Fitness has always been important, and I’ve been training pretty much my entire career. I was probably in my best shape when I was doing martial arts full time, but that also led to injuries. That said, I know that with Corvette we began taking a much closer look at driver conditioning around 2004 when we all worked with a personal trainer to get us all on the same page nutrition and exercise. These days virtually everyone that I know is training as it does make a difference toward the end of a stint or race.

Big time. I would love to go back to H-pattern shifting, no traction control and no ABS. With all of the technology these days it allows those with less talent to get much closer to the guys with talent. Shifting mistakes are a thing of the past. Braking skill is not as important for those with ABS, and the ability to manage tires also is made much easier. The driver is still an integral part, but I know a lot of engineers would be happy if they could replace us with a laptop!

Win. And once you are winning, make sure to meet all of the principals of every race team. Get your resume to them, and don’t be afraid of calling them and letting them know you would kill to drive for them!

I was working as a mechanic at Jim Russell in 1985, when an instructor named James Besmer told me that as long as I didn’t quit, I would achieve some sort of success. Granted, that might have meant winning an SCCA National to me back then, but the one thing that stands out when I look back is that I never thought of giving up.

Patience. These days you can use simulators to learn the course, but that place can bite you really quick if you get caught up in looking at lap times. And that happens a lot. I felt at home there very quickly when I was there the first time with Nissan, and after four or five laps just loved the place. The biggest thing probably is just being smart and not taking too many chances before you are comfortable with your car.

Certainly of everything I have done so far, my time with Corvette would probably be where I achieved the most – the championships, wins at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans. But if I had to point to one thing it would be the success I had at Sebring, and this past year being inducted into their Hall of Fame while still an active driver. Pretty cool to say the least!

Boy, that’s a tough one, Harlan. I would say that being in front of people is always important, and try to rise above everyone else trying to get the scholarships. The good news is that there are quite a few opportunities out there these days, especially with the Mazda Road to Indy program. The important thing is to just do the best job you can – and keep on winning!

You know, most drivers I know actually rarely get speeding tickets. One of the benefits to racing is that you can get your need for speed out on the track. The tickets I have gotten are generally only about 10 MPH over the speed limit. Most racers realize the street is far more dangerous than the track and drive accordingly.

Good question. If you think that you are going to have a career in prototypes then I would say yes, you need that formula car experience. Learning about downforce and the rear-engine platform would help you immensely. But if not, then the most important thing is track time. Most guys learn the most in go karting, and then carry those skills and racecraft from there, usually attending Bondurant or another school to learn the techniques used in cars.

Personally, I’ve always been able to adapt to cars pretty quickly, no matter how they handle. So, many times sacrificing set up was never an issue. I do recall one year at Le Mans when I loved the car but our third driver was uncomfortable with it leaning towards oversteer. I was upset about this, but the engineers changed the car to make him comfortable. It was a bad move in hindsight as about four laps into a stint you would lose front grip in the middle of corners and it cost us tons of time. In my mind the third guy just needs to drive whatever the regular drivers say is right and go with it. More towards your question, the answer is no. I always thought it was my job to just take whatever I was given and try to go faster or as fast as the other drivers in it. One thing I have always been particular about though is getting as comfortable with my driving position as possible. Sometimes those sacrifices are difficult to find.

Well, that is what I’m currently doing with Cadillac in World Challenge. I certainly miss Le Mans and Sebring but there is a lot of satisfaction in having a car all to yourself. And standing starts like we do there are one of the coolest things in motorsport.

Smoothness. This means slow steering inputs. Smooth use of the pedals. For a young guy, determination and a hatred of losing. And I would add a never-quit attitude.

Drivers rarely make any calls these days. Most are made by the engineers who have a better idea from watching the monitors and seeing the strategy of other teams. A driver will give opinions on tires, set up, etc, but when it’s time to pit, the final decision is up to the engineer.

