Ross Bentley (born November 4, 1956) is a Canadian performance coach, racing driver, author, and speaker. His performance coaching spans executive/business coaching to sports (athletes and teams in a variety of sports, with a specialty in motorsports).

Racing career

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bentley grew up in a racing household (father was a race mechanic, brother a mechanic and driver) and began driving himself at the age of four. He won 11 amateur racing championships during his early career. In 1990, he debuted in CART with Spirit of Vancouver, a program that was formed to provide a car for a Vancouverite at the inaugural Molson Indy Vancouver. Bentley returned to the race the following year with Spirit of Vancouver; the effort received support such as pit crew and car from Dale Coyne Racing. Bentley increased his CART schedule in 1992 with Coyne to include additional races outside of Vancouver, and would run seven races. That year's Vancouver event saw four Canadian drivers including Bentley, who finished 14th while managing a back injury. He continued racing for Coyne in 1993. During the buildup to the Indianapolis 500, Bentley was hospitalized and suffered burns on his hands and neck in a practice crash that caused a fuel regulator to split and pour methanol fuel into the cockpit. Bentley continued driving for Coyne in 1994, when the team brought on Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton as a co-owner, but Payton Coyne Racing struggled with performance due to outdated equipment. A lack of sponsorship forced him out of IndyCar in 1995, prompting him to compete in sports car racing. He competed in the World Sportscar Championship before returning to CART and Payton Coyne at Vancouver, but he failed to make the race after setting the slowest time in qualifying. He continued his professional career in endurance racing. Bentley won the 1998 United States Road Racing Championship in the GT3 class and the 2003 24 Hours of Daytona in the SRPII Class.

Off the track

Bentley worked as a driving instructor at his Performance Advanced Driving School and a columnist for racing clubs in the 1980s. He currently owns a consulting business, Bentley Performance Systems, which focuses on improving the performance of individuals, teams and organizations through coaching, workshops and the development of custom-designed programs. In 1998, Bentley published the first in a series of racing technique and strategy books called Speed Secrets. To date, he has nine books published under the Speed Secrets banner, including Inner Speed Secrets with Ronn Langford and The Complete Driver with Bruce Cleland. He also co-wrote with Bob Bondurant on Race Kart Driving. In 2017, Bentley released a new title, Performance Pilot (written with professional aviator Phil Wilkes) detailing aviation-specific procedures, techniques, and strategies to help pilots improve their flying performance. Bentley currently lives with his wife and daughter in Issaquah, Washington, US.

American open–wheel racing results

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PPG Indycar Series

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