Driver's Eye

This past weekend I got caught up watching the Petit Le Mans. I was fortunate to attend a Formula Drift event there last year and the facility is very similar to Road America, which is right in my backyard. It had been a while since I watched IMSA after doing a six month stint around NASCAR. I forgot how awesome those cars really are.

It also reminded me of a series from The Drive a few years ago called The Driver’s Eye. There was a series of videos showing POV footage from various racing series.

Check out one of my favorites below.

Gridlife Midwest

Ryan Tuerck sending it in his GT4586

As the year comes to close I think back to some of the wild events I attended this past year. If I was to summarize Gridlife in a handful of words, I'd say "automotive carnival" is fairly accurate.  I've bounced around race tracks around the Midwest for the last ten years and nothing comes close to the diversity of enthusiasts and cars in attendance. I’ve been to road racing, circle track, motorcycle racing, drag racing, NHRA and the atmosphere at Gridlife was different. It was an atmosphere of fun, sure there were guys out there competing, but they didn’t let that get in the way of their fun. As people continue to evaluate the automotive industry (and motorcycle industry for that matter) and its future, it comes back to one thing for me - FUN. It’s gotta be fun.

Without the fun, there is no reason to spend shitloads of money on wheels, tires, exhaust, spoilers, coilovers and all the shit that you can weld or bolt onto your car, truck or motorcycle. Not to mention the countless nights undoing stripped bolts and watching YouTube video after YouTube video trying to figure OUT WHY UNBOLT THE DAMN CONTROL ARM AND TIE ROD AND THE CALIPER JUST TO GET THE FRONT SHOCK OFF. Want to get younger kids involved in motorsports? Make it fun.

I was on the fence about even heading out there - I could only be out there for the day and was staring down a 8 hour round trip from Milwaukee to Gingerman. After deliberating I decided it would be worth the trip, so I loaded up a cooler full of beer and was hammer down east. Plus, a handful of industry friends would be there so I had a few reasons to get out there. I made decent time and blew through a shitload of tolls (which I regretted months later) and made it the entrance at 1PM. Despite it being Friday afternoon, there was already a long line of cars waiting to get in. And even though I bought a Sunday ticket and showed up on Friday, I got in. Nothing like preparation, right?

Once inside the track there was a little of everything to see. I walked past a few tastefully modded VWs, Skyline GTR, Corvettes, S13s, Evos, Miatas and even an ex-Bondurant driving school Mustang. As I mentioned there’s a little bit of everything at the event. You can see some of the awesome cars that showed up here.

After taking in time attack and drift demos then spending a bit checking out all the metal around the pits, I linked up with my friends over at Race Service. They were responsible for all the chase footage and had outfitted one of Vaughn Gittin Jr’s RTR Mustangs with a camera rig to capture Ryan Tuerck, Chris Forsberg, Tanner Foust, Chelsea Denofa and Vaughn doing tandem full-course drifting.

As the day winded down, my friend Taylor and I drove around the campgrounds and got a taste of the party side of Gridlife. Campsites were going up while many, many beers were going down - and it wasn’t even dark yet. I’m wasn’t sure if it’s all the exhaust fumes or just the Midwest summer taking effect, but race fans like to get lit. And this crowd was no exception.

After grabbing some food from one of the many food trucks at the event and browsing some of the vape offerings, we made our way over to the stage. The first few acts were getting warmed up and the mixture of car people, ravers and professional drivers was an eclectic mixture of personalities. Once the music started things got crazy with glow sticks and inflatables and vape and liquor and everything else. Even my friend Jarod needed a little help from a dead fox to fit in.

I have to say Gridlife for 8 hours was a helluva good time. I’ve already cleared my calendar for 2019 and will definitely be spending the weekend at Gingerman with a truck full of glowsticks and beer. And I hope that they’ll keep making cars fun.

Riders wanted

What is wrong with motorcycling? How do we get more riders? Is it becoming less accessible?

I’ve heard these questions asked over and over in the last six months. I don’t really have any answers, but I do know that if we don’t take a critical eye at the industry, it could very easily disappear. Too often I hear excuses about “kids these days” from people, and even from myself on occasion. I recently heard a quote from Gary V (cliché I know) about complaining about other generations. The reality is, that they are who they are and complaining is not going to change a damn thing - it might actually make it worse.