Great question. Mentally, I always just thought of the race as being a 24-hour test session. The keys are to relax and just try and be super-consistent with lap times, and knowing that getting in a serious battle with another guy early in the race is usually not going to determine who is the winner. Patience and being smart and mechanically sympathetic are hugely important. Physically, you’ve been training for that race for months, so you ARE in shape, and just need to be smart about getting your rest when you can during the event.

Make each lap a challenge. Hopefully you have a way to get your lap time each time you cross start/finish. If so, race to your dash, and focus on always pushing. You are actually in a good place as you know what your problem is – most don’t. One thing I always did when I was younger was look for the fast guy, and in every session try to make sure he was in front of me. That way he would not only show me all of his lines and braking points, but also give me something to try and catch. But you have to find something that forces you to push every lap.

First off is vision. Most people don’t have any idea where to look, and once they have a helmet on never turn their head. God gave us a neck so that we can turn our head and see an apex, so we focus on that a lot. Also drivers tend to over-brake. So we teach them at the limits of the car, when we are actually steering a lot more with the pedals than the wheel by getting grip on that part of the car where it’s needed. At Bondurant there’s a three-to-one student/instructor ratio, so fixing problems is usually quite easy. It’s one of the reasons the school has been around for 44 years.

Well, the first sports car I drove was the Nissan 300ZX which was pretty incredible!!! Talk about power, it would wheelspin in fourth gear! I loved that car. Initially it was a bit difficult getting used to the weight and mass, but for me I learned pretty quick to change my footwork and modulate brake pressure more on corner entry. (Actually, it helped a lot that I was working as an instructor at Bondurant at the time.) In formula cars, the pedals are more like on-off switches. In heavier cars, you need to use them more like dimmer switches, and learn to wait a little more for your car to take a set. And thanks for the congratulations. I had told my friends that if I didn’t win the championship this season to hunt me down and kill me. Everyone at Cadillac had done a great job improving our car over the winter, and I knew if I was smart – win when I could and get points when I couldn’t – good things would happen.

Like any job you have ups and downs – good seasons and not so good. For a team that is struggling it is always an easy fix to blame the driver and just change the helmet, so to speak. For me, well, in down times I just worked hard at getting another ride and proving myself. Early in my career I wound up driving a lot of really bad racecars, but I had the mindset that if I can’t win, be spectacular – make people notice when you are driving hard. Today, I get motivated just by wanting to keep on winning races and championships. I’m a long way from quitting!

Try to get a job as an instructor at a racing school like Bondurant. I have known so many guys that have made it that way by meeting and becoming friends with someone who is financially able to get a career going. And just don’t give up. But the important thing early is to get track time and laps – experience – and being an instructor can help you achieve that.

Jack, the biggest issue was just getting used to the weight and the slower response time of GT cars. In Formula cars the input you give leads to an immediate response, whereas in GT cars the input you make takes a little longer for the response so you need to plan ahead a little more. That said, a prototype is very similar to an open wheel car. One other thing that affects the technique is for most GT cars they are front-engined, which means you tend to do more trail braking.

I did the Jim Russell school in 1984, and they had a program called the Graduate Runoffs, the winner of which got a free season racing with them. I sold a stereo I owned to do it, and wound up winning. If not for that, wow, it probably never would have happened. The best time to move up really depends on if you are winning. Winning in karts means that with work you will most likely win in cars, and these days, the younger the better.

Some guys you see just have a natural feel – a softness and smoothness with the controls. Natural talent is pretty easy to spot. Things will just click and make sense for a guy. But I’ve also witnessed other guys that didn’t get it right away, but wanted it bad enough and spent the time figuring things out.

Tristan, I know who you are! You might not realize it but people in racing do pay attention to the other classes, and people are aware of the great job you are doing. Continue to win. Don’t move up a class until you are dominating a class like you are now. Also, and this is the hard part for a kid, learn who the key guys are at the factories and go introduce yourself to them. Ask for a card, and give them one with your resume, then make sure you stay in contact with them now and then.