Drive safer, with more confidence and, of course, faster!
welcome!
Let's face it, the idea of driving a car on a race track is exhilarating but, if you're new, doing it for the first time can be stressful & overwhelming. However, with proper preparation and quality coaching, you'll have a blast and learn a ton! Even for those who have many track days under their belt, I've seen struggles with hitting plateaus or not knowing what bad habits are holding them back. For the experienced track aficionados, consumer data acquisition devices and data analysis software exists as a means of evaluating and improving driving on track - but it's not easy to learn.
This is why I started DK Track Coach.
My name is David Killion, and I have an addiction for speed and high g-forces. This prompted me to pursue and environment where I could drive as fast as I wanted without the fear of jail time. I started at the beginning and have reached a point where I want to pursue another of my passions which is helping others grow in this sport. DK Track Coach exists to help simplify the entry into this amazing activity and grow the capability of drivers of all experience levels.
Over the past 8 years of driver coaching, I've realized that everyone is at a different place in their journey and needs a coaching plan to adapt to their individual needs. I partner with many other coaches to ensure you have exactly what you need regardless of your desires or skill level. Since this is not a one-size-fits-all topic, I encourage you to contact me to find out what works best for you.
About David
David started go-kart racing in 2001 in various style of karts (Rotax, TaG, 80 & 125cc shifters) and won Dixon club championship in 2004 in the 80 Masters class. After which he began participating in High Performance Driving Experience Events (HPDE) in his daily-driven BMW 318ti. He received right-seat instruction from the great people at BMW CCA and quickly progressed in his knowledge and capability. Over the next few years he tracked an e36 M3, e92 M3 and an almost-race-prepared e36 328i sedan. It's this 328i that prompted him to attend Skip Barber Racing School and obtain is competition license from NASA. The 328i was built to compete in the GTS3 class with NASA after an S54 engine swap and professional setup by TC Design and Edge Motorworks. David received professional competition coaching from Anthony Zwain and stood on the podium often, won at Sonoma Raceway, and was crowned the GTS3 season championship in 2014.
David's passion for racing continued, but family and career obligations were such that he couldn't dedicate the time required to compete at the top levels as he desired. This prompted him to focus his attention on giving back to the community which gave him so much joy over the years. He was accepted as an instructor candidate with BMW's rigorous driver instructing program and was awarded his first "yellow shirt" by Boris Said at Willow Springs raceway in 2015. From this point on, the focus has been becoming the best driver coach possible including training and mentoring other coaches. He continues to volunteer coach with BMW CCA to this day and says it's one of the most rewarding clubs to work with.
With over 8 years of performance driver coaching experience, David has also coached with Hooked on Driving, TrackMasters, Speed Ventures, NASA, Lightspeed, and other track-day organizations. The feedback he has received from students shows his commitment to the learning process as he continues to hone his own driving skill. He has experience coaching in most types of cars you'll find at a race track and has personally owned and tracked many including an F82 M4, Focus RS, Tesla Model 3 Performance, C7 Z06 Corvette, and he currently drives a 2nd gen GR86.
One aspect of David's coaching that sets him apart from many track-day instructors is his ability to setup, record and analyze data from the car. Data Acquisition is a compliment and often-times a replacement for the need of a coach in the passenger seat. Even simple speed/distance traces with lateral/longitudinal acceleration (gained from devices which can be added to a car on-the-fly) can highlight big areas for improvement. Take a moment to read through David's blog article on this topic [link].
