Build Race Party

Bill Caswell and John Ackerman reminisce over their racing adventures from Rally Tennessee to the Nurburgring 24hr to Foutecross to the Monaco Grand Prix to the 24hrs of Lemons. The two discuss the best ways to see races, and how others sneak into sold-old races. They cover their first year entering the Baja Pig in the Baja 1000 and other important racing stuff like “How to destroy a BMW 750Il using a Dodge Neon.”

Bill Caswell discusses Sim Racing and other effects of the Covid Pandemic on motorsports with Anders Green. With actual racing on hold, many turned to simulator racing including the pro racing series and manufacturers. Drivers got paid real cash to race “video games” and some even lost their real "on track" jobs because of their behavior online.

Bill Caswell sits down with automotive journalist Bryan Campbell to discuss Bryan's most recent adventure at the Mint 400 where he raced a ZeroOne Odyssey. Later the conversation moves to a Ducati trip at Moto GP cIrcuit in Spain and what’s its like tp put a few hundred miles on a Shelby Cobra Kit Car around Los Angeles. Or what it's like to camp in Death Valley in a 4x4 camper van rented through an app. You'll hear about Bryan's experience driving a tank, and a bit about his life during social distancing and the pandemic. You can follow Bryan on Instagram: @BusinessBryan

This episode is a fun conversation with Bart Hockerman, better known as, “Bart from Pegasus” and James Oliver of OBP Pedals at the Performance Racing Industry Show. We talked about their roles in car culture, their jobs, travels, and car trips. But mostly it’s just a fun conversation about cars and all the ridiculous stuff we’ve seen and done over the years. Also, OPB just released its controversial, but awesome, hand brake called “The Fun Stick.” So there’s a bunch of childish jokes and fun in the episode. http://www.obpltd.com https://www.instagram.com/bart_from_pegasus/ https://www.instagram.com/thejamesdaily/

Bryon Dorr caught the outdoor adventure addiction through whitewater kayaking, and worldwide adventures to remote places ensued. He crafted his own professional path as a photographer, journalist and marketing consultant in the automotive and outdoor industries, while full time overland traveling for nearly 8 years. You’ll usually find him out exploring by adventure motorcycle or 4x4, while seeking out opportunities to ski, mountain bike and kayak. We sat down with Bryon to talk about his life on the road, the vehicles he built and used for his adventures, and learned some cool tricks for surviving in the wild with a truck. We also learned what not to do…. But mostly we learned how to explore life and create your own path.

Greg Salzillo won the 2019 Hot Wheels Legends Tour with a 1957 Nash Metropolitan built by himself and his friend Dave Ford. The car is very custom yet maintains much of the old patina as well and now its being turned into an actual Hot Wheels car! Greg and I talked at The Performance Racing Show about how he got into cars and why he built the Nash. We learned about the Hot Wheels Legends Tour and how he nearly lost the Nash before winning winning the El Segundo round of the tour and moving onto SEMA where he took first overall. We talked about hot rod and rat rod culture and what it takes to build your own custom vehicle. We also talked about where he gets his ideas and concepts from: “The metal kind of talks to you” Greg also told us about his shop (and the fields of lavender) where he and Dave Ford build their cars like the 1933 Green Truck and the Model A that came before the Nash. Greg has built a lot of cars, but so far it’s been for fun and to inspire his kids to grow up and do the same. Now that his car is being turned into a Hot Wheels, he’ll get the chance to inspire even more kids.

Joe Beckham is a motorsport marketing gypsy and excels at branding and promotion. He runs Axcel sports which provides motorsport apparel and branding solutions to some of the top race teams in the United States. We sat down with Joe at The Performance Racing Industry Show to discuss what works in motorsport marketing, and more importantly, what doesn’t work. We talked about when is it time to improve your teams look? How small of an order can you place for apparel? What things should you have in place before pitching sponsors or taking your game to the next level? But we also discussed how you can do this at a smaller level. How you can take what you do trackside, and convert it into real work market place activities. Some of the tools are for larger teams, but many of the concepts apply to grassroots racers as well. Ever called a TV station to cover you? Joe Beckham tells us how some these tools can work for you. How you can take control of your motorsport marketing and promotion. Joes runs Axcel Sports and provides motorsport apparel and branding solutions to some of the top teams in the US. But he can also outfit smaller teams as well. Check out their website: https://www.axcelsports.com (The checklist mentioned in the podcast is coming soon!)

