Inside the Helmet – Lisa Noble

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIt’s been a while since we’ve had a stand-alone Inside the Helmet feature, but I promise this episode is well worth the wait! We are happy to introduce Lisa Noble, 2013 Chairman of the Board for the Sports Car Club of America, long-time member of the SCCA, and National-caliber race-winning Formula Vee driver. Lisa shares with us her journey in motorsport beginning with her epiphany as a teenager that motor racing was something that she wanted as part of her life, through her time…

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Inside The Helmet – Mark Eaton

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadIn this episode of Inside The Helmet, we speak with Mark Eaton, 2008 SCCA Formula Enterprise National Champion, who is still driving his FE for Robinson Motor Sports in the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. Mark shares with us his background and entry into racing, as well as his deep knowledge and years of experience in the FE chassis, and how it has evolved to compete with the Formula Continentals already in the USF2000. You can follow Mark Eaton and Robinson…

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Inside The Helmet – Team Viso at the Iowa Speedway

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the amazing opportunity to speak with EJ Viso, driver of the #5 KV Racing Technologies machine in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Ricardo Juncos, Team Principal for Juncos Racing, and Diego Ferreira and Bruno Palli, drivers of the #57 and #15 Juncos Racing machines in the Star Mazda Series, about the Team Viso project. EJ Viso in partnership with Ricardo Juncos have started a recruitment program to bring young, talented drivers form Venezuela into the Mazda Road to Indy program. Diego and Bruno…

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Inside The Helmet – Jason Penix, King of the Mazda Road to Indy

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the opportunity to speak with INDYCAR’s Jason Penix. Jason was instrumental in the development of the Mazda Road to Indy Program which has grown by leaps and bounds, both in participation and in popularity. Now Jason serves as Director of Grassroots Initiatives, formally, but has been dubbed by Anders Krohn as the “Mazda Road to Indy King” during this year’s WinterFest. He gives us some insight into the history of the program, how it got started, and who the major players were…

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Inside The Helmet – Josef Newgarden

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the great pleasure of speaking with the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Champion, Josef Newgarden. Josef speaks with us about his decision to transition from European racing, where he was very successful in Formula Ford and competed in the GP3 series and was offered a spot in the FIA Young Drivers Academy, to American open-wheel racing in the Firestone Indy Lights series with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The 2011 season had its ups and downs for Newgarden, and he shares his thoughts of the…

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Inside The Helmet – 2011 Star Mazda Champion Tristan Vautier

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe spoke with Tristan Vautier, driver of the #5 JDC MotorSport Cecibon/Circuit du Laquais/Fontanels/Red Line Oil Mazda and the 2011 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear Drivers’ Champion. Tristan describes his early ventures in motorsports driving in various Formula Renault series in Europe before coming to the Star Mazda Championship in 2010. He also walks us through his amazing and dominating 2011 championship-winning season. We even sneak in a little bit of rally goodness!

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Inside The Helmet – 2011 USF2000 Champ Petri Suvanto

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the opportunity to chat with Petri Suvanto the 2011 Champion of the Cooper Tires Presents the US F2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda. Petri, who is already back in his native Finland, drove the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s #3 Viseko Van Diemen-Mazda with remarkable consistency all season long, and secured the championship in the penultimate race of the season, Race #1 on the Streets of Baltimore. Petri tells us about how the Mazda Road to Indy program drew him to…

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Inside The Helmet – Gustavo Menezes

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe have a wonderful chat with Gustavo Menezes, full-time driver for Juncos Racing in the Star Mazda Championship and part-time driver for the Interwetten.com Junior Team in the Formula Renault 2.0 (Eurocup and Alps divisions). Gustavo revisits his action-packed weekend at the Infineon Raceway and his battle with Nick Andries, describes the challenges and benefits to racing both here in the US and in Europe, and explains the differences between the two racing cultures. We hope you enjoy listening to Gustavo’s thoughts and insights…

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EXCLUSIVE: Mikko Hirvonen – Inside the Helmet

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe are honored to speak with Abu Dhabi Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen after his fourth place finish at Rally Germany. We talk about that rally and the 2011 season as a whole. We also talk about some issues for 2012 including Monte Carlo and Sebastien Loeb coming back. I would like to personally thank Ford for their efforts in setting this up for us in the quick timeframe in which they did.

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