Staying Sane for the 2020 Car Enthusiast
Remembering Sterling Moss, a motorsport legend. Also a host of fun and exciting automotive content to keep you occupied under quarantine.
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 designer who gave me the laugh I needed using only a Rolls-Royce and some toilet paper.
(No, it’s not real. Don’t worry.)
Continuing with our ‘Support the Creators’ theme, I’m just thrilled at the amount of cool car stuff people are putting out these days.
As you know, the book ‘Faster’ by best-selling author Neal Bascomb about the heroic effort to upend Hitler’s motorsport plans is the subject of our first book club.
Currently we’ve reached the section where a Jewish driver watching his career dwindle away and a French/American heiress will join forces to shock the Reich. Click here to follow along, stay abreast of updates and join in the fun.
Here are the questions I’m posing to readers in the section we’re currently reading, chapters four through seven:
In what ways did the story of Lucy Schell surprise you considering her racing career is now nearly a century old?
What were the most effective scenes for you that drove home the pervasiveness of impending war and tragedy?
How does the story change your view of the cars being produced during this time and their capabilities?
Last week I also had the pleasure of meeting the creators of Hypertrash, a new magazine that celebrates the weird and wild underbelly of car culture. Issue one is out now. The weird ones usually go on to have the greatest influence, don’t you know.
And I’ve had a lot of fun with ‘Fast And Felted,’ the children’s automotive alphabet book my daughter and I have been reading to one another every night for a week. It gives us an excuse to talk cars, and she never misses an opportunity to recall the time her dad forgot to turn the car off on a camping trip and had to jump the battery.
But most of all we make each other laugh reading each page in silly voices. Kudos to author John Chuldenko for making cars fun for all ages, and encouraging our ridiculous behavior in the opening pages.
Finally, my own book ‘Slow Car Fast’ is still in stock and delivering now. More than ever, I appreciate your support so much. Use the checkout code “RACEDAY” to receive $3.00 off paperback and digital copies.
In Memoriam
R.I.P Stirling Moss. A true original.
There are a thousand Moss tribute videos and articles to find. I recommend searching his name in whatever format you prefer and scrolling through as many as you can. But if you have to start somewhere, this is a good one:
And this re-telling of his most legendary drive is simply a piece of art.
Here’s Moss chatting with Lewis Hamilton in a short interview and Richard Hammond in a long one.
Culture
It’s super important to me that we document this unique moment in car culture history. That’s why last week I sent out a special edition of the newsletter, expanding our Ask A Millennial! interview series to 11 subjects who describe what life is like under quarantine for a car nut. Check out that special feature if you haven’t already and be sure to subscribe for more to come.
Here’s a really thrilling article about driving a Lamborghini racecar. Namely, the badass Murcielago R-GT from the now-defunct GT1 sports car class.
People throwing themselves at a slammed Mercedes GLK, a generally unloved crossover, is the absolute height of changing tides in automotive taste.
Friend of the newsletter Will Pierce continues drawing incredible car caricatures on Twitter. It inspired one follower to post sweet illustrations of an old Belgian detective comic from back in the day.
Video Reel
Without real racing to watch, I can’t get enough of these imagined dream-scapes that put together epic cars that never would have competed otherwise.
People have gotten creative on Instagram under quarantine. Here’s an epic Porsche 917K startup we found and shared on Twitter, and a conversation between Reese Witherspoon and the rapper Offset that had me cracking up.
Hilarious stuff when Australian race drivers get together on a track with no physical danger on the line:
Ferrari F1 driver Charles LeClerc had a good laugh after crashing in his simulator on the exact same corner where he crashed in real life.
Here’s two minutes of a classic Mini passing a classic Mustang, and vice versa, on track just because.
Race Results
The only race that needs mentioning is LeMons on iRacing. The notorious crappy car race joined in the simulated fun last weekend. The hashtag was #isuckatracing. There were 62 garbage cars. You can watch it on Facebook here.
I will not be addressing the latest round of NASCAR buffoonery that occurred over the weekend. Racial insensitivity in a series that proudly flies the confederate flag is, to me, not news. I recommend this piece if you feel the need.
That being said, socially abhorrent views are not limited to NASCAR. I’m reading a book right now about the gutless response that early automakers had in response to the rise of Nazism. I’ve spoken with dozens of women and people of color who’ve been mistreated for daring to participate in car culture — in present day!
Radwood co-founder Bradley Brownell put it nicely:
The point is we know better, therefore we all have a responsibility to do better and demand the same of others.
This Weekend
It’s exhausting tracking down the different sim racing series and their schedules. Thankfully, Racer.com has the full list of this weekend’s events right here.
And Finally…
Who says sim racing isn’t dangerous? Three cheers for the pro driver who wrecked so hard in iRacing that his actual real seat fell over.
Drive hard and be safe.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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