Have you ever wanted to design and build your own board game? Jeremy Dutchess of Dudes and Dice built a rally racing game called Rally On. He’s in the final stages of the design process and is almost ready to release it. We sat down with Jeremy at The Performance Racing Industry Show to learn how he took a fast-paced sport like Rally and turned it into a board game. We learned about technical features of the game, the game play, the considerations for car damage during the race and how it effects your time. We also heard how 3d printing changed the process of designing you own game and about testing the gameplay at the giant gaming conference called Gamecon. Rally On will launch through Kickstarter to fund the initial production. If you want to know more, Check out their Instagram page: @dudesanddicellc or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dudesanddice/

Trevor Andrusko and I discuss the latest drivers safety gear from the Performance Racing Show in Indianapolis. Trevor is motorsport consultant and professional driver coach. He runs Track 9 consulting with Tyler Hoffman and provides turn key solutions for racers of all levels. If you want to learn to race, or plan a racing season, or develop a race car, or build out your own team, Trevor and Tyler can help you with the process. Trevor and I walked the PRI show and looked at the latest in driver safety gear and found some amazing products. 11 point racing harnesses, $12,000 carbon fiber seats and a new fire retardant long underwear that might just save your life. You can reach Trevor and Tyler through their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Track9MotorsportsConsulting/

Tony Salloum, the founder of VAC Motorsports, is legend of BMW racing and tuning. He builds and sells some of the finest parts you can put on your race car. We sat down with Tony at The Performance Racing industry Show to understand how he got into cars, racing, and how he started VAC Motorsports. We talked about how Tony first got into cars at his father's shop as a kid and how he ran the family food truck and restaurant. Then at age 19, Tony’s started his first auto-body shop and really started learning how to build cars and race cars. We talked about his first rally car(not a BMW) and this uncle’s auto-body shop and his BMW 635csi in the hills of Jerusalem. The story is fascinating. Tony builds and sells some of the finest parts for race cars, but the story of how he got started is even better! http://www.vacmotorsports.com

Kart Racing! From indoor fun karts, to sprint karts, to shifter Karts. We talk with Davin Sturdivant about how to get started in karting, and why kart racing is so fun and more accessible than you think. We talk about the different karts, the costs, the different types of series, classes, engines, chassis tuning, the safety gear, and relative safety of the sport, but also the World Karting Championship in Las Vegas where you can run against some of the fastest racers in the world who might show up for just that one race. If you’re looking for more info, or how to get started, check out www.kartpulse.com.

Innovations in car racing. From six wheeled race cars, to vacuum cleaners, giant moveable wings, active shocks, ground effects, and even jet ski ground effects! Inboard brakes, compressed air reservoirs at Dakar, homemade Dakar oil, and homemade oil pans. We sit down with Anders Green and discuss a bunch of cool innovations in racing. Sometimes you do what it takes to win, and sometimes you do what it takes to finish. Car racing forces you solve problems. Sometimes you solve them beautifully, and sometimes you solve those problems crudely, but even your worst race, or race innovation, is better than winning or finishing the race. As they say, "impossible is nothing"

We talk to two Baja 1000 racers within 24hrs of the end of the 2019 running of the race. One has a lot of experience(Roy Tomkins), the other racer is brand new, (Jim Locke). But Jim has been racing for decades, just not in the desert. We apologize for the cell-phone, radio show nature of the call, but this is how you hear the first hand accounts of running the BAJA 1000! Roy has not only been racing and winning in the desert, but building these awesome race trucks-maybe a little too awesome. Jim has worked on, built, and crewed on almost every car a racetrack from GRC to SCCA to INDYCAR to the vintage GTP and modern Indy cars. Both teams DNF’d, but for very different reasons. The commonality is their attitude which turned what could have been misery into an adventure of a lifetime.

Bill Caswell explains his concept of Race Car Santa Claus where he plans to drive cross-country in a mobile fabrication truck/RV and build free race cars for the best, not the fastest, drivers in each region. Race Car Santa Claus is to help drivers take the final step to go racing. Bill Caswell explains how the application and selection process will work and what he’s looking for in a driver…which sounds like the 25 year old version of himself.

Fabtech Expo is the largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event in North America. We sit down with William Petrow of Broken Motorsport, Gary Cupp, and Gabe Ott to learn what we missed. We talk about the rapidly changing technology of fabrication, welding and automated metal forming. Everything from giant robotic presses, to water jet tables for home use, to crazy welding technologies like some sand that gets poured over the weld instead of gas. There was even a virtual reality welding machine that evaluates your welds and teaches at the same time. Most of the discussion is focused on how the new technology can be used in motorsport, but if you missed FABTECH, have a listen and catch up on your fabrication knowledge.

Old Tech, New Tech is where we discuss automotive technology and compare advances against "the way it used to be." Has the technology made our driving experience better? More enjoyable? Safer? Easier? Or has the technology detracted from the pure driving moments that we all love so much? What is your favorite? "Old School Kool" vs. "New School Tech" This includes anti-lock brakes, traction control, fuel injection, GPS, digital dashboards, electronically adjusted suspension, OBDII, manual transmissions, dual clutches, adaptive headlights, laser/radar cruise controls, etc.

Bill Caswell discusses “Automotive Passion Brands” with Anders Green. What is a passion brand? How are they created? Do companies set out to be passionate, or do the buyers of their product create the passion for the brand? Or does the nature of an auto company and its activities in motorsport (for example) draw in a certain type of customer? Or does it simply reinforce how the customer already feels about the car company? Listen to find out!

Bill Caswell and Anders Green discuss how to weld sheet metal.