The long column of the left lists all the parts and supplies that will be needed. The other four columns outline the steps required to disassemble the gearbox, sub-assemble with the new gears, and then put the whole thing back together again. Included in the assembly instructions are torque specs and error-proofing steps. This checklist facilitates teamwork and provides detailed, sequenced work instructions, both very welcome when time is short. With an exploded drawing for reference, everything is under control.
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Can you use checklists in your plant, office, or clinic? Almost certainly. I use them in my day job, too. One that comes immediately to mind is the 30-question checklist I use to perform operations assessments. Here’s a quick checklist for checklists:

Do you need to ensure that essential items are not forgotten?
Do you need to ensure that critical tasks are not missed?
Do you need to provide detailed, sequenced work instructions?
Do you need to coordinate multiple people?
Do you need to know the status of work in process?

And how do checklists increase my available bandwidth? Thinking is done back at the shop. At the track, my team knows what to do, when to do it, and has the parts, tools, and supplies needed. A quick glance through the checklists and I know all is well. I can focus on driving the car. You will enjoy the peace of mind, too.

Want to learn more about checklists? Here’s a great book: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande.

Trailer and Tow Vehicle

December 10, 2018 by stevebeeler

There is no avoiding them. If you go racing, then a trailer and tow vehicle are coming to the party with you. Once there, they must provide shade and shelter while serving as the headquarters for everything off-track: set up and maintenance, problem solving, strategizing, bench racing, hospitality, etc. Here are some considerations for sizing and selecting a trailer and tow vehicle.

Trailer and Tow Vehicle

Less is more. The big rigs pulled by pro teams are seriously cool. However, at most club circuits they are awkward to spot at best and nearly impossible to back into place once the paddock begins to fill up. Big price tags (initial investment and fuel costs) come with that size and weight. I made a conscious decision to race out of the smallest enclosed trailer possible. My narrow track Lola T-540 fills the floor of a 12-1/2 foot x 6 foot single axle trailer (see image below). There are racks above the car for totes, noses, tires, etc. Fuel jugs, tool boxes, and shelter poles have homes on the trailer floor around the car. I have made such a small trailer work for many years and it is delightfully easy to tow even with an SUV. But it is at its weight limit. For most Formula Ford racers, a 16 x 7 enclosed double axle trailer would seem to be the best compromise.

Steve Beeler's world's smallest enclosed Formula Ford race trailer

Portable workshop. After selecting your trailer, the next step is to set it up as a portable workshop. At a minimum, that means fast access to its contents. If something is needed at the race track, it is generally needed in a hurry. If not constrained by space and weight, a small workbench with a vise is a great thing to have at the race track. And a workbench needs a light…

RV vs SUV vs pickup. I successfully towed with an SUV for many, many years until I recently found a 25 foot RV that is a perfect match for my minimalist trailer. I like the RV because it is great for hospitality and there is no shuttling back and forth to a hotel. The larger the trailer and the heavier the race car, the more likely a longer, more powerful pickup or RV will be required.

Shade and shelter. These are must haves at the race track. If your trailer and tow vehicle are not equipped with awnings, standalone shelters work just fine.

There is no one correct answer for the trailer and tow vehicle question but getting it right will make a huge difference in the effort required to travel to the track and the experience once there.

This is the fifth in a series of blogs on how to get started in racing. If you missed the first four, here are the links: How to Get Started in Racing, Tools and Equipment, Spare Parts, and Shop Space.

Update December 2021

After 22 years of faithful service, my minimalist race trailer is retiring. I have ordered a new 16×7 aluminum V-nose cargo trailer from R&R Trailers in Three Rivers, Michigan. It will have room for more stuff including a small workbench and a vise…and a 48-inch LED light over the workbench! Click HERE for a blog post on setting up a new race trailer.