The Performance Racing Industry show is filled with products intended to make vehicles faster, lighter, more efficient and stronger for individuals, shops and teams. And every once in awhile, it offers a product that can save a marriage. Enter the Steering Buddy: a device from Hostile Industries/Steering Buddy that “that attaches directly to the steering shaft or column and allows you to steer the car remotely when it’s powered off.”
Now, let’s be real — the Steering Buddy is not new to PRI (it won a Featured Product Award for Best Shop Equipment in 2022) and it has been in production since 2020, so let’s just call it new to RacingJunk, in part, because the Steering Buddy had been manufactured for dirt and asphalt race cars, but has relatively recently launched a version for the drag car. Or maybe, in this case, RacingJunk is just behind the curve because when we showed up to check it out, it became clear that this lightweight device makes dealing with the non-racing parts of a race car a heck of a lot easier.
In the words of another customer at the booth, “it saved our marriage.” And it’s true, there’s nothing like the pre- or post-race “discussion” required to steer the race car into the trailer or into the pits for overhaul or just to haul it home. We have all been there, ready to leave our partner in the dirt to figure out how to get the vehicle moved on their own after one too many frustrating miscommunications of “left, left, left, no YOUR OTHER left.”
Check out the video below as owner Mike Pearl walks us through the Steering Buddy, and talks about its next evolution (a wireless variation which will sync up via Blue Tooth to the app which is already in play).
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