Posted on

Impressions from a Formula E weekend

Formula E’s track in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn has views of both the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. (Photo: Jeff Gluck)

Before arriving in Brooklyn for the NYC ePrix — Formula E’s season finale weekend — pretty much all I knew about the series was a column NBC’s Parker Kligerman wrote last year.

Kligerman had attended the race as a fan, only to find the experience wasn’t what he expected. His conclusion: Formula E was more of a platform for promoting electric cars than an actual racing event.

Still, I wanted to draw my own conclusions and went into the weekend with an open mind. But after getting to know more about Formula E, it turns out Kligerman wasn’t far off.

Formula E is indeed based more on spreading the electric vehicle message than existing as a pure racing series. The thing is, those involved in Formula E embrace that concept; it’s part of the series’ DNA.

Basically, to understand Formula E, you have to take everything you know about racing and flip it around. It’s the virtual opposite of NASCAR, which is what I’m used to.

For example: In racing, the teams try to maximize engine power, right? Not here. All engines are capped at 200 kW of electrical output.

OK, but they’re still trying to go as fast as possible, right? Nope! This isn’t about maximum speed, because going all out for the whole race would drain the battery too quickly.

Instead, Formula E is about efficiency — from both teams and drivers. The teams have to figure out how to maximize the amount of energy they have available and the drivers have to balance hard racing with conserving their battery (which in NASCAR terms sort of makes every race like a fuel mileage race).

Lucas Di Grassi, who won Saturday’s race, emphasized how it was pointless to try and build a gap on another car after taking the lead. Why? Because then a driver is using more power, and if a caution comes out, the energy was wasted for no reason.

“It’s all about energy management,” he said.

Race fans of other series would also be taken aback by the sound — or lack thereof. The cars sound like some combination of an RC car, a high-powered golf cart and one of those kid-driven battery-powered cars (except on steroids). At times, the screeching of the tires is just as loud — or louder — than the engines.

But there’s a huge positive that goes along with that: It allows Formula E to race in city centers around the world. And that’s massive for the series, because when the electric car revolution really takes over, it’s going to first happen in cities — where less distance is required for a commute — before anywhere else.

That’s why Formula E doesn’t do road courses, according to Renault technical manager Vincent Gaillardot. The series wants to be right in the heart of places like Paris, Rome, Hong Kong and Berlin to showcase what electric cars can do.

In turn, the cities jump on board because it’s environmentally friendly and goes hand-in-hand with their green initiatives. But it’s not the cities themselves that matter most to Formula E’s success — it’s the manufacturers (OEMs).

OEMs have been signing up to join Formula E at an unprecedented pace. Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Nissan are among those who will be involved for Season 5; Porsche and Mercedes will join in Season 6, bringing the total number of manufacturers to a whopping 10.

“Formula E has only four percent of the lifetime of Formula One or IndyCar — four years against 100 or more,” Di Grassi said. “But we already have more manufacturers in Formula E than in IndyCar and F1 combined.

“That shows a clear direction that manufacturers are looking for electric. Formula E is delivering in reality, and it will establish itself stronger and stronger in the next years.”

The race event itself puts a heavy emphasis on the VIP experience. It’s a place where companies can host clients and show off their involvement in a cool, trendy form of motorsport. There’s an exclusive “Emotion Club” where celebrities mingling with executives and beautiful people — clearly a place to be seen.

There are a few thousand grandstand seats for the public, but it’s clear attendance isn’t how Formula E makes its money. As a result, there’s free access to what’s called the “eVillage” — basically the display area — but you can actually do way more than that. The free ticket gives you the ability to stand along the fence for roughly half the entire track without a seat.

And the races are so short, you don’t really need a seat anyway. Every Formula E event is a one-day show — practices started at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by qualifying and the race at 3 p.m.

The races lasted about one hour this season but next year will be capped at 45 minutes, which will enable the futuristic, sleek-looking “Gen 2” car to last the entire race (New York was the final race for the first-generation car, which required drivers to stop halfway and jump into a completely different vehicle since batteries are too complex to be changed quickly).

