Cold Start

After dropping repeated hints about an upcoming Drag Racing episode in prior installments of Cold Start, This Time... Drag Racing! Todd chats with Sylas about this different world of motorsports -- contrasting the approaches, cars, and mindset of driving fast in a straight line on the drag strip, versus our more familar grounds of road course and oval racing. It's an eye-opener for Sylas, highlighting Todd's own experience as an NH...

After Todd had started winning Formula 3 races in the Simraceway series, he looked for a new challenge within motorsports. Wanting to take that next step, he set his eyes on prototype racing and specifically the LMP3 category. Listen to hear his struggles of transitioning into a new car and series, as well as some unforeseen circumstances that may have cut the dream short. Racing is truly never a boring sport.

Cold Start Hint: Fren...

How do you start a car show when you don't even have a driver's license yet? Tom Fathi joins the show this week to talk about how a dream of a 15 year old turned into one of the most premier high end car shows in the Pacific Northwest. Northwest Exotics has grown into an event that showcases some of the rarest and most exclusive cars in the Seattle area, and beyond. We also talk about what it's like to engage with the world of high...

In this episode, Sylas recalls racing the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2023. He shares how a small team from Northern California built a Road Course Sprint Car in the course of 6 months and took it to Colorado to race the infamous hill climb. Racing to over 14,000ft is an insane challenge to take on, but listen and find out how Sylas and the MFG Motorsports team was able to walk away from the event finishing 2nd in class ...

The conversation about racetracks continues from Episode 14, but now venturing outside of California to some tracks across the country. Todd and Sylas debate which tracks are worth the visit and which are overrated. Shockingly, when bumps are your only racetrack characteristic, it doesn't make for an enticing experience. Listen to find out why Sebring sucks, and opinions about other famous US racetracks. 

Cold Start Hint: One of th...

General Manager and EVP of Sonoma Raceway, Brian Flynn, joins us to talk about his history working in the NASCAR industry with Richard Petty, as well as giving us his thoughts on the current state of NASCAR and how it's changed in the modern era. And of course, we talk about Todd and Sylas's home track, Sonoma Raceway, and learn more about the inner workings of operating an internationally recognized race facility. 

Cold Start Hint...

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the second-oldest auto race in America that most Americans have never heard of or watched. Since testing on the mountain has started for this year's race, Todd and Sylas cover the fascinating history of the race and Sylas shares some of his personal insights of the logistics of how a race is held on a public road that ends at the summit of a mountain over 14,000ft. 

Cold Start Hint: it has a...

With so many racetracks across America, where else do you start the conversation than with the ones in your own backyard? Todd and Sylas chat about the tracks they have driven and whether they are worth the hype, or not. Starting in California, the guys talk about Sonoma Raceway, Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, Buttonwillow, and more.

Cold Start Hint: powered by a motorcycle engine but has four wheels

Episode 13 Cold Start Answer: Euro...

From racing short track in the United States to NASCAR in Europe, Nick Strickler is the definition of a grass roots racing hero. Listen to his wild story of how he got into motorsports and made his way to EuroNASCAR, an interesting series in and of itself. He even keeps that same grass roots mindset as he continues to add to his racing resume, driving anything and everything to add to his skillset.

Cold Start Hint: it's V8 but with...

In this episode  of "Checkered Past" (our series about Sylas and Todd's racing pasts), Todd takes us back to how he got his start in racing -- diving head first into the deep end, moving from street cars to high downforce open wheel racecars in just over 5 months. A saga about triumphant highlights and character-building lowlights, this is the tale of rapid immersion into a life of racing.

Cold Start Hint: it's not a street car 

...

Our first guest on the Cold Start podcast! Bailey Smith, the General Manager of Club Wheelhouse, tells his story of moving from Florida to California to work within the automotive industry and pursue his passion of cars. From road tripping an imported Mitsubishi Delica van across the country to rebuilding an FD RX-7 to be the ultimate back road carver, it's apparent his joy and love of cars comes from the adventures and experiences...

In the first episode of a new series covering some of Sylas and Todd's racing stories, Sylas tells the story of how a rivalry between West Coast and East Coast leads to being disqualified from a national race in 2018. A tale of high emotions, malicious intent, totaled cars, and misread rules shows the not so fun side of club racing. You won't want to miss this one!

Cold Start Hint: we've used this one before. 

Episode 9 Cold Star...

Watch out IndyCar and NASCAR! In the last couple years, has F1 done a better job in understanding the American motorsport fan comparative to IndyCar or even NASCAR? Todd and Sylas talk about how Formula 1 has positioned itself to capture the American audience and what changes will be coming in the future to continue F1's rise in the USA. 

Cold Start Hint: a racecar sponsored by craft hotdogs. 

Episode 8 Cold Start Answer: 2000 Ho...

Has the modern era of cars gone too far and could the best driving experiences be behind us? Todd and Sylas work through the decades to determine when the best drivers cars came to the market. They also figure out when it all may have gone wrong and why modern sport cars don't live up to the analog experiences from the past. And move aside, string theory, Sylas's M3-Theory may be the next big thing in understanding the automotive u...

Sometimes cars become well known and iconic not because of their fantastic driving experience or collectibility, but for being the butt of the joke. The bad, weird, and ugly cars of the past can be just as memorable as the good ones. Todd and Sylas go through some of the cars from the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's that are still burned into their memories for all the wrong reasons. Comment any of the bad, weird, or ugly cars they mi...

As car enthusiasts, we have all made a list at some point as to what we'd want in our dream garage. But what if you stumbled across a list of the cars you wanted from 10 years ago? Would you still agree with yourself? Would you have checked some of the cars off the list? In this episode, Todd comes across his 2015 dream garage and he and Sylas go through the list to see if it still holds up. 

Cold Start Hint: this is a car on the l...

You've finally outgrown the standard track day but unsure what could be the next. Instead of being the annoying driver "racing" around in a track day group trying to chase a lap time, consider graduating into wheel to wheel racing or even time attack. Todd and Sylas dive into the steps it takes to get into amateur level racing and explain how its not as difficult or intimidating as one might think.

Hint: this would be a great begin...