Howard Boss Motorsports

NEWS
LATEST NEWS

Childress-Howard Motorsports to Field DP in Grand-Am
Plans Call for Fulltime Program in 2009

Dyson, Lally Sprint to 13th in Crown Royal 200 at The Glen
Watkins Glen race ends Rolex Series season for Howard Motorsports

Dyson, Lally Team for Crown Royal 200 at The Glen
#16 Thetford / Norcold Porsche Crawford set for sprint event

Dysons, Howard Motorsports 16th in Brumos Porsche 250
#16 Thetford / Norcold Team posts best finish of season

News Archive

Q: Being in the energy derivatives I have a question regarding crude. With the increased volatility in crude and the rising gas prices is the team involved in any kind of financial hedging practices to ensure that its overhead cost are kept in line and not continuing to spike up or down all the time, what is the usual bill for filling up a race car for a whole race? Thanks and keep winning.....

A: No, our team is not involved in any kind of financial hedging. Our budgeting for the season is completed the prior year, therefore we can not plan for any changes in the economy. The usual bill for filling up a race car depends upon the race, and how many cars we run. A fuel bill for the Rolex 24, running three cars, tends to cost about $7,000. For the shorter races like VIR and Barber, when our team runs one car, fuel cost around $1,000. Thank you for your inquiry and I hope I answered your question.

Q: I understand that aerodynamic downforce devices cause drag; therefore when setting up the car do you go for mechanical grip first and trim with aero or is it vice versa? Also, with the rocker arm type suspension can you adjust the fulcrum point or do you just change springs/ shocks when you want to make a change to the spring rates? Thanks for your time and good luck.

A: Ask a driver and they always seem to want more aero and of course there are different philosophies on which to tune with first. Being an aerodynamicist myself of course I am partial to aero tuning but even I recognize that drag is an unwanted result and tend to first get an aero bablance and then work on the mechanical grip. Once you have good mechanical grip and balance I then will work with various downforce levels to determine the appropriate amount of downforce. When adjusting the mechanical side at a race weekend we gererally tune the car with spring and shock adjustments and save the larger changes like rocker ratios for a test event as they are more lengthy and would require large changes to your general setup. A race weekend is better to arrive as close to your final setup as you can and just tune the car. Thank you for your interest and I hope I have answered your question.

Catherine Wallace

Q: I was at Barber Motorsports this past weekend, and was truly disappointed at your being punted at the very beginning of the race. A one minute penalty wasn't NEARLY enough.
The primary reason that I am writing is to express my appreciation for the kindness of Billy Hughes. He answered numerous questions from myself and a friend (many about "performance balancing" of the classes), and couldn't have been friendlier. My only question is what is a "deadman?"
Best of luck at Watkins Glen and the rest of the season!

A: Thank you, Tom for your kind words. A “deadman” is one that holds the spring-loaded fueling value handle open to fuel the care during pit stops. I am dressed in full fire gear, and my job is to watch the over-the wall fueler. If I see a leak or any other fuel related problem, I let go of the handle, which springs shut the fuel flow. They call it “deadman” because I am not allowed to move from my spot, as if I were a dead man. Thanks for your question. See you next year!!

Billy Hughes

Q: After seeing the suspension failure at Daytona, I was wondering what sort of inspections you do on various critical components. Do you routinely NDI (non-destructively inspect) these parts (x-ray, FPI, ect.)? Do you use any sort of Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) program to establish maintenance and replacement intervals? I work in the military aviation business where this is routine for us, and I was just curious if you used some similar tools/programs.

A: Yes, we do have proprietary software programs to establish reliability and replacement intervals. We also, have an in-house NDI station for testing ferrous and non-ferrous materials. In necessary situations, we outsource materials for further metallurgical analysis. Unfortunately for us at Daytona, bad luck just clouted our opportunity to win the Daytona Brumos 250 for the 2nd year in a row. Thank you very much for your inquiry and thank you for watching the race.

Q: How much does a Crawford rolling chassis cost?And are there any schools that teach how to fabricate the DP cars if someone was looking to get into the sport?

A: The chassis in the Rolex Series range anywhere from $360,000 to $660,000. This does not include the engine or electronics and various options. The cars are a mixture of normal fabrication, which is taught in technical schools, or as an apprentice. As for carbon work, I am not aware of a school for that, but our employees learn on the job. They start in the pre-preg department and some move on to wet laminate.

