The 2026 Race Season … So Far!
I’ve been a bit quiet lately, and I wanted to pop in and catch up. I suffered a pretty significant injury four weeks before the season opener at Nashville Superspeedway. This led me on an engineering journey to set up…
Chris Simmons
Chris Simmons is a race car driver, instructor, business owner and all around gearhead. His passion for motorsport started in the drifting community and progressed into wheel to wheel racing of all kinds. When off track Chris can be found training and working on a myriad of projects. After a hiatus from writing, he is back to share his passion, knowledge and experience in regard to motorsports on and off the track.
Fleece Performance Ram 2500 Grid Heater Delete: Part 1
After the recent turbo actuator failure on the Ram 2500, I figure I may as well go ahead and make a few changes to the 6.7 Cummins. Changes like installing the Fleece High Flow grid heater delete. But unlike other…
Driving the Thunder Roadster Without the Clutch: Heel-Toe Shifting the Sequential Gearbox
With a strained left calf and a race days away, I had two options: sit it out, or figure out how to drive the Thunder Roadster without relying on the clutch. Never one to be deterred, I chose the latter…
Ram 2500 Turbo Actuator Failure: Diagnosing, Repairing, and Cleaning the Holset (VGT) Turbo
At 172,000 miles, the 2015 Ram 2500 tow truck has handled everything I have thrown at it with zero drama. Equipped with the 6.7 Cummins inline-six and 6-speed manual transmission, this truck is built to run to 500k and beyond.…
Racing the Storm: Ironman Round 1 at Music City Kartplex
The older I get, the more everyone around me seems determined to act their age. I’ve never found that especially interesting. And at this point, you could say I’m something of a connoisseur of what these home bodies view as…
Will Road Racing Return to Memphis International Raceway?
I have some good news for the Mid-South racing scene. In an unexpected twist, my old home track is set to rise from the dead once again. This won’t be the first time the racetrack has survived a closure, either.…
Finding Speed Through Weight Reduction: Thunder Roadster Edition
After my deep dive into Classing the Thunder Roadster, it is exceedingly clear that Yamaha-powered variants are running at a significant disadvantage. Furthermore, I am on a quest, so to speak, to find a competitive, sub-20k racecar that punches well…
Classing the Thunder Roadster: Prep 1, Prep 2 and Beyond
I am happy to report that my love affair with the Thunder Roadster has not waned. If anything, it has sparked an engineering journey that I am super excited about. And throughout that process, I have found the documentation around…
The Disappearing Road Courses of America: Grassroots is Losing Ground
Public track closures are becoming more common. However, the recent announcement that PittRace has been sold and will be shutting down hits a bit differently. Partly because it shows that well-maintained tracks are not immune to redevelopment, and partly because…
The Importance of Corner Balancing Your Racecar
I have a reputation for driving some of the most cosmetically ‘tasteful’ racecars in the field. It’s a throwback to my drifting days when DIY builds, spray-painted cars, and zip-tied panels were the norm. That aesthetic carried over to my…
Ironman Racing at Music City Kartplex
The summer break has been exceedingly long this year. I skipped the championship because I wouldn’t have a competitive package ready in time, and another event, the first annual Flatrock race, fell through. What is usually a one-month summer hiatus…
Driving a Racecar Fast: The Fridge Rules
Years ago, when I first came back to racing, I devoured every book I could find on racecraft. From the well-known Speed Secrets series by Ross Bentley to obscure independent publications like You Suck at Racing by Ian Korf, and…