At the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, there is an exhibit titled “How to get bitten by a snake”. It’s a cute diorama featuring multiple ways to put yourself in danger from snake bites (see below for pictures). At 10 years old, my imaginative mind thought every snake was a rattlesnake or cobra, so it made an indelible impression. To this day, I’m still wary of where I put my unprotected hands and feet. For some reason, a message saying “here’s how to be stupid” has a greater effect than “don’t be stupid”. Maybe it’s because people don’t like to be told what to do and automatically rebel against authority. Or maybe that’s just me.
In 2007, when webisodes were a new entertainment media, one of my favorites was called “You Suck At Photoshop”. It follows the humorously tragic life of “Donny Hoyle”, a digital artist with amazing skill at editing digital images and ineptitude at personal relationships. I watched it for the humor but accidentally became educated in layers, transforms, colors, etc. The series succeeds at being both entertaining and subversively educational. I admire it greatly.
A few years ago, I became obsessed with racecars. I don’t mean spectating Formula 1 or NASCAR, or playing Forza on Xbox, but driving on real race tracks. On a Professor’s salary, the only kind of car racing you can do is the really cheap kind. This means production cars, like the Mazda Miata, but modified with a roll cage, fire system, and other features to make it safe. Amazingly, it’s possible to race cars on the same tracks professionals race on, and it’s more affordable than you might guess.
This website is the intersection of “How to get bitten by a snake”, “You Suck At Photoshop” and my own performance-driving self-education journey. My greatest hope is that readers find the content both educational and entertaining, but I’ll take either one.
Somewhere along the way, I decided I would write the book I would have wanted to read when I first started my motorsports journey. You Suck at Racing: a crash course for the novice driver. You can read this via Kindle or order a hardcopy on Amazon. You don’t have to pirate it, because here is a link to the PDF: ysar.
Ian Korf is a Professor at the University of California Davis where he specializes in bioinformatics and genomics. Racing is a hobby. His critiques are meant to be more entertaining than authoritative. Please don’t mistake his snarky tone for superiority. He fully recognizes that he is an amateur and that he sucks at racing.
you suck at racing 
how do you feel about Mr2 spyder in essence of driving difficulty compared to miata
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I’ve never driven an MR2 Spyder. I drove the AW11 though. It’s a little different for sure, but not drastically. With tuning, I’m sure they can be very similar or very different.
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Hi,
I found YSAR when I googled “what does it mean to drive ‘crossed-up’ in hard top racing?” I have read many of your posts and find them both hilarious and educational. My favorite combination!
I am the mother of a 21 year old young man majoring in physics and…just learning to drive. Kind of a late bloomer I guess…. He is making progress. My mom and I find ourselves telling him “in slow, out fast” when we feel like he is about to flip the minivan on a turn. Thankfully no flips yet. Teaching her grandson to drive has brought up lots of race memories for my mom. I know next to nothing about racing, but my grandfather built race car engines. My mother attended races at West Capitol Speedway from infancy to her late teens. She remembers her dad yelling “Cross it up! Cross it up!” at his driver from time to time. By the time I came along, grandpa had long retired from racing, and has since passed on to the the great race beyond. I never got the chance to ask him details about the memories my mom shares. She doesn’t remember what “cross it up” means. I couldn’t find a reference in your posts, but thought I might try asking if you know what it means. I appreciate any knowledge you might share. And, as a ‘94 UCD grad, I wish I had gotten the chance to take your driving course!
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Thanks for the kind words Shirley. You’re right, I don’t use the term “crossed up” on YSAR. It means driving with a lot of oversteer. In other words, the back end of the car is hanging to the outside of a corner. A person who drives timidly doesn’t get the back end of the car to step out. Your grandfather was basically telling his driver to go faster. The reason for the “cross” is that in order to go straight while the back is coming around, you have to steer in the opposite direction. For example, in a left turn, you would need to turn the steering wheel to the right. That’s what being “crossed up” means.
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