News Archive (Mar-Apr 2006)

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> 28 April 2006

CORNELIUS, NC - Jason Klein, currently serving a role as Engineering Technician within the family-owned business - Klein Tools - traveled to North Carolina to participate in a comprehensive 2-day performance program similar to the one that his brother, racer Jonathan Klein sampled in December last year. Jason saw the benefits that accrued to his brother on the performance side of the equation and decided, along with his parents Rick and Risa Klein, to tap into the program himself as an executive with high-performance aspirations. While his interests lie in using the program information to enhance his performance undertaking the many tasks he will assume in the family business in the future, he also plans to use the knowledge he gains through the program to enhance his performance in other areas as well. As a racer in his earlier years, Jason hopes to be able to put the lessons learned to good use in the seat of a race car again in the future, albeit without the 'professional' driver focus in mind.

> 25 April 2006

PLYMOUTH, NC - Dr. Jacques Dallaire made his way to Plymouth, MN to spend a day with Shock Doctor Inc President and CEO, Steve Washburn and his Executive Team associates. The Corporate Team seminar that the five executives participated in was designed to show them how a broad range of mental skills affect performance in the competitive business environment and how they could develop their mental skills to improve their personal performance. Following the seminar which was very well received by the group, Steve Washburn and his Senior VP for Sales, John McCartan dug more deeply into the performance equation by participating in the development of personal ACT® Performance Models with Dr. Dallaire. The group is examining how to bring this information to other colleagues in the organization.

> 23 April 2006

ACTON, VA - It was a busy weekend for Dr. Jacques Dallaire at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) when the Grand American Racing Association came to town. With 34 Performance Program alumni on the grid in both the Rolex and Grand Am Cup series, there were many clients to follow up with. Kudos to program alumni in the top ten in each series race who acquitted themselves very well...

In the Rolex Series:
1 - Patrick Long; Alex Job Racing/Emory Motorsports
2 - Wayne Taylor; Sun Trust Racing
3 - Scott Pruett & Luis Diaz; CompUSA Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates
6 - Butch Leitzinger; Howard-Boss Motorsports
7 - Christian Fittipaldi & Eddie Cheever Jr.; Crown Royal Special Reserve Cheever Racing
8 - Adrian Fernandez & Mario Haberfeld; Lowe's Fernandez Racing
10 - Guy Smith; Howard-Boss Motorsports

In the Grand Am Cup Series:
2 - James Gue; Blackforest Motorsports
3 - Andy Lally; Marcus Motosports
5 - Boris Said; Turner Motorsports
6 - Joe Foster; Hyper Sport
7 - Mike Borkowski; Playboy Racing
8 - Patrick Long; Synergy Racing
10 - David Empringham; Blackforest Motorsports

> 19 April 2006

CHARLOTTE, NC - Dr. Jacques Dallaire welcomed the opportunity to meet with Bobby Moody, Motorsport Accounts Manager for Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes and his colleagues during a seminar held today at the Joe Gibbs Race Shop in Huntersville, NC. Dr. Dallaire spent two hours with the group discussing the development of mental skills and how these skills affect performance in the management and sales environment. The ten-person Sherwin Williams corporate team that participated in the seminar came away with a better understanding as to how to improve their personal performance in the face of the challenges and opportunities that are part of today's competitive business environment and discussions are ongoing as to how best to bring this knowledge to other members of the Sherwin Williams organization.

> 9 April 2006

LONG BEACH, CA - Britain's Katherine Legge, recent HPI Performance Program participant, scored the highest finish for a woman driver in the history of the Champ Car World Series with an eighth place finish in her first series start on Sunday in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. 24 year-old Legge bettered Janet Guthrie's ninth place finish in the 1978 Indy 500 as she rose from 17th on the starting grid to chase leading rookie Jan Heylen to the flag in a gruelling 74 lap battle around the concrete lined 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit. Legge was also the only one of the three-strong PKV line-up to finish the race after a weekend in which both her more experienced teammates damaged their cars at some point while she kept the nose clean on hers. "We achieved what we needed to achieve, we finished the race and finished well but I'm a racer and you always want to do better," said Legge. "I made some mistakes but overall I have to be pleased. I think for me, the record is great but the less of a female novelty that this thing becomes, the better. I'm just trying to be a race car driver and do what these guys do."