Q: What steps would an aspiring technician who would like to work in the industry need to take to achieve such a goal? (currently at dealership level for ex.)

A: The answer to that would really depend on what qualifications you already hold and what part of the industry you are interested in. I earned a degree in Aerospace Engineering (Catherine Wallace), participated in a few internships, and worked in other types of racing before I arrived here. Some of the guys worked their way up from machining to engineering and beyond. We have a few people who came on as weekend warriors and then joined us fulltime. I know this is not a clear path but more info on your specific interests would help. Best of Luck!

Q: How much downforce difference is there between a high downforce nose piece and a low downforce nose?

A: Due to the strict rules in Grand-Am about body shape there is not much room for change in the shapes of noses. Some manufacturers do have a "steeper" nose for higher downforce configurations while we use add on pieces such as diveplanes to create more front downforce or change the balance. Without giving too much away the diference in load can be as small as 50 lbs increases to an order of hundreds of pounds depending on what you are trying to achieve.

Q: Is driving a Daytona Prototype considered seat of the pants driving like a Nextel Cup car, or is it more high downforce like an IRL or champcar?

A: The Daytona Prototype cars do work on the basis of downforce as all prototype sportscars do but due to the rules the level is lower than a Le Mans car or an open wheel car. They do seem to trick drivers a bit coming from the higher downforce formulas as they have characteristics of a downforce car but more movement like a GT or NASCAR type. Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson got up to speed very quickly as they can still use the weight like their cars but the added downforce just helps to place the car and make it feel more in control.

Q: What are the specs on the Pontiac V8?

A: It is a 5.0L 2 valve V8 producing approximately 500+ horsepower at 7100 rpm.

Q: Since I will never drive a prototype, do you think someone will make a racing game of the rolex series?

A: As a matter of fact at the 24 a company called T3 was there filming the cars to create just such a game so hopefully it will become a reality soon.

Q: Do you sell any merchandise at the shop? I live in Denver and would like to get a t-shirt.

A: Yes we do sell our merchanise at the shop so please come and by and see the cars and shop.

Q: Do you use roof flaps or traction control on the Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype?

A: We do not use roof flaps but we are using traction control with many parameters to help the cars of the corner and increase tire life.

Q: Did the car to be driven by Rusty Wallace & Danica Patrick not make the Race? I see nothing in the results section about them. Please let me know where to find out about their qualifying?

A: They qualified 19th origially but after a few cars were disqualified they moved up 4 spots. The car was running well in the race and was running in the top 3 until it blew a head gasket and was forced to retire.

Q: When at a race such as the Rolex 24, how many cars do you have in your garage? Any backups?

A: Unfortunately in our form of racing you are not permitted a chassis change at a race venue, therefore if you have a problem you have to fix the car or you are done. That is not to say that you cannot have a spare chassis to pick parts from. We and other select teams do keep a spare chassis just for that purpose but mainly we just have a massive amount of spares.

Q: How do I, if possible obtain autographs from the drivers of your team/teams?

A: If you send a request to us we can send you signed hero cards of our full time dr ivers. Unfortunately for the drivers such as Tony, Rusty, and Danica I am afraid you have to try to catch them at a race.

Q: “What are the major differences in the various types of sports car racing – Rolex Series, Grand Am, ALMS, SCCA, etc…?”

A: The Rolex Grand-Am Series offers close exciting racing for a reasonable budget. ALMS features technically more advanced cars, but the costs involved are much higher and there are fewer competitive cars as a result. SCCA caters more for the amateur team/driver.

Q: “How much does it cost to operate a Rolex Sports Car Series Team?

A: Upwards of $2M for a race winning effort.

Q: “In your opinion, what is the most demanding race in the Rolex Series?”

A: The Rolex 24 at Daytona. It’s extremely hard on car & drivers. It’s basically a 24 hour sprint race these days.

Q: “What track on the Rolex Series schedule would you consider to be the most demanding for both driver and car?”

A: See above. Plus Mexico City is very bumpy which makes car set-up difficult and car & driver durability an issue. VIR is probably the race track that tests a car’s ability the most, with its large variety of different fast and slow turns.

Q: “How much horsepower does a Rolex Series Daytona Prototype engine produce and what is the top speed reached in a DP car?”

A: Around 500 BHP and about 200 MPH.

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