What we need to focus on is what we can do to access those kids, millennials, Gen X, etc. where they are most active. And most importantly, deliver a product that they get excited about AND CAN AFFORD. My overwhelming reaction is this - why are we not focusing 1000% on riding?

Riding is what got us here. The roads, the dirt, the adventure, the friends, the missed turns and close calls. What we ride is merely the tool we use to get to those feelings and sensations. Sure, some of tools might be cooler than others, but the ride is what says it all. That’s what sells.

A couple months ago, I meet up with a handful of guys that I admire. They’re young riders and creators that love the untouchable freedom of being on two wheels. We laughed and shared stories about the bikes that stranded us, the awful rainstorms we weathered and the trips we have yet to make. To me, that was, is and will be what motorcycling will always be about.

Jacob’s dad sold his Harley-Davidson to buy him and his brother a 1973 Honda z50. Their love for riding continued to grow as they moved up to bigger motorcycles. Eventually, it led to Jacob and his brother to ride harescrambles throughout high school. The family even kept a trailer at a local racetrack to serve as home base during racing season.

It was a family affair and the passion never faded. He still rides dirt bikes, but has turned his attention to hooligan racing recently. His daily, a custom Sportster hit the sand at the HD 115 beach races earlier this month.

This custom Sportster has lots of cool bits thoughtfully added throughout.

A hooligan bike in its natural environment.

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Philip’s dad bought him and his brother a dirt bike when they were in fifth grade. Once he got to college, he started riding street bikes because he couldn’t afford a car. Also, girls dig motorcycles. The freedom and adventure of going out and getting lost still hasn’t gotten old.

A very sleek and very fast Husqvarna 701.

The Husky was more than willing to comply with my request for wheelie photos.

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Ian took to motorcycles because it was something new. No one in his family did it. It was rebellious and edgy, so of course he had to give it a shot. A friend of his older brothers rode, and after hearing some of the wild stories he shared, Ian set his sights on buying a motorcycle and making his own stories.

Ian has several motorcycles in his garage, but this particular CB200 caught my attention.

Ian’s shop is nice and clean. And full of motorcycles I’d ride.

Formula Drift Atlanta - Southern Hospitality

A few weeks ago I got word that there was a SEMA Networking event during Formula Drift Atlanta. Fortunately, sometimes my job puts me in interesting places and this was exactly what happened. A chance meeting the following week with a client led to a weekend trip to Road Atlanta. My agency joined SEMA last year and as luck would have it there going to be a Young Executives meet up during that time. I also have made friends with a handful of guys in the industry and its always great to catch up - especially at the track. 

After the last five years at various race tracks across the US, I still get excited to hear big LS V8s, rev-happy inline 6 2JZs and everything in between. The car control and drama of Formula D is hard to describe. Nearly every round is smoky door-to-door racing. While the legitimacy of a "judged" motorsport is a hotly debated topic, there's no doubt that experiencing it firsthand draws you in. 

Over the last five years, the technology and engineering of the cars continue to grow. The most competitive cars have nearly 1,000 horsepower and get there in all different kinds of combinations. There's Vaughn Gittin Jr with a Roush-based NASCAR V8 that peaks around 8,000 RPM, Ryan Tuerck with a 1,000 HP 2JZ inline 6 that snap, crackles and pops, Kristaps Bluss with an LS-based supercharged V8 with a full titanium exhaust system covered in a full carbon body. Despite its niche status, the brains behind the cars should get full credit for dreaming up these cars. 

The pit was crowded as drivers and fans mixed together and crews went to work on last minute changes

Ryan Tuerck's 2JZ Toyota FRS

Last year the Worthouse team came over from overseas and captured the 2017 Formula Drift championship with driver James Deane

A perfect example of Formula Drift insanity. This BMW E30 is powered by a LS7 with 660 wheel HP and 785 ft-lbs of torque

As part of this round, there's a car show run in conjunction with the competition

This particular weekend the competition was going off and so were the fans. Road Atlanta has a fantastic layout for both drivers and fans, with the keyhole section of the track between turns 10 and 11 delivering high entry speeds and an arena "bowl" like view of the cars. I grabbed a handful of photos from the pit and of Friday night's Pro 2 competition. Kristaps Bluss ended up winning the event over Frederic Asabo in a hotly contested battle. It was Kristaps first win and he was incredibly stoked on the victory. 