> 9 April 2006

LONG BEACH, CA - Long-time Performance Program alumn and Canadian racing star Ron Fellows executed an unthinkable pass two turns before the finish to give Cadillac its first SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Champ win of 2006 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Fellows passed then-leader Michael McCann, of N. Canton, Ohio, around the outside of turn nine to take the advantage two corners from the finish. The move not only won Fellows the race, but also the B&M Oil Coolers "Coolest Move of the Race" Award. The win, which was the third in five career SPEED World Challenge GT starts for Fellows dating back to 2004, also allowed Cadillac to maintain its lead in the 2006 Manufacturers' Championship Presented by RACER Magazine.

> 8 April 2006

LONG BEACH, CA - In front of a huge and enthusiastic crowd, No. 01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley co-drivers and performance program alumni Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz made Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve history by claiming victory in the inaugural Crown Royal Grand American Challenge of Long Beach. In the first-ever street race for the Daytona Prototype class, Diaz led the first five laps after starting from the pole position. Mike Rockenfeller and Performance Program alumn Patrick Long--who led a total of six laps--earned their third podium result in as many tries this season with their second-place performance in the No. 23 machine for Alex Job Racing/Emory Motorsports. The duo previously won Round 3 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and claimed third in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, but did not compete in Round 2 at Mexico City. Despite missing a race, Rockenfeller and Long are currently tied for fourth in the driver standings, just 14 points behind the co-leaders. Performance Program alumn Shane Lewis and teammate Bill Auberlen combined to finish third in the No. 3 Southard Motorsports BMW Riley.

> 2 April 2006

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - The fence lining the 1.8-mile Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg temporary street circuit isn't as high as many oval facilities, but long-time HPI Performance Program alumn Helio Castroneves nonetheless enjoyed the view. Thousands of sun-splashed fans in the front stretch grandstand were treated to Castroneves' eighth career fence climb after the Marlboro Team Penske driver won under caution on the streets of St. Petersburg. Scott Dixon, who started on the front row and led 36 laps, was runner-up with fellow HPI Performance Program alumn Tony Kanaan third. "I was really pushing out there," Castroneves said after climbing down from the fence but not necessarily returning to earth. "I was trying to go as fast as I could. Even when I was in the lead, I was getting too close to the wall, trying to make up time." "Everyone was telling me, 'Go for it. Go for it.' I drove it like I stole it," Castroneves, who led 40 laps and took over the series' points lead. "You know, it was awesome. We didn't have many yellows (two), which made a very intense race probably for three of us. That was fun until I got the lead. I was like, 'OK, you guys better back off.' But they never did."

> 1 April 2006

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - St. Pete's hosted the second race of the 2006 World Challenge GT series this weekend to a large and enthusiastic crowd. Rookie Lawson Aschenbach, of Gaithersburg, Md., captured his first-career SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship win today at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. His run was anything but easy though, as he fell to as low as fourth before making a run to the front in his Porsche. HPI Performance Program alumni Johnny O'Connell, of Flowery Branch, Ga., and Ricardo Imery, of Caracas, Venezuela, completed the top three.

> 31 March 2006

CORNELIUS, NC - Randy Ruhlman, long-time TransAm racer and current GrandAm Daytona Prototype driver with Jim Derhaag Racing visited with Dr. Jacques Dallaire between the Homestead and Long Beach race events to participate in the HPI Racer Performance Program. Randy had the program on his 'to-do' list for some time and felt that the moment was right to leave no stone unturned in his quest to challenge for wins and top finishing positions in the GrandAm Rolex series. Randy heads to Long Beach with his own A.C.T.© Performance Model and hopes to turn in an academy award performance.

> 26 March 2006

HOMESTEAD, FL - Dr. Dallaire traveled south yet again to the Homestead/Miami area to follow-up with several clients participating in the IRL/Indy Pro Series/Grand Am race events. In what can only be described as a tragic weekend due to the loss of IRL racer and friend Paul Dana in an on-track accident during the Sunday morning warm-up session, some excellent performances by HPI program grads were overshadowed by the harsh reality regarding the danger that exists in high-performance motorsport at the top levels. Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul's family in this most difficult time.

