The Mechanicians - Racing Stories

Brent Cusick, Part 2: Working with Danica Patrick, The HPD IndyCar Culture, and Race Team Travel Logistics

Brent Cusick concludes his interview by diving into the inner workings of an IndyCar team. He shares his experiences working with high-profile drivers like Danica Patrick early in her career and offers insight into the unique culture within Honda Performance Development (HPD) during their most successful years. Brent breaks down the complex logistics of an IndyCar season, detailing the incredible effort and organization required to get an entire race team's equipment and cars across the country and around the world on schedule. Finally, he looks ahead to his recent promotion and how his three decades of experience have prepared him for his new role in procurement and logistics at Aerodyne Advanced Composites.
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Brent Cusick (Aerodyne Composites): HPD's Two Indy 500 Wins and the Business of IndyCar Chassis Repair

In this follow-up interview, Brent Cusick of Aerodyne Advanced Composites (one of the only certified repair stations for the IndyCar series) details his critical role in carbon fiber chassis repair and quality control. Brent reflects on his tenure at Honda Performance Development (HPD), where he was a key part of two Indy 500 victories, including the historic 100th Running with Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato’s first win. He explains the profound "get it done" work ethic required in racing, where crew members are expected to take on more work without complaint. Finally, Brent shares a raw account of the sport's darker side, detailing the "no pity party" reality of having to work through the tragedy of Justin Wilson's death.
 
 
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The Business of Racing Schools: Analyzing the Failure of Emotive and the High Cost of Driver Training

Formula Atlantic Champion Chris Smith continues his deep dive into the business side of motorsports. This episode examines the factors that led to the bankruptcy and closure of the renowned Jim Russell Racing Driver School, including the challenges faced by its original owners and the miscalculations made by subsequent venture capitalists who acquired the operation. Smith offers perspective on why the school's founders, Jacques Couture and Jim Russell, never reached the same public notoriety as contemporaries like Skip Barber and Bob Bondurant. He also provides an updated look at the financial reality of driver training, noting that top-tier three-day driving schools today can cost students $12,000 to $15,000.
 
 
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Chris Smith: The Untold Ford v Ferrari Feud, Carroll Smith's Racing Legacy, and a Champion's 30-Year Career

Meet Chris Smith, the son of legendary motorsports engineer and author Carroll Smith, as he discusses his family's incredible "ripples in the pond" legacy in racing. Chris reveals the shocking, untold story of why his famous father was completely snubbed by the blockbuster.
 
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“Future Factory Driver? Meet Porsche Prodigy Danny Dyszelski

Seventeen-year-old Porsche GT4 racer Danny Dyszelski has already lived more racing life than most drivers twice his age. From karting at just five years old to flipping open-wheelers at Mid-Ohio, surviving brutal hits, chasing podiums, and making the leap into GT racing, Danny’s path is a blend of raw talent, resilience, and a mindset far beyond his years.
In this episode of The Mechanicians – Racing Stories, Danny joins Rob Klyver for a deep, honest conversation about what it really takes to grow up in motorsport. They dig into everything:• jumping from karts to open-wheel to GT4• the mental and physical grind of racing at the sharp end• mastering the sim, the gym, and the travel lifestyle• surviving major impacts and learning from them• working with elite teams, coaches, and co-drivers• and the long-view ambition of becoming a top factory driver
Calm, analytical, and fiercely committed, Danny gives an inside look at the next generation of professional racing talent — and why he’s just getting started.
Brought to you by DNL Components 
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Jacques Couture, Part 2: Battling the SCCA, Losing Laguna Seca, and Winning Back His School

Motorsports legend Jacques Couture returns to discuss the dramatic expansion and near-collapse of his racing school empire. He shares the untold story of the legal battle over the Mechanics Training Program (MTP) and the initial meeting with famous engineer Carol Smith, who helped design the school's first race cars. Couture recounts the major conflict with the SCCA over a Long Beach support race, leading to a mass flagger walk-off by his school graduates. He details the strategic move from Riverside to Laguna Seca, the loss of the track to Skip Barber's bid , and the eventual relocation to Sears Point (Sonoma). Finally, Couture recounts the dark period when a partner betrayed him by secretly taking control of the school's shares and the ensuing court battle to win back his racing legacy. 
 