Pro 2 Formula D competition.

With a few days to kill my buddy Jarod DeAnda, who happens to commentate for Formula Drift linked me up with his friend Steve West, who is a killer jewelry maker and also shoots some amazing photography. Steve's shop is inside of Fuller Moto and he was kind enough to give me a tour and guide me around some of Atlanta's fantastic culture. I was able to hit up a few other institutions like Brother Moto and cop some shirts and coffee too. 

Check out some photos from the trip below.

After a 72 hour, crazy trip I came to the realization that Atlanta is a cool city.

Steve West, photographer, jewelry maker and occasional Atlanta tour guide

Garage side of Brother Moto

Coffee and retail side of Brother Moto - the vibe was on point

There was no shortage of metal to check out inside Fuller's shop

A funny car the Fuller Moto team was working on

Krog Street Bridge is a spot to check out street art. If you have a can of spray paint handy, you can leave your own mark

I was tempted....

A surreal place, the tomb of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr and his wife

The Truck - Ford Raptor Part Two

After spending some time updating a few cosmetic bits here and there, I decided to focus my attention to the performance of the truck. The first thing I decided to tackle was replacing the stock battery. It had already begun to corrode on the posts, so I went with an OPTIMA YellowTop D34 deepcycle battery. The battery is a Spiral-Cell AGM that is more vibration resistant than traditional lead acid batteries. 

The OPTIMA is smaller than the OE unit, so OPTIMA provides some spacers to help position it correctly. Other than the fact that both batteries are heavy AF, it's pretty straightforward install. Also, don't forget to use charge up the battery once installed. 

After about a year it's still kicking ass. 

The next step was addressing the stock intake. I went with the K&N Cold Air kit. Not only does it clean up the engine bay by eliminating the large stock airbox assembly, the kit also claims a horsepower increase as well. To add an extra level of dust and dirt protection, I added a Drycharger as well. I paired this with a less restrictive Black Widow muffler and a tune from SVC Off-Road so there was a noticeable change on the butt dyno. The install is pretty straightforward and between the directions and a YouTube video from K&N I was able to knock it out in about 2.5 hours. 

From there I addressed the exhaust. The stock exhaust was decent, but it didn't really strike fear into small compacts at every stoplight. I test drove a truck with a Corsa Xtreme catback, which sounds amazing, but it's also a $1200 kit, also the cat-back kits are susceptible to damage when off-roading hard. Because of these reasons I opted for a small, compact Black Widow Race Venom muffler, which is dumped before the rear axle. The muffler comes in raw stainless, so I hit it with some VHT header spray paint from Advance Auto Parts before dropping it off at the installer. 

Big thanks to Jake Rawsome from Rawspeed who welded up the muffler in place of the old system. The old muffler was about 50 pounds versus this one which is about 10. It isn't necessarily a straight-through muffler, but has an hourglass internal design to help with the sound and minimize drone. 

The exhaust is pretty throaty on cold starts and at wide-open throttle. It has a far more noticeable idle as well. It sounds like a proper truck now. Long tube headers would be a fantastic addition, but total between parts and labor puts that around $2000 and I'm piecing this thing together slowly. 

Photo credit - Rawspeed

Photo credit - Rawspeed

Photo credit - Rawspeed

Photo credit - Rawspeed

Next on the list was getting the most of the intake and exhaust, so I went with a tune from SVC Off Road loaded onto an SCT Tuner X4 that Jake at Rawspeed ordered up for me. For about $500 this was hands down one of the best modifications I've made to my truck. SVC specializes in Ford Raptor suspension and performance parts and have developed a tune that stays within the safety parameters of the stock ECU, but helps wake up the truck. The most noticeable difference is in the transmission, the factory setting has a tendency to "search" for the right gear when driving around town and this made a huge difference. Again, I don't have an official dyno sheet, but the butt dyno noticed an improvement over stock. 

Not sure what will be next. I was hooked up with a set of Method Race Wheels and 37 inch Nitto Ridge Grapplers, but I'd like to address the shocks before jumping into that upgrade. The service life of the Fox 2.5s that the Raptor comes from the factory with is around 40k-50k miles. I just passed 51k miles and would rather take care of everything at once, since once I change out the wheels and tires the truck will need an alignment. For options I can either upgrade to the beefier (and more expensive) Fox or King 3.0s or go with a rebuilt set of the OE shocks. 

