Racecoin Podcast

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: David Cheng Q1 – How did you get started – back in 2006? Started in 2001 – a friend used to race semi-professional – David Cheng fell in love with it. I use to go to my friend’s house and convince them to take me go-karting. Mum wasn’t having any of it – she only saw what’s on TV with the cars flipping, cars on fire. She didn’t want me getting involved in motorsports. So I grew up – got my driver’s license – not to take a shot but to take it to the next level which was Road track karting. Professional karting races. Working 2 jobs, delivering pizzas and stacking shelves. Karting is expensive too – and bought a 2nd hand 1998 track magic chassis. With a decent road track engine – no rear brakes – it was the first go-kart. So much grip and speed and it’s the perfect training tool. Really enjoyed that time. Never picked up any great results. Got some lucky chances and lucky breaks through my friend’s dad – in karting shoot out opportunities. Got invited to the Formula BM

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: Renger van der Zande Q1 – How did you start your journey and get noticed? Started in Go-karts by the age of 12-13. After a few years - Renger van der Zandes 's mum agreed to by a go-kart. Finished 5th in the world championships - when he first started and 2013 when he first started pro. Q2 – What was it like to be on the podium and experience of it all? Sometimes you do a race - it’s where you do well and nobody sees it. And sometimes you do ok but someone sees it and it’s a highlight of the website and motorsport news media. LMPC sometimes people didn’t see it, it just depends when you get noticed.     Q3 – The right team the right people around - how do you find these people? Finding the right co-drivers you don’t get any say. For example - Honda decides. It really depends on the no. of drivers, the situation, how long you’ve been with them, etc. Sometimes the manufacturer decides.   Q4 What does it look like behind the scenes when it comes to team building? Jordan

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: Steven Odendaal Q1 – How did you start your journey and get noticed? It’s been a very long career. It’s been a long road to get to where Steven Odendaal wanted to get to. It hasn’t been easy at all. Especially the transition from South Africa to Europe. You don’t know which teams are worth trusting. But he is very thankful. Q2 – How do you find people to trust? A lot of teams mess you up like trying to take your money and steal your sponsors. Steven Odendaal could have cut off 2-3 years off his career path if he knew the right people - but this helps a lot. Steven started on the smaller bikes but kids in Spain start racing from the age of 5. Q3 – How can someone find the right people? Start out in Spain. Spain is the hub of racing. It’s literally like one of their school subjects. You will find a better team naturally over there. And maybe South Africa can provide this. There are so many great drivers coming out of there.   Q4 Are you thinking of this as a business o

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: Alexandra Schieren Q1 – What got you into motorsports and how did you turn that passion into a business? It was by accident in the mid-’90s when Alexandra Schieren saw an ad in the newspaper. It was a steep learning curve and that felt it suited her. Q2 – What was your educational background? Languages and economics. Alexandra was not made to work in PR, but learned by doing and got additional training over the years. It’s really about common sense.   Q3 – How is your PR agency different to others as you recently set one up? It’s hers and Alexandra Schieren PR has her own personal touch to it. Being in motorsports for long and in media, for long she knew a lot of media and her client typically would like to be better known so it made sense. Or it’s to manage their reputation which are two different aspects to it. Q4 – As a female in a male-dominated sport - how does it influence the way you work with people? Alexandra Schieren is not mad about the sport and she has k

Podcast Guest: Amber Balcaen & Host: Jai Shukla Q1 – You got into your first go-kart at the age of 10, what was that like? And you grew up around everyone who raced too - what sort of impact did that have? It was the best ever. At the age of 10 after begging and pleading Amber Balcaen finally got to race. She had to work on the go-kart herself and pay for it herself. So at the age of 10, Amber started knocking on doors to get $100 there and $100 here to support herself. That lasted for about 5 years but the first time she got into a go-kart she knew this is what she wanted to do. Q2 – It’s rare to find something you love doing so early on, who inspired you? Grandad, cousins, uncle, dad everyone was racing. It was never pressuring. Driving really fast - it’s so much fun. But as a girl - Amber Balcaen had to push harder to let them give her a go and also she won her first race which was amazing.   Q3 – What’s the real story behind how you got funding and how’s it been since? For go-kart racing, you only hav

Podcast Guest: Blake Koch & Host: Jai Shukla Q1 – You started at the age of 22 - why so late? At the age of 21 - The stepdad Blake Koch asked if he wanted to drive it. He grew up racing dirt bikes which weren’t fun. One test in Orlando and he fell in love with it. He was fast. 2 years later was signed with Nascar 2 years after that made debut at Xfinity. 6 cup races, and 200 Xfinity racers later - Blake Koch started his own company - FilterTime. Q2 – Talk us through the reality of it? Lot’s of ups and downs. It was a hobby initially during the last year of college.   Q3 – How did you transition from hobby to I want to do this seriously? ‘That’s just how I am. I want to be the best. Started watching it on TV, racing and winning. Racing and winning - I can do it. Taking it into his own hands. Firstly - started by calling all the Nascar teams. Everything single one of them - telling them that he was their next driver and they needed to see me and meet me but only a few gave a callback. Mike Dillon gave him t