A look at the second-generation Formula E car, which will debut next season (Photo: Jeff Gluck)

During the New York races, noted open-wheel driver Katherine Legge served alongside the public address announcer in calling the action for the crowd as dramatic-sounding music played as a base for the action. Fans lined up along the fences and seemed to pay attention when the cars zipped past, but I didn’t get the “race fan” vibe from most of them (it was more like the “Hey, let’s go spend a nice summer day hanging out at this event” vibe).

There are also gimmicky elements, such as a fan-voted energy boost (that lasts for five seconds during the race). And next season, Formula E will have a power stripe — located off the racing line — that will temporarily boost a car’s power level like in Mario Kart (though drivers will have to risk a slower lap time to get it).

The drivers are media friendly (Formula E makes every driver available each day of the race weekend) as well as fan friendly (there’s a full-field autograph session in the free fan zone), so those are positives.

As for the negatives? Well, at least for American race fans — specifically NASCAR fans — it’s hard to imagine them really falling in love with it. It’s just such a departure from the norm in the United States.

“This is too different,” said Formula E driver Nelson Piquet Jr., who spent three full seasons racing in NASCAR (one in Xfinity, two in Trucks). “It’s not as accessible as NASCAR, it’s not as cheap to get tickets as NASCAR. It’s in big cities. NASCAR, nine times out of 10, races in small places where people can go with their own caravans and can have family time, barbecues and watch the race. That’s a whole different concept and lifestyle.”

Piquet raises a good point, because there was certainly no tailgating or camping at the Brooklyn race — you couldn’t even drive to the track (there’s no parking)! The only options for reaching the event were a subway/shuttle bus combo, a ferry ride from Manhattan or an Uber.

Transportation options for the Formula E race in Brooklyn, as seen from a sign on the fence. (Photo: Jeff Gluck)

“Unfortunately, we are going to attract much more city people than the NASCAR audience,” Piquet said. “I think the racing would be fun for NASCAR fans, but even IndyCar for them is a step away. This is an even bigger step away. So unfortunately, even when this succeeds, I don’t think it will attract that audience.”

That could prove somewhat problematic if Formula E can’t hook the American audience like it has in other countries (when it raced in Switzerland, there were 150 reporters and 40% of the country was watching on TV). Series CEO Alejandro Agag said the future of electrification — whether that’s battery-powered cars, hydrogen-powered cars or some other power source we don’t know yet — will depend in part on how quickly this country adapts (along with China).

“China and America have to lead the way,” he said.

To that end, Formula E has added a second race in China next season. And it will once again finish up in New York for two races in Season 5.

So it’s clearly a series on the rise with a ton of money behind it, and it has a lot to offer for certain demographics and types of race fans.

But is it for everyone? Not now.  Maybe someday.

“The world is changing and evolving,” British driver Sam Bird said. “This is a form of motorsport that is exciting, fresh, new and caters to the younger generation.

“Everything is pointing in the right direction. It has a very, very bright future.”

Posted on

Book review: “Leading the Way” by Steve Letarte with Nate Ryan

Steve Letarte probably could have written an entire book about leadership, motivation and team-building. But armed with a compelling story — his years as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief — Letarte and co-author Nate Ryan smoothy weave in leadership lessons instead of hitting readers over the head with them.

Letarte’s new book, Leading the Way, allows readers to go through his experiences and learn what to do — or what not to do — right along with him.

The crew-chief-turned-TV-analyst doesn’t try to make it out like everything he did was perfect. Quite the opposite, actually. He’s blunt about his missteps, but uses each one as even more of a lesson than the successes.

Business leaders — or those who attend Letarte’s speaking engagements — would find the book valuable. But it will also appeal to NASCAR fans (not just Junior Nation) because it provides insight into the inner workings of a race team.

The book is a quick read — just over 130 pages — and you could probably go through it in a couple sittings. However, I found myself stopping at the end of several chapters to think about the examples Letarte had just put forward and wondering how I could apply it to my own life.

