Magazines are dynamic. This is especially true in the current digital age. They change with technology, but also with the needs of their audience and the needs of the organization they serve. That has certainly been the case with Speed News. With each new issue, we make changes and add new things to try to make the magazine as relevant and useful to NASA members as it can be.
We do that by presenting stories we think you’ll find as entertaining as they are informative. We do that by showcasing the best photography we can find on some of the country’s best racing action, and we try to package it through outstanding art direction that’s distinctive and attractive to the reader.
Through those stories, we hope you’ll find ways to make racing more enjoyable and affordable. In addition, we try to run stories that can help you get around the track a bit faster, provide explanations of some of the many complex topics of racecar dynamics and driver improvement. Just in the last couple of weeks, we came up with a couple of new items I’d like to draw your attention to.
First is a new kind of story I’ve informally labeled “race diaries.” Rob Krider wrote the first installment of race diaries, but the idea behind it is that anyone can submit his or her own story. Essentially, race diaries focus on the incredible lengths some racers go to just to make it to the starting grid. This month’s story, which details the struggles of a couple of Honda Challenge drivers at the NASA Championships, shows just how much NASA members can accomplish when they put their minds and backs into it.
You will not believe what these guys went through to get to Mid-Ohio and what they endured while they were there. Once you read it, odds are pretty good you might find it easier to take on any difficulties you face at the track.
We’ve got another race diaries story lined up for a future issue, but I welcome any NASA member to submit his or her own story and photos. Send them to [email protected].
The next new item comes in the form of our renewed commitment to regional news and updates from regional directors and series leaders all over the country. In the past, we have been picking and choosing regional stories, but we are going to be running more of them on more classes and providing NASA members with an avenue to get their names and cars onto the pages of Speed News.
That’s really one of Speed News’ biggest benefits. It is a magazine for NASA members, by NASA members. Each morning I sit down at this desk, I will try to find ways to make it even more valuable to the membership. Whether it’s assigning knowledgeable writers to explain complex topics, finding new parts and equipment to enhance your racing experience, showcasing fine photography and arresting videos, making Speed News better is my priority.
No doubt Speed News will continue to change over time. That’s just part of the process, and an essential evolution of a dynamic digital publication. One thing that will not change is that it will remain focused on you, the NASA member.