Some notable performances over the weekend of racing included:

• A first place qualifying and race finish for Alex Job Racing/Emory Motorsports hotshoe and HPI program alumn Patrick Long and teammate Mike Rockenfeller in the Grand Am Daytona Prototype (DP) Class. Second place in the DP Class for Saturday evening's race event was claimed by program alumn Christian Fittipaldi and Team Cheever Racing teammate Lucas Luhr while 3rd place in DP Class went to HPI Alumn and CompUSA Chip Ganassi teammates Luis Diaz and Scott Pruett.
• Second and third place qualifying positions respectively by Andretti Green Racing Indy Pro Series teammates and recent Performance Program graduates Jonathan Klein and Jaime Camara, together with a sixth place qualifying performance for Team Cheever Racing pilot and program alumn Chris Festa. HPI Performance Program alumn Jeff Simmons went on to win the Indy Pro Series event on Sunday following an on-track incident that retired front-running drivers Chris Festa and Jonathan Klein.
• A second place finish for Marlboro Penske racer and HPI program alumn Helio Castroneves in the 9th closest finish in IRL history - a 0.0147 sec gap to race winner Dan Weldon. The 3rd place spot was taken by Performance Program alumn Sam Hornish Jr.

> 22 March 2006

CORNELIUS, NC - Hypersport principal, Grand-Am Cup racer, and Panoz Series Chief Instructor Joe Foster visited with Dr. Jacques Dallaire, looking to benefit from the HPI Performance Program on a number of levels. as a driver, as a team principal, and as an instructor. Joe had known about the HPI program for a number of years and had always planned to participate in order to further develop his professional skills. In fact, he was instrumental in encouraging his teammate and Hypersport co-owner Rick Skelton, to take advantage of the program recently. The time was now finally right for Joe to make a similar investment in himself and he enjoyed the two activity-filled days digging deeply into the mental skills side of the performance equation. He left excited and looking forward to putting the new 'tools' he acquired to good use for himself and to help improve the performance of his Hypersport Grand Am Cup team.

> 19 March 2006

Dr. Jacques Dallaire traveled south this week to Sebring, Florida to take in the first races in 2006 of the World Challenge and Star Mazda Series, as well as the 54th running of the ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring.

The week's on-track activities got underway with the Star Mazda Series where Ryan Justice, a recent graduate of the HPI Performance Program dominated in practice. A short qualifying session however, ended Ryan's chances of capturing the season opening race pole position - he started from the second position on the grid. As the 2006 Star Mazda Championship got underway in Sebring Florida earlier this week, Justice emerged as the driver to beat. "After 2 days of practice and testing this week we found ourselves at or near the top of the charts in every session", said Ronnie Swyers, Team Manager for Northwest Autosport. Ryan Justice has just been on top of his game this week with a new record shattering performance on Wednesday by over 3 seconds. He has worked very hard over the winter on the physical and mental aspects of his race preparation, pulling out all the stops in a bid to perform at his best in every on-track session in which he participates. During the race, first corner contact with another driver sent Ryan spinning off the track but he quickly clawed his way back from 14th position to 7th, when a gearbox problem sidelined him for the remainder of the race. In spite of a disappointing finish due to factors outside of his control, Ryan is looking forward with great anticipation to the remainder of the 2006 Star Mazda season where he expects to be a factor at every event.

2005 Speed World Challenge GT champion and long-time HPI Performance Program participant Andy Pilgrim drove his #1 Team Cadillac CTS-V race car to a 2nd place finish in the first race of the 2006 Speed World Challenge GT series held in Sebring, FL. No one was more surprised than Andy himself: "The track was getting quite slippery and my car was sliding because of all the ballast we have to carry to make the weight minimum of 3200 pounds. It's incredible to me that the CTS-V race car has to carry 250 extra lbs over the Corvette with the same engine and restrictor, and also relative to last year we were 200 lbs heavier than the Viper and they were 35% less restricted, especially after the Viper won the race last year." In spite of the weight differential, Andy banked his podium finish and enthusiastically headed to the next race the following weekend in St. Petersburg, FL. Disappointment would greet him there however.

