racing 101

Here, Acumen Motorsport site will give details on the team development. Racing 101 will become password protected and available only to Acumen Motorsport Team Members. We will provide editorial comment and technical issues covering race car subjects from preparation to the running of the team.

  • Updates on team preparation – What it takes
  • Race car prep from tires to roof
  • Progress reports
  • Past history – campfire stories
  • Member highlights
  • Celebrity interviews
  • Technical editorials from industry professionals

Join our team and become part of what promises to be a memorable event.


Auto Racing 101
Don Hoevel
Team Manager

This is my first attempt to share with you the ins and outs of racing, from team preparation, car setup through the actual race. Some of my efforts will be directed to updating you on the teams progress, other articles will focus on the wheres, the whys and the hows a racecar is prepared. So here we go:

On October 27, 2011, we began the process to prepare for The 24 Hours of Daytona. We started with meeting the key characters involved. For myself, meeting the Drivers and some of the crew is crucial. Trying to understand personalities and abilities, then hopefully being able to get them all to mesh under what can sometimes be difficult situations in auto racing. On TV, the broadcasters can make it look real pretty to the outside, when in reality behind the scenes, problems can arise from car set up to what we are having for lunch. Yes, it sounds silly, but believe me simple things like that happen. And yes, in our first test, we had those discussions, from how to downshift, when to change tires, and are we having Mexican food for dinner? Fortunately they were all resolved peacefully!

From a performance stand point, we had a good test. All 4 Drivers were very close in lap times, which makes comparisons a little easier. Each Driver has his own style, but still seems to accomplish similar results. Our car set up was not optimum for the low speed tight track we were on (Autobahn South Course 2.1 Mile, 14 Corner), but closer to a high speed track set up, but for Driver seat time, and comparison it was fine. Not to minimize the work ahead of our Team, but we did have a good two days at the Autobahn.

We have a huge amount of work to do to properly prepare for The 24, starting with prep work for a tire test at Daytona on December 6th and 7th. That test will uncover areas that we need to work on. All of the current full time teams will be there and we will be able to see how we stack up against them.

It will be an interesting adventure!

Don