 
Music track: Synergy by Aylex Source: https://freetouse.com/music Free Vlog Music Without Copyright  Creative Commons__Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0 Music promoted by Vlog Music
 
 
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Jacques Couture: Founding the Jim Russell School, Mechanics Training, and Dinner with Enzo Ferrari

Motorsports pioneer Jacques Couture shares his origin story: from racing his Morgan to driving a Formula 1 car and having dinner with Enzo Ferrari in Italy. He recounts bringing the Jim Russell Racing Driver School to North America and creating the essential Mechanics Training Program that launched the careers of drivers and crew alike, including legends like Gilles Villeneuve and Danny Sullivan.
 
 
Music track: Synergy by Aylex Source: https://freetouse.com/music Free Vlog Music Without Copyright  Creative Commons__Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0 Music promoted by Vlog Music
 
 
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No Whining, Just Work: Racing Life, Career Moves, and the IndyCar Grind

The Mechanicians Racing Stories continues Season Two with a promised follow-up from Brent Cusick of Aerodyne Advanced Composites.
This is a deep dive into the true life of a motorsports professional, exploring the demanding transition from working at Honda Performance Development (HPD) to a leading role in the composites and IndyCar repair world. Brent shares what it was really like to be part of two Indy 500 wins—including the monumental 100th running with Alexander Rossi and a victory with Takuma Sato—and the bittersweet memories of working alongside IndyCar legend Justin Wilson.
Discover the unspoken, "get-it-done" ethos that defines racing careers, the pressure of being one of the only Dallara-certified repair stations for IndyCar tubs, and why he and his colleagues rarely talked about their extraordinary careers with friends. If you've ever wondered what happens to a wrecked IndyCar, or what it takes to climb the ladder in professional racing, this is the insider perspective you've been waiting for.
Music track: Synergy by Aylex Source: https://freetouse.com/music Free Vlog Music Without Copyright  Creative Commons__Attribution 3.0 Unported - CC BY 3.0 Music promoted by Vlog Music
 
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Brent Cusick, Part 2: From NASCAR Dreams to a Life-Changing Decision

 
Brent Cusick, Part 2: From NASCAR Dreams to a Life-Changing Decision
Brent Cusick, Part 2: Selling Everything and the Call from NASCAR Country
This is the second installment of a three-part interview with Brent Cusick, a series dedicated to the
mechanicians—the men and women behind the scenes in motorsports. This episode picks up with Brent's transition from racing his own Spec Truck at Irwindale Speedway to working for a large local race team as a fabricator and mechanic.
Driven by the ambition to become a professional race car mechanic, Brent and his new wife made a major life change: they sold everything and moved to North Carolina—the "epicenter for NASCAR"—so he could attend a crew school with industry connections. Despite facing skepticism from others who judged him because he was from California, Brent's advanced experience and work ethic quickly led him to help teach the class.
This led to his first major break: crewing a car at
Dover, Delaware, where he was asked to spot for a high-speed car and worked closely with experienced engineers and a car chief from Kevin Harvick's Cup car. He then secured his first full-time professional role at
Revolution Racing, the NASCAR diversity program, overseeing their late model shop as a car chief and shop overseer in his early twenties.
Brent describes the intense, unsustainable work schedule—often
18 to 20-hour days—that defined his time there, and the valuable mentorship he received from top-level figures in the industry. The episode concludes with Brent receiving his dream job offer as a car chief at Kyle Busch Motorsports, but a family tragedy—his father-in-law being terminally ill—prompted him and his wife to make the difficult decision to leave North Carolina, sell everything again, and move to Arizona to be with family.
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Brent Cusick, Part 1: From Family Garages to the Pinnacle of Motorsport

This is the first of a three-part interview with Brent Cusick, a Quality Engineer at Aerodyne Composites and former Honda Performance Development (HPD) colleague of the host. This installment of "The Mechanicians Racing Stories" focuses on the people behind the scenes, away from the drivers. Brent, who previously worked trackside as the parts specialist for Honda's IndyCar program, shares his deep family roots in racing, tracing his involvement from childhood.
He recounts his early journey through RC cars and BMX racing, the latter ending with a serious face injury. His passion for mechanics was cemented through his high school auto shop class, where he excelled as a vocational student. Brent details the start of his own racing career with the Brennan Cusick Motorsports team he put together with his father and mother, beginning with a Street Stock car and progressing to a Spec Truck series. This difficult experience, which included an accident that totaled the truck, forced him to learn to be a "proper mechanic," focusing heavily on chassis setup and suspension geometry—knowledge he would use later in his career.
 
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