Andy looked to be on his way to victory, building a three second advantage over Lawson Aschenbach. However, in the closing laps, Aschenbach's Porsche cut the gap and he set the race's fastest lap with five laps remaining at a 1:19.858 (81.144 mph). The two ran bumper to bumper around the course, but Pilgrim suddenly slowed in turn 14 on lap 31. His silent Cadillac coasted into the pits as Aschenbach sped away from the rest of the field. Pilgrim's car, like his teammate's (Johnny O'Connell), would re-fire in the pit lane and he rejoined in eighth. "Apparently there was some kind of electrical problem, and the crew will figure out what caused it," Pilgrim said. "Unfortunately, it happened just as I was going by the pit entrance, so I pulled in thinking that something had broken. I recycled the ignition and it fired right up. I don't know whether we could have won because my car was really sliding around on the tires, but it was a disappointing finish to my race." Despite his eighth-place finish, Andy maintained second in the Championship, with 47, followed by Woodhouse (46), race one winner Michael McCann (44) and Imery and Sofronas, both with 43. Like the true professional that he is, Andy took the disappointment in stride and is looking forward to the challenge of defending his championship as the World Challenge GT schedule unfolds.

The privateer Intersport Racing team, consisting of Jon Field, Clint Field and HPI Performance Program alumn Liz Halliday, enjoyed a perfect start to the 2006 American Le Mans Series today when they beat the mighty Porsche factory team to LMP2 class victory in the 54th running of the Sebring 12 Hours; while at the same time finishing a hugely impressive 2nd overall to the awesome new Audi R10. Liz concluded the day by saying: "This is a magic day for the team and I want to applaud Jon and Clint for doing such an awesome job in giving Porsche a run for their money. It wasn't an easy drive today, but I loved every second of it - and what an honor to drive the car to the checkered flag in the final stint of the race. The team and the mechanics worked hard all week and they really deserve this result. Today we beat Porsche fair and square which, as a privateer team, is a major achievement." Liz's result is the highest ever finish for a female driver in the history of the Sebring 12 Hours and she also holds the highest number of wins for female drivers in the ALMS. Other HPI Performance Program alumni who scored podium finishes in the 12 Hours of Sebring race included:

• Butch Leitzinger, 2nd in the P1 Class - #16 Dyson Racing Team Lola/AER
• Guy Smith, 3rd in P1 Class - #20 Dyson Racing Team Lola/AER, and
• Anthony Lazarro, 3rd in GT2 Class - #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta

> 14 March 2006

CORNELIUS, NC - Indy Pro Series racer Jaime Camara, driver of the #1 Andretti Green racing entry followed the example of his mentor and 2004 Indycar Series champion, Tony Kanaan when he too decided to participate in the Racer Performance Program developed by Dr. Jacques Dallaire. Jaime's goal for 2006 is nothing short of bringing all his talents to bear on his performance in the cockpit and beyond. Look for him to maximize every opportunity in the upcoming Indy Pro Series championship season that kicks off in Homestead, Florida on March 26th.

> 10 March 2006

CORNELIUS, NC - Daytona Prototype racer Brian Frisselle, ½ of the Frisselle Racing dynamic duo competing in the 2006 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series visited with Dr. Jacques Dallaire to tap into the internationally-recognized HPI Racer Performance Program. Brian had been exposed to the HPI program through his participation in an annual Skip Barber Runoff seminar presented by Dr. Dallaire and decided that the time was right for him to delve more deeply into the mental skills side of the racing performance equation. Armed with a set of unique 'tools' and a new mental skills training strategy, Brian hit the road excited and looking forward to the next race in Homestead, Florida.

> 1 March 2006

TRAFFORD, PA - The John Walko Racing Team, competing in the 2006 Star Mazda Championship series welcomed Dr. Jacques Dallaire, Co-Founder of the HPI Performance Program to their shop in Trafford, PA to participate in a half-day team performance seminar. The program was designed to provide all members of the team with information that they could use to maximize their personal performance in the shop, at the track, and beyond. The seminar was hailed by team principal John Walko and by JWR Marketing and Promotions Director and HPI alumnus Andrew Prendeville as another step forward for the team in their quest to foster a culture of personal excellence within the fledgling organization. Recognizing that final results are outside of their direct control, members of the team used the experience to reaffirm their commitment to simply bring their best performance to every task they undertake and to behave like champions.rather than focusing their energies on trying to become champions.