Leading the Way never seems to get bogged down. Ryan, the “as told to” author who essentially took Letarte’s own words and put them in order, makes sure passages and transitions flow while expertly retaining Letarte’s voice.

You can practically hear Letarte reading the words aloud, which likely is the whole point.

Notification of bias: Nate Ryan is one of my good friends and I like Steve Letarte a lot, so I already wanted to like the book before I read it. But I genuinely enjoyed it.

Posted on

12 Questions with Kasey Kahne (2018)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | Google Podcasts | RSS

Kasey Kahne celebrates after winning last year’s Brickyard 400. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The 12 Questions series of driver interviews continues this week with Kasey Kahne of Leavine Family Racing. Kahne finished fourth last week at Daytona International Speedway. These interviews are recorded as a podcast but also transcribed below for those who prefer to read.

1. How often do you have dreams about racing?

That’s interesting. I actually never really do about driving the car. I feel like my dreams, when I do have them, it’s like I’m going to miss the race or miss qualifying or miss practice. Like I can’t get my seatbelts buckled — they’re too short. I just can’t get them that last little bit, or for whatever reason I can’t put my glove on. Like just weird stuff but I can’t figure out how to do it. Or you can’t find your helmet. I don’t know why, but those have kind of always been my dreams about racing.

That would freak me out, just trying to think about getting your glove on over and over and the cars are starting.

And then it’s like the race is starting in the dream and you can’t do it because you can’t get your glove on. But that’s not really how it goes. I mean you’ve got tons of time before the race starts (in real life).

2. If you get into someone during a race — intentional or not — does it matter if you apologize?

I think it always does. I feel like you might as well get on the same page and talk about it. It’s usually probably not the best idea right after it happens — although sometimes it is if it’s not intentional and you’re pretty sure they understand that. Then that’s a good time just because it’s over with.

But I think the sooner the better — no later than Monday if it’s a Sunday show — just try and get it figured out and talk about it and then you can move on and you know if that person is still mad at you or if it made sense the way you explained it or you did them wrong.

They might eventually get you back. But at least you know, and at least they know where you’re coming from also. I think it’s good to get it out there.

3. What is the biggest compliment someone could give you?

I always like compliments about a couple things: being a good person, treating a person with respect, treating people the way I want to be treated. And when somebody compliments me on something like that, I feel good about that.

Also, anytime I get a compliment about Tanner, my son, just no matter what it is, like, “You’re a good dad” or  “You have a great boy” — just anything to do with him that is a compliment for him or for myself, it makes me feel good.

4. NASCAR comes to you and says they’re bringing a celebrity to the track and they want you to host them. Who is a celebrity you’d be excited to host?

Tom Brady. For one, he’s my favorite quarterback. Over the years he’s just so clutch, so perfect when you have to be perfect in that situation. So I just always thought that about him. And to be able to have someone like that at the racetrack and show them around, to me that would be unbelievable no matter what I got to show him, like about the cars or around the racetrack — just different things that NASCAR has going on throughout the weekend. I think that would be pretty awesome.

5. In an effort to show this is a health conscious sport, NASCAR decides to offer the No. 1 pit stall for an upcoming race to the first driver willing to go vegan for one month. Would you do it?

No. I wouldn’t.

You like your meat and cheese too much?

For sure, and you can still do really well on other stalls and still eat the way I like eating.

6. It’s time for the Random Race Challenge. I’ve picked a random race from your career and you have to tell me where you finished. This is the 2011 Darlington Cup race.

I was in the Red Bull No. 4, we were super fast early in the race and I hit the wall. I might have even been leading; if I wasn’t leading, I was running second. I feel like Carl Edwards was up in the mix. But we were running up front and had a really good car and I hit the wall and ruined our chances of winning. We got the big Darlington stripe. I feel like we finished fourth, but without the damage we would have had a much better shot.

Wow, that’s amazing. You did finish fourth. You led more than 120 laps. That was the race Regan Smith won. Are you always that good at remembering races, or does that one just stick out?