With my old Wrangler I rushed into things versus saving up and doing them right once, so that's what I'm forcing myself to do this time around.

So stay tuned to see what's next. 

The Truck - Ford Raptor Part One

Last year I got the itch to buy a truck. And of course being the type of guy that I am, a regular old truck wouldn't do. I wanted a Raptor. So I searched, made phone calls, negotiated, test drove and made some more phone calls, but finally I found one. An oxford white 2014 Raptor with just under 41k miles. One problem - it was in Davenport, Iowa - a 3.5 hour trip one way.

I've come to learn and accept the fact that occasionally I'll want something so bad that it consumes me. That was the case with the Raptor. I knew I'd be miserable and waste countless hours on Cars.com searching and searching so I just f*cking did it. 

When it comes to vehicles I can't really leave anything alone, so off I went to browse for parts. I had a few ideas of what I wanted to change so I went for it. 

I started simple because at first I said, "I won't really buy many parts for this." The nasty stock antenna had to go. This slick stubby antenna looks awesome and cleaned up the appearance of the front end.

For some reason Ford decided to throw ugly reflectors on the mirrors. Now, if they were functional turn signals that would be one thing, but no these are just reflectors. I swapped them with a simple black insert I found on Amazon which looks way cleaner

The halogen lights that most vehicles come standard with flat out suck. I picked up a few Diode Dynamics LED bulbs to swap into my truck's reverse lights, license plate, cargo lamp in the third brake light and dome / map lights. Also shout out to The Hoonigans for the oh so appropriate license plate frame. They made a huge difference. I also upgraded the puddle lights underneath the mirrors with a plug and play replacement from Recon lights. 

Next I'll be doing a few performance upgrades to wake the truck up a bit. Stay tuned. 

Himalayan Adventure - Riding a pocket-sized ADV

For the last few months Breeann Poland at Royal Enfield let me ride around on their yet to be released in the US Himalayan, A 400cc dual sport. After 35k miles on my Buell XB12, I'll admit that I forgot what riding a simple bike feels like. When you jump on the Buell, it's a motorcycle that can get you in a lot of trouble in a hurry, while the Himalayan invokes a completely different riding experience. From dirt roads, single track, the snow and even a 60 mile roundtrip commute out to Delafield, this little thumper took all my abuse. I even crashed it a few times just to be sure it was the real deal.

Some awful ad agency decided on the tagline "Return to Pure" and while I would have gone a different direction - these motorcycles deliver a fun and easy riding experience. 

This thing has opened a whole new dimension of riding to me and after 1500 miles I feel like I've just begun to scratch the surface with it. She might not be fast, but if you're looking for a capable motorcycle that's fun and stands out of the crowd, there's not much I'd pick over this. 

If they let me hold onto it for this season here are a few small things I'd address:

1. Bars - I bent the f*ck out of the handle bars on the dual-sport ride I attended, so upgrading those would be smart.
2. Exhaust - It's a 400cc single that could use some more bark, because let's be honest, I like to be rowdy. Plus a little extra grunt wouldn't hurt. 
3. Panniers - I like Starbucks. And nothing looks better outside of Starbucks than an ADV bike with muddy cases and a hi-viz helmet. 
4. Lights - while the stocks light fit the bill, after swapping HIDs in my Buell I can honestly say I'll never run stock bulbs ever again. 

Here are a handful of images from my experience with the Himalayan. It just landed into dealerships here in the US. At $4500 it's hard to beat the fun you can have with this thing.

Introduction to me - JC

Where do I begin - after a long hiatus I've decided to blog again. I'll save you the lame background as you can find that info in my bio. Anyways, over the next year I intend to share my work, hobbies and perspective on here. Most of the time you'll read this stuff and say - "hey this guy is an idiot" but hopefully as I stumble along this thing will begin to make sense. 

The majority of this blog's subject matter will cover things like photography, video, marketing, social media and mostly cars, trucks and motorcycles. Why? Because that's what I fucking like OK. AND if I get over my anxiety and perfectionism you'll see a vlog here as well - since that's what all the cool kids are doing. 

Stay tuned for more.