All News: George Wood

Circle Track Setup: Springs 101

August 11th, 2014 by

Ever since the invention of the wheel and its application to mobile carriages, Man has understood the benefits of a proper ride to make travel faster, more efficient, and in general, more pleasurable. Of course, once the second two-wheeled cart was invented, racing was born, and soon the science of suspension was built upon to … Read the Rest »

Circle Track School – Speed and Quickness

July 11th, 2014 by

Sometime last year (!), my first article for the service had to do with line of sight behind the wheel; where and how you should be looking down the track in order to effectively race and avoid the inevitable; to become a survivor instead of a victim. With the long-awaited release of the Super Late … Read the Rest »

Circle Track Setup: The Case for Caster

November 13th, 2013 by

In the last article, I talked about the uses of toe and how it affects both drivability and front-end dynamics. However, that is only one of the three basic geometric ways to move a tire on a race vehicle. Of the other two, camber is well-recognized, but for all intents and purposes, the least-understood of … Read the Rest »

Circle-Track Setup: What Is Toe, And Why Should You Use It?

September 13th, 2013 by

No matter what kind of motorsport racing there is, there will always be a reason to optimize the contact patch of the tire to gain maximum grip. Since most (!) autosport involves going as fast as possible, in order to do this, the car’s chassis and suspension is going to change attitude, whether it’s a … Read the Rest »

Circle Track Setup: Legends Cars

August 2nd, 2013 by

Editor’s note:  George Wood is returning to his roots in S3 by running his Legends oval car.  He’ll also be sharing his thoughts on the basics of oval track set-up during the coming season, beginning with his first installment of Circle Track Setup. I’m definitely not the fastest iRacer out there, but I do understand … Read the Rest »

Circle Track School

July 29th, 2013 by

Does Under-Steer Make You Feel Under-Performed? I’m going to sound like an old man when I say this, but back in my day, cars were set up to be tight-handling. Most often it was because as a weekend warrior, we wanted to spend the time on weeknights adjusting a car for the next week, not … Read the Rest »

Circle Track School: Lessons From A Champion

May 22nd, 2013 by

The great thing about going to the local short track is that you’re never really sure who is going to show up, and especially so when it’s a special event. Here in Pennsylvania, my local track, Selinsgrove Speedway, hosted their annual 358/360 Sprint Car National Open last week, drawing several touring drivers as well as … Read the Rest »

Circle-Track School: Practice With A Purpose

February 25th, 2013 by

Here in central Pennsylvania, the coming of spring means that every baseball field in the area will soon be full of youth and adult alike playing America’s pastime. Thankfully, when I moved from the greater Baltimore area to Pennsylvania, I found one of highest concentrations of baseball fields in the world, all thanks to Little … Read the Rest »

Circle Track School: Slow Down To Speed Up

December 17th, 2012 by

I once heard a simple tip from Jack Nicklaus that forever changed my golf skill and made the game a hell of a lot easier to play. He was talking about his technique of performing so well under pressure for so many years, and how, when he really needed a clutch shot or a big … Read the Rest »

Circle-Track School: What Does Mayonnaise Have to Do with Your Throttle?

October 23rd, 2012 by

I like to cook. A lot. My friends often joke that I’d make an excellent housewife. However, no one complains because they love my food (and beer). When they ask me how I make mayonnaise, hollandaise, or ice cream, I tell them it’s the same concept as controlling a race car. They often look at … Read the Rest »