A lot of things that went on in ’11 stick out. That was one of my favorite years in Cup racing for a lot of different reasons. And most races at Darlington stick out. That’s a track I’ve always had on the top of my list to win at. And I have a bunch of poles there and I’ve came close a bunch of different times but never been able to pull those off. So I remember those races really well. If you had asked me something else, I probably wouldn’t know.

7. Who is the best rapper alive?

I actually like rap, but I don’t usually know who’s singing. Or rapping, I guess.

So you like the song, but you’re like, “I don’t know who this is?”

Right. I actually just heard a song recently that I was like, “Man, that’s actually really good. That guy’s good at that.” But I had no clue who it was.

When I was younger, Eminem was my favorite. But that was a long time ago, I’m not sure anymore how much new music he has or anything.

He’s put out some stuff, but it’s not like amazing like the old stuff.

Yeah, the old stuff, I just always liked that.

8. Who has the most punchable face in NASCAR?

I think about someone up top calling the race (from the NASCAR tower) because there’s so much relying on their calls and so many of them are the right calls and good calls and even the ones that I wouldn’t think are right sometimes can be right. But sometimes I just can’t believe certain calls. Like it just irritates me so bad.

Like when you watch it back?  (Editor’s note: For some reason, I thought Kahne was referring to spotters and didn’t grasp he was referring to NASCAR at first.)

No, when I’m actually in the car. I may not have all the information at the time, but I can get as mad about some of that stuff as I can about a lot of things.

Are you talking about a spotter clearing somebody or something and you’re like, “I can’t believe that?” I’m confused.

I’m talking about like David Hoots. (The frustration) just comes from the call and then because of that, that person I guess. Whoever makes that call.

9. NASCAR enlists three famous Americans to be involved with your team for one race as part of a publicity push: Taylor Swift, LeBron James and Tom Hanks. Choose one to be your crew chief, one to be your spotter and one to be your motorhome driver.

So I think Tom Hanks is my crew chief because I feel like he would just be really in depth and just really figure it out and tune it up. Call a great race. Like he’d have all the information, do all the research. So Tom’s the crew chief.

LeBron’s the spotter because he’s just going to motivate me. I mean, he’ll just motivate the whole race. I don’t even like to be motivated, but if LeBron James was trying to motivate me, I think it’d be awesome. So LeBron’s motivating and he’s the spotter and helping me win the race. And Taylor Swift’s driving my motorhome.

10. What is the key to finding the best pre-race bathroom?

Actually, the key is probably the interior guy (a crewman who is in charge of the car’s interior like the seat). They have usually walked the area, so a lot of times I’ll just ask him and he’ll know where the closest bathroom is because he knows I need one right before we go. So the key is the interior guy.

11. NASCAR decides they miss the highlight reel value brought by Carl Edwards’ backflips and want a replacement. How much money would they have to offer for you to backflip off your car following your next win?

A lot of money. A ton of money. I mean, I would definitely break my neck on the backflip — like there’s no way I could complete it, so I would need a lot of money to attempt it. NASCAR money. A lot of money. (Laughs)

12. Each week, I ask a driver to give me a question for the next interview. Last week was Aric Almirola. He has a question about Tanner. So he asks, “What is your favorite way to spend a day with Tanner from start to finish? What would you do in a day that you would both have a great time?”

Good question. We have those days, so it’s actually pretty easy. It has a lot to do with doing things and moving. He really likes going to the race shop; we have kind of our routine, so he has his people that really likes. At the race shop he has Roe (office manager Roseann Greene) and my sister (Shanon Adams) and Lisa (Backer, his longtime manager) and the guys in the shop working on the cars.

Basically we get up, we have breakfast, we watch a little bit of Paw Patrol, go to the race shop for an hour, I get a good workout in, he gets to play with everybody there. And then from there it’s pool time, water, outside, swings, slides — just kind of more than anything, running around playing and enjoying the time. And I don’t mind that either; I like relaxing. So to let him go do his thing and me get to relax and just keep my eye on him is a nice afternoon.

The next interview is with Denny Hamlin. Do you have a question I can ask Denny?

