How to Join the Race Day Book Club
Devour a copy of 'Faster' with us. Plus, what the success of Hemmings' online auctions can teach us and more.
A weekly newsletter by Ryan K. ZumMallen (@zoomy575m). If you enjoy Race Day, consider picking up a copy of my book ‘Slow Car Fast’ available now.
Happy Race Day, especially to the dad who is organizing a drive-thru car show so his son can have a 5th birthday party and stay safe at the same time.
A lot of us are fortunate enough to have extra time on our hands. It’s truly a privilege. But it’s also difficult to find constructive ways to fill it, not to mention feel a connection to people.
I think we can help each other. Last week I announced Race Day would host a book club, with the first title being ‘Faster,’ the true tale of two unlikely heroes taking on the Third Reich on the racetrack, by best-selling author Neal Bascomb.
Join us by signing up in this Google doc, which I created so we can all share thoughts and follow along in the fun. Each week we’ll tackle a few chapters, leave comments, ask questions and guide each other through an incredible motorsports tale!
Dive in, grab a copy of ‘Faster’ and let’s start discussing! The book is a lot of fun, so don’t feel bad if you’re just getting started. I recommend stores to place orders and it shouldn’t be hard to catch up and start chiming in.
I’ve posted notes and questions to kick us off, and have a few surprises planned as we progress. So if you’re thinking about it, I promise I’m working hard to make sure you’ll get a lot out of the experience.
Thank you all for the support during this time. If I can give you some of that love back it will make my day, and I truly believe the ties that hold car culture together will only grow stronger through this. Again, click this link to join in.
Culture
This week I want to dedicate the Culture section to auctions. It’s one of the most interesting corners of the car world right now because, despite the complete shutdown of public events, where auctions usually thrive, they’re continuing to find success.
Bring A Trailer is still bringing in new lots and selling high-dollar cars. RM Sotheby’s switched its annual Palm Beach sale to online-only on short notice, and still pulled in $13.7 million on an impressive sale-through rate of 69 percent.
It seems collectors are not slowing down. At least, not much.
This week I spoke with James Wyler, director of auctions at Hemmings, the classic and antique motorcars magazine that has recently amped up its online sales efforts which began just last year.
In the last few weeks, Hemmings has seen a 75 percent sale-through rate. That’s slightly down from January and February, but up from early March, Wyler said.
“It indicates that initially buyers were unsure, and understandably so, but have since returned to buying patterns that are similar to before the pandemic,” he told me.
Recent sales seem to support this assessment. The site has moved everything from an early Willys Jeepster to a truly bizarre French coupe and an absolutely cherry Charger R/T 440. It’s an eclectic group that also includes big-fin sedans, modern supercars and exotic tractors. Hemmings has also seen new pageview records that have risen with each passing week since the outbreak.
Wyler said that the diverse selection is part of its effort to offer something for everyone. The collector audience tends to skew older, but keeping the listings full of trendy oddities and Radwood-era muscle helps bring in young eyeballs, too. It’s resulted in nearly even figures across all age ranges, even the under-35 crowd.
Hemmings’ pivot to online sales last year was already a landmark moment for web auctions. Its success through a pandemic is only pouring gas on the flame. The lasting effect may be that, out of necessity, buyers and collectors have finally rid themselves of the fear of online sales.
“We always recommend that bidders have the vehicle inspected in person,” Wyler said. “But combined with the trust that our buyers and sellers have in the Hemmings brand we've seen very little skepticism about buying online.”
Video Reel
Magnus Walker, the Air-Cooled Outlaw himself, posted a tutorial for homemade masks. Check it out for a fun project that keeps you safe.
We’ve discussed the wonder that is Houston car culture before. Now, a new look into this incredibly vibrant world where your car can sometimes mean life or death — but is undeniably Texas. Slabs and swangas foreva.
Remember going out and seeing people? In real life? Gooding posted a video from its Amelia Island auction that makes me long for simple things like standing <6 feet away from someone. Anyone.
This video explains why a lot of you go broke on car parts.
Race Results
Formula One sim racing took an interesting turn this weekend. The gamer/influencer round switched to a 1-on-1 tournament format, which was pretty fun! Also both Veloce Esports and the official F1 channels broadcast the two-hour competition. It drew 48,000 viewers on Veloce and 325,000 on F1.
The final match, a best of three series between F1 star Lando Norris and YouTuber Tiametmarduk, went down to the wire. Here’s the dash to the finish:
The professional F1 gamers ran the warm-up race and drew 192,000 views. Check out the final two laps, where everyone from FOURTH to TWELFTH ran less than a second behind one another, at the point I’ve saved here:
The race with real drivers topped 1 million. Even though it’s not the real thing, it will never stop being cool that they take time to try and fill the hole in our hearts right now. The race starts right here:
IndyCar had its second sim racing event, a 45-lapper with the win going to Australian Supercars driver Scott McLaughlin. Most fans polled said the driver of the race was Robert Wickens, the driver injured in 2018 who has publicly fought to regain feeling in his legs ever since. Bravo, Robert! The action starts here:
IndyCar tried some interesting wrinkles. It allowed drivers two restarts if they had big accidents, and instituted an automatic caution flag on Lap 15. I like the experimentation! What also stood out is they’re still treating this like a real race in many ways, most notably the serious tone of the broadcast style. I appreciate the dedication but it might help to loosen up a bit.
The IndyCar race even had Miss Alabama sing the national anthem in… her living room? That has to be a first.
Did sim racing get too big too quickly? I liked this video from YouTuber David Land about the important distinctions between real racing and sim racing, and how the landscape will evolve once the coronavirus crisis is over.
Ask A Millennial!
Ask A Millennial! will return in a jam-packed standalone edition this Friday, so keep your eyes peeled for that in your inbox.
And Finally…
I love this idea. Like everywhere else, Palm Beach Cars and Coffee is on indefinite hiatus. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have car shows. The hosts asked for submissions and had fans vote for winners on Facebook, posting the winners in a final gallery on Instagram. Social media keeping car culture alive and well.
Drive hard and be safe.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
Don’t forget to follow Carrara Media on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and visit our store to order your copy of Slow Car Fast in paperback or eBook.