All posts by Tom Best

The Racing Game

Time:  May, Memorial Day weekend 1985
Place:  Lime Rock Park, a road course racetrack near New Canaan, Connecticut, USA

This was my first race and my third racecar experience, two years after my first racing school and almost two months after my second racing school adventure at the Elf/Winfield racing school in Le Castellet, France. Here we were, doing the thing that I wanted to do most, racing. With me were my mom and dad, my friend, Ms. Lee Brown, John and Valerie (now) Miller, Chris and Pam (now) Meyer, and my dog Barney.

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My Mille Miglia

…or A Thousand Mile Journey on an Open Road

The original Mille Miglia was a 1,000-mile, full-speed car race run on open, public roads in Italy from 1927 to ’57.  Many legendary drivers and carmakers participated in it. For the times, it was a very long race full of danger, calamity and, for some, triumph.

I welded the first few pieces of steel together for this project in 2011, a few months after my mother died, but this journey began nearly 50 years ago. I am building a ’74 AMC Javelin racecar that is, to this point, a culmination of my history, my dreams, and, for the most part, my identity.

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Satisfy your need for speed

1986 Pontiac Firebird on Ohio Valley track
1986 Pontiac Firebird – SCCA – 2012 Ohio Valley Sprints, original photo by Sheila Best

…by tightening up your hand technique

You see it in racing all the time, a car traveling at high or maximum speed; it either twitches or slides. The professional at the wheel often catches the car but sometimes doesn’t. To become a better driver, amateurs and near professionals should examine their sometimes less successful techniques up close. What you do behind the wheel; steering, throttle control and braking, should always be questioned if you’re interested in improving racing and driving skills.

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