How much time a week does he actually put into the Hoop Group and Golf Guys Tour during those seasons? Because I know he has all kinds of stuff going on to make those things go. So how much actual time is he putting into that? Because I feel like it’s a lot.

It seems like it would be. They have social media accounts, they have all sorts of professional trophies and stuff going on.

Yeah. Trophies, they have dinner outings, they have the full-on tournaments, they have the same with the Hoop Group,  I feel like they have gambling. It’s all types of things are wrapped around those two groups. And I think Denny is behind all of it, so he has to be putting in some serious hours.

Previous 12 Questions interviews with Kasey Kahne:

— May 12, 2010

— July 27, 2011

— April 4, 2013

— April 30, 2014

— April 30, 2015

— March 23, 2016

— April 12, 2017

Posted on

The Top Five: Breaking down the Daytona summer race

Five thoughts after Saturday night’s race at Daytona International Speedway…

1. Jonesing for a victory

Given all the talk this week about one of the younger drivers needing to win, Erik Jones’ first career victory came at a great time. It was one of the more prominent races (Daytona!) and a solid spotlight (first race of the season on NBC’s broadcast channel, a moment so important they brought in Mike Tirico to host).

Fans who probably don’t know much about Jones got to see him light up in the post-race interview and show some personality. That’s an important platform for a young driver who needs to get more exposure.

Seriously, this is great stuff:

Does this change anything? Jones was likely going to be in the playoffs whether he won or not (he’s 13th in the standings). But a victory might do wonders for his mindset; after all, he’s still only 22.

“I’m really expecting even bigger things from him,” crew chief Chris Gayle said. “You get a little confidence in him…we all know we can do it at this level. It just kind of helps you once you kind of get the first win. Everyone in the entire team knows that. So I’m looking for big things. It’s cool.”

Out of all the big name young drivers who have come onto the scene lately — like Elliott, Blaney, Suarez, Wallace, Byron, Bowman, Ty Dillon and Jones — only one of them had won a race so far. That was Blaney last year at Pocono.

So Jones makes it two, and now maybe he has something to build on. NASCAR can certainly hope.

2. They’re wrecking…again

I’m so conflicted about races like these. On the one hand, it certainly was exciting and entertaining. It’s not like anyone watching Saturday night would say, “This is boring!” People in attendance certainly got their money’s worth and the time investment for those at home definitely paid off.

On the other hand, it’s not satisfying to see so many cars wreck in multiple crashes. Seeing a Big One is part of the game at plate tracks, so it would almost feel odd if at least one didn’t happen — like going to a concert and your favorite band not playing their famous hit song. But you also don’t need to hear that song three times in the same concert.

And yet…you can’t deny narrowing the field set the stage for a crazy finish and a first-time winner. So those are positives and added to the entertainment factor.

Then again…sigh. I don’t know, I guess I don’t really have a take here other than I’m glad these races only happen a few times a year. They’re OK in very small doses.

Thrilling and dramatic? Yes. “Racing?” Eh…

3. Ricky has had better nights, but…

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. miscalculated a side draft and took out Kyle Busch and William Byron while they were battling for the lead.

Not good.

Other than that, I didn’t view his night quite as harshly as most others seemed to on social media (and in the stands, judging by the cheers from when he wrecked).

On the first Big One, I’m leaning toward Brad Keselowski’s point of view that Byron threw too big of a block.

As Keselowski spotter Joey Meier tweeted, there’s a fine line between managing a race (with the whole block-and-defend maneuvers perfected by Keselowski, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and others) and throwing a block.

From what I can tell, managing the lead requires moving up and down the lanes to take away the momentum from runs. In those cases, there’s no contact.

But blocking from the lead is when the move is last-minute enough that it leaves the trailing car with two options: Check up and hit the brakes or just drive through the leader.

Keselowski elected to check up, which caused Stenhouse — who had full momentum in the draft — to get into him. That’s why I don’t blame Stenhouse for that one.

Not that Stenhouse hasn’t been guilty of such a move before.

“I thought (Byron) blocked (Keselowski), but I did that here in February and threw an aggressive block down the back straightaway that in turn caused a big crash like that, too,” Stenhouse said. “I can’t be too mad because I felt like I did that in February.”

