Solo Stats by Rocky Entriken

After winning A-Stock at the 2011 Solo Nationals, my parents bought me a copy of Rock Entriken's meticulously prepared "Solo Stats" book where he compiles statistics and records for every Solo Nationals dating back to back to the 1st Annual SCCA Solo Nationals in 1973.

Rocky's book is incredibly detailed and includes Top Ten lists for most wins, most trophies, largest margin of victory, smallest MOV, and many other categories.  It also includes records for number of competitors, site and race info for each Solo Nats, a full list of all the Solo National Champions, and the Alpha List which is a results record of every driver who has competed at the Solo Nationals. For each person who buys the book, he also makes a "Personal Record" of your Solo Nats history and records. Here is mine:

Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley Review

I just finished Ross Bentley's Speed Secrets: Professional Driving Techniques. I really enjoyed the book and it has helped me to think critically about my driving at work and on the racetrack. I find it very helpful to hear seasoned pros like Ross Bentley and James Weaver give insight into what allowed them to achieve what they have in racing. They fine detail at which Ross approaches driving is amazing and has inspired me to try and raise my game.

http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Secrets-Professional-Driving-Techniques/dp/0760305188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269622451&sr=8-1

As an engineer and driver, I appreciate and understand the science behind driving at the limit, but I enjoyed this book for the simple, easy way that Ross describes top-notch driving technique and theory. At about 150 pages, it was a pretty quick read compared to most "textbook-style teaching books" which makes it effective in my opinion. I believe it is a book that anybody who aspires to driver better can pick up, read, understand, and apply to whatever driving they are doing.

Speed Secrets will be a reference to me throughout my racing and driving career. I have already re-read parts of it to make sure it was fresh in my mind. Most of the "Speed Secrets" documented throughout the book are relatively basic, but you can't apply the harder techniques without mastering the basics. At times the book is repetitive, but I think it helps to have some of the lessons re-iterated throughout the book.

Overall, I recommend this book to anybody who wants to get faster in a racecar.

Just Finished Mark Donohue's Biography - Great Read

I just finished "Mark Donohue: Technical Excellence as Speed." It was long (302 textbook-like pages), but totally worth it. Michael Argetsinger goes into amazing detail and clearly did his research on Mark Donohue and his illustrious racing career. From Mark's self-funded foray into SCCA club racing to Trans-Am to Le Mans to Can-Am to Formula 1, then book covers each stage of his life in amazing detail.

As a young racer and engineer, I found this book incredibly inspiring and insightful into racing's history. I am huge fan of all forms of motorsport and now I feel like I truly understand the way racing used to be and what the glory days of series like the Trans-Am and Can-Am were like. Racing was certainly different back then! The thought of a guy starting SCCA club racing at age 22 going on to win the Indy 500 and race in Formula 1 is unfathomable nowadays. Young or old, I would recommend this book to any racing who wants to learn about one of the great racecar drivers and engineers.

http://www.bullpublishing.com/shop/item.asp?itemid=117#FullDescription