Podcast Guest: Joao Barbosa & Host: Jai Shukla Q1 – How did you get started in Racing? Joao Barbosa started at the age of 11 - which was the minimum age. Since then he begged his dad to get him a go-kart. A deal was made to get good grades - for a go-kart which he managed and then got. This was back in 1987.   Q2 – How did you get your initial funding? ‘Costs were much lower in those days and my dad helped me buy my first go-kart.’   Q3 – 1980s-2019 How has your viewpoint changed? Grew up watching Formula 1 and wanted to be a driver in that race. Without the funding - it was not really possible. Q4 – Do you think it’s harder to get sponsorship? Gamble in a kid, it’s not like you pick someone at the top when you’re a sponsor.   Q5 – What goes on behind the scenes? 24 hour Daytona coming up. So much work involved especially endurance racers. There is no offseason   Q6 – What is the procedure to prepare? It’s like lego - everything gets disassembled. Checks being done. All the pieces are analyzed and then wi

Podcast Guest: Toni Calderon & Host: Jai Shukla Q1 – Tell us about how you got into Motorsport and created this new documentary? Toni Calderon has been in the motorsport for 17 years. Was a race fan who wanted to be up close and wanted to be a driver but parents didn’t let him. Got lucky by getting friends with a Mexican driver in 2001 - by saving money and going to the races with him- Toni Calderon. This way he got to be behind the scenes and eventually when his friend got moved up to Indy Car - he asked for a job. In 2003 - got to see be part of everything and started Speed Group a few years ago.   Q2 – By starting from the bottom and learning the ropes - it must have made a difference to your level of experience? You have to understand every level - you know what it takes to do those jobs and appreciate how hard they are. It’s not easy without knowing some simple tricks. The little nuances - it’s easy to show them shortcuts with his staff. It gives you legitimacy in the industry - so gives you a sense

Podcast Guest: Mike Guasch & Host: Jai Shukla Q1 – The Gentlemen's driver movie has come out...how's the reception been? The recent launch of the documentary has led to great feedback and global launch in February. It’s going to be on Netflix too. Started in 2015 and then just got the cameras rolling and filmed most of the LMS form the 2016 championship. Primarily at Silverstone where he ended up winning. Q2 – Quote from the movie: To succeed as an entrepreneur, you have to LEARN TO FAIL, which means to learn from those mistakes rather than allow those mistakes to consume you. - How much has this mentality played a part in your achievements? Mike Guasch has been racing since the age of 17, from dirt track, raced jet ski’s - where he achieved 4th in the world and realized he couldn't make a career out of it. And then became an entrepreneur and in 2005 he wanted to get back to racing. He took a class and thought how he learned how to drive a car properly. You have to learn how to fail. It’s so much harder

Podcast with Guest: Marvin Dienst & Host: Jai Shukla Q1 – Let's kick it off with the most important question and what's on everyone's mind - pasta is your favorite food? What's that about... Pasta is what it’s all about in this biz! Q2 – 2017 was a great year with a 2nd place in World Endurance Championship - how was that? Incredible, from traveling, Le Mans, traveling the whole world - it was a dream come true. From there he got a couple of wins and competed as one of the youngest teams while performing so well and by far the best year. Q3 – Who inspired you and who are your idols? No parent or family member that raced before. His dad repairs trucks and car tracks and the owner said let’s go into it. Normally you aren’t allowed to drive there and then Marvin started to get into a passion for it, then got into German Championships. And suddenly jumped into a race car when he was 14. When you are young you only look at formula 1 but as time goes on - your opinion changes. Like crashes change you. For e.g.

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: James Allen Q1 - You have a quote: 100% effort, one team, one dream. - Let's dig into each of these what does it mean to give 100%? Don’t leave anything on the table. James Allen has been someone who has had one dream since the age of 4! So pursuing something for a long time and trying to perfect your craft can’t be understated. Q2 - Where does your drive come from for new ideas to execute rather than thinking you’ve already given it your all? Try everything that you can think of and if that’s not enough then it’s not enough. Q3 - How important is it to find a good team? What level of difference does it make? How did you find yours? So important many people face so many issues but he believes he was so lucky when the first team he joined 5 years ago helped him out to become who he is today. Q4 - How did it transform into a real team? It was never a snap decision - the more you work together, they mentor and guide you. Straight up and honest with you are important qua

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: Niclas Jonsson Q1 – Highlight of 46 years in racing Working with dad and kid brother but a huge factor. Winning petite Le Mans, the wins across time but also working with professional people behind the scenes. Racing is a real team sport. If the cleaners weren’t doing their job, others wouldn’t be able to do theirs. Q2 – Steps of becoming a racer You have to be passionate about it. Keep living your dreams no matter the ups and downs. Niclas Jonsson is someone who lived in a rental car for 9 months when he quit his job in Sweden and first came to America. Just traveled around handing out his CV until someone gave him a chance. Luck plays a part too of catching a break and meeting the right people at the right time. Now he’s created a management company to help others. Q3 – How does experience affect your drive? Age and experience vs reflex and pure speed when younger is a balance. Patience is something you develop in not trying to win the first corner or the first lap

Podcast with Host: Jai Shukla & Guest: Joey Gase Q1 - Making a real difference Brain aneurysm caused the passing away of his mother and she was an organ donor. Joey Gase puts honorary photos of people on his race car and ask people to paint his car with handprints and tries to bring about awareness to help the - 150,000 people in the USA on the waitlist. Q2 - The dream Racing in Daytona 500 - this has been his dream as a kid from Iowa – and sometimes getting flashbacks of seeing the races you see as a kid and then participating in them is surreal. Q3 - Pressure It’s always there when you are a driver but when you drive your just in your zone focussing on one thing and everything else just goes away. Q4 - What’s real-life like? Lots of stuff going on the business side from keeping the sponsors, going to sponsored events, to appearances and media all throughout the week. Training 3 to 4 times a week working on neck muscles, core muscles, and reaction time. Q5 - Training Sunglasses which cut out the vision s