Stenhouse won two stages, but obviously wasn’t happy about his role in the race (he was officially part of five cautions on the race report) and even made a karma reference on himself regarding Kyle Larson taking him out later due to a cut tire.

“I was frustrated with myself causing crashes like that,” he said. “You don’t ever really want to do that.”

So would he have to do some damage control with other drivers this week?

“No, it’s aggressive speedway racing,” he said. “We needed to win to get in the playoffs, so it is what it is.”

That’s probably true, but unfortunately for him, situations like these often lack nuance. He’s going to take most of the blame for everything that happened Saturday night, even though he’s only partially at fault.

4. Underdogs have their day

In a race like this, there are always going to be some unusual results. Unless I missed someone, it looks like five of the 40 drivers in the race had their best career finishes — including Jones, of course.

Ty Dillon was sixth — his best career finish and first top 10. Jeffrey Earnhardt was 11th, which was the first top 20 of his career. Also, DJ Kennington had his best career result (13th). Ray Black Jr. was in just his fourth Cup race, but he hadn’t finished better than 34th before placing 16th on Saturday night.

There were other underdogs who had great nights, too.

How about JTG Daugherty Racing getting both of its drivers in the top five? AJ Allmendinger finished third and Chris Buescher was fifth, although it was Buescher who really had a chance to win the race.

Buescher, who gave Jones the winning push past Truex, said he thought he could shove the 20 car far enough to leave the two of them to determine the race. Then he planned to nudge Jones up the hill in Turn 3. But Truex side-drafted him and took away his momentum, leaving Jones to streak to the finish line well ahead of them both.

Also, Matt DiBenedetto was seventh, which was the second-best finish of his career and shouldn’t be overlooked. And Brendan Gaughan had yet another solid result at a plate race, finishing in 12th.

5. Points Picture

Erik Jones became this season’s seventh different winner, joining Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Truex, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon.

That means there are currently nine spots available to make the playoffs on points with just eight races left in the regular season.

Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Hamlin, Aric Almirola and Ryan Blaney are virtual locks.

Jimmie Johnson is currently safe by 54 points, Chase Elliott is in by 37 points and then Bowman (the cutoff position) is 19 points ahead of Stenhouse.

Stenhouse and Paul Menard (-55) are the only drivers with a realistic shot right now of making it on points.

Up next: Kentucky Speedway, where it should be back to the usual suspects running up front.

Posted on

NASCAR made correct call in Daytona Xfinity finish

All anyone should ask of NASCAR officials is to enforce the rules fairly and consistently.

When it came to the finish of Friday night’s Xfinity Series race, that’s exactly what they did.

Justin Haley made a thrilling, sensational move to swoop down below Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler while coming to the finish line, seeming to snatch the win from two experienced drivers. And it certainly seemed like Haley deserved the victory for his efforts at first glance.

Unfortunately, Haley violated one of NASCAR’s longstanding no-nos: He crossed below the double yellow line while making the move. And no matter the circumstances, that is not a legal way to pass.

In a TV interview, Haley noted he had room to make the move and questioned why NASCAR penalized him. But officials can’t be making judgment calls like that, or it would open the door to far more questions and sticky situations than ones like this.

If someone passes below the double yellow line, it’s out of bounds. Period.

Sadler said he was relieved to see NASCAR enforce the rule, “because if not, you’re going to see people take advantage of it.” And that would mean Cup drivers immediately taking risks they shouldn’t at an already dangerous track.

Look, most people watching would have loved to see Haley’s move pay off in a win. It was courageous and ballsy and would have made for an incredible highlight. I’m betting NASCAR wanted to see it happen, too.

But that’s not how sports should be officiated. He was below the line before he completed the pass, so it’s a black and white call — or in this case, a yellow and black call.

You can say you hate the rule, but it’s still the rule. There’s no “swallowing the whistle,” there’s no judgment call.

NASCAR clearly defines the rule, and officiated it exactly in line with its previous yellow line calls.

Be mad at the outcome, but they got this one right.