Get an in-car view of the first race of the 2020 TC America season. This event was my first TC America race at COTA and the first time my CrowdStrike Racing / AWS Honda Civic Si race car was driven on track. I was conservative at the start of the race and lost a few positions. Watch to see me fight to gain them back over the course of two laps. Ultimately, I ended up with a third-place finish.
Here's some in-car video of the CrowdStrike Racing / AWS Honda Civic Si during Qualifying at the 2020 TC America Circuit of the Americas event. A bout of rain just before Qualifying made for challenging conditions on track. There was a lot of confusion between all of the drivers, teams, and staff--did we need slicks or dry tires? I decided to stay on slicks--and fortunately, the rain stopped. The track was very slippery at first, but it finally began to dry near then end. This video shows my final lap, where I am trying to use all the available grip on the track to go fast.
AUSTIN, Texas (March 11, 2020) – CrowdStrike Racing began its 2020 SRO America competition season in strong style with multiple podium finishes in two categories of racing at Circuit of The Americas over the weekend. George Kurtz, Colin Braun and Kevin Boehm each claimed trophies in CrowdStrike Racing entries before a large number of CrowdStrike supporters and guests, many of whom participated in CrowdStrike’s CXO Summit and premier hospitality program at COTA. In addition, CJ Moses made his highly anticipated debut in a Honda Civic Type R TCR, giving CrowdStrike followers plenty of content to cheer on and follow. SUNNYVALE, Calif. – CrowdStrike Racing is further broadening its motorsports plans for 2020 with the addition of a full-season TC America entry for accomplished road-racer and engineer Kevin Boehm.
Boehm will drive the No. 9 CrowdStrike Honda Civic Si for the full season in the series’ TCA category, which is for touring cars that largely retain many of their production elements with race suspension, brakes, exhaust, and safety equipment added. The Honda Civic Si race car, built by Honda Performance Development, features a six-speed manual transmission, power steering, and a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. “I am beyond excited to join CrowdStrike Racing for my debut season in TC America,” Boehm said. “On the race track, every second counts, but the work starts long before I get behind the wheel. As an engineer, it's truly inspiring to see the team prioritize the same things that I do — diligence, thoroughness, technology, and data. I look forward to joining the CrowdStrike Racing family and hope to quickly add to their history of success.”
Here is a quick look at the brakes on the Honda Racing/HPD Turn-key Civic Si race car. In this video, I'll show you the front mono-block 6-piston calipers and also show you how easy it is to change the pads.
Everyone in the TC America series must use an Optima Yellow-Top battery. Fortunately, changing the battery in the Honda Racing/HPD Civic Si race car is super easy--watch to see how I did it.
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Kevin Boehm of Boehm Racing is making the transition from club/amateur racing to pro racing in 2020, driving the Honda Racing/HPD Turn-key Civic Si race car in TC America.
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to race in TC America this year," Boehm says. "With the support of long-time partners, new sponsors who believed in the vision, family, and friends, we were able to make the jump from club to pro. I look forward to getting out onto the track with the HPD Turn-key Civic Si this season." Kevin Boehm of Boehm Racing won the 2019 Road Race Driver of the Year award from the Ohio Valley Region SCCA. This is his second year in a row winning the award and his third time overall.
"I really appreciate the award and the opportunities SCCA gives me and other drivers to do what we love," Boehm says. "Motorsports organizations like the SCCA give us the chance to pursue our dreams on track." Boehm has been an SCCA member since 2013 and is a four-time SCCA National Championship winner. His most recent victory was in the 2019 SCCA STU class with his 2017 Honda Civic Type R Swapped Si Coupe. My award-winning, Civic Type R Engine Swap race car was featured in the January 2020 edition of Super Street Magazine. Super Street is a Motor Trend publication focused on tuner / import vehicles. The article tells the origin story of the Type R Swap. Read all about it on the Super Street website.
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) posted their recap of the 2019 STU National Championship Runoffs event.
Kevin Boehm, of Marysville, Ohio, was the defending Super Touring® Under (STU) National Champion coming into this year’s Runoffs® at VIRginia International Raceway. And earlier this week, despite a small setback, he earned the Tire Rack Pole Award and led a 25-car field to the start. While Boehm, driving the No. 90 HPD/Carbotech/Red Line Oil Honda Civic, bobbled a bit at the start of Saturday’s 15-lap race around VIR’s 18-turn, 3.27-mile circuit, he quickly recovered and marched away to a 25-second victory. This is Boehm’s second consecutive National Championship in the STU class, and fourth Championship overall. “I think this is the first year everything went to plan,” said Boehm, who also set a new STU lap record during the race. “I expected Elivan to get a better start since his car is so light and so good. But then I went to work from there. This was an absolute perfect car for this track.” Read the full article on the SCCA website. Speed Sport magazine covered the 2019 SCCA National Championship Runoffs race and featured all of the event's winners. Read the article to learn about the champion of each class and see their feature on my win of the STU class.
Noted motorsports magazine Speed Sport covered the pole results of the 2019 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, mentioning my Tire Rack Pole award win. To achieve this, I broke two minute barrier with the Type R Engine Swap, taking pole with 1:59:948. Read about it and other Runoffs pole winners in the article.
There are so many emotions that happen when winning a big race. It may not look like much here, but I was overwhelmed with joy, relief, thankfulness, and excitement all at the same time. Video shows two views of me crossing the finish line at the 2019 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, winning the STU national championship.
Lap one of the 2019 SCCA National Championship race was not easy. The rear tires weren't warmed up, yet. Those who watched the race said it didn't look like much from the outside, but the in-car video shows how close I was to the edge.
To make a car fast on track, it needs to be easy to drive. That's because a car that's easy to drive at the limit allows you to spend more time getting the maximum out of the car. Video taken during the 2019 SCCA STU National Championship Race at Virginia International Raceway.
Check out this rooftop view of Virginia International Raceway (VIR) from my Civic Type R race car during the 2019 SCCA National Championship Runoffs. VIR is one of the most unique tracks in the US. With its combination of high speed turns and elevation changes, it is a real challenge to go fast.
The Engine Swap Depot wrote a feature on my Type R engine swapped coupe—the first K20C1 swap in the world. Read the article and let me know what you think!
Racer Magazine is predicting who will win the 2019 SCCA National Championship. In the article, it covers all classes, including mine (STU or Super Touring Under) and cites Chris Haldeman's Honda Civic, (pictured above), Elivan Goulart's Lotus, Mike Flynn's BMW, and my Civic Type R Engine Swap as the cars to watch. Make sure to tune into the October 12th event at scca.com/live to see which prediction comes true.
When I started building the Civic Type R engine swap in January 2017, all I had was a K20C1 engine, a Civic Si white body, a lot of spare parts, and hope that I would finish it before that year's race season ended. By summer the car was driving--and the rest is history. It's now coming to the close of 2019--looking forward to another year (and perhaps another look) with the race car.
The SCCA National Championship Runoffs is coming up, so I decided to install fresh Carbotech brake pads. This time, I also added thermocouples to all the outside pads so I can better understand the temperature range while on the race track. This will help make sure the load compounds I've chosen are correct.
In the gallery above, see the new brake pads before and after installation on the Civic Type R Swap race car. The additional images give more background on the thermocouples themselves:
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KEVIN BOEHMTips, tricks, wins, and learnings. Go behind-the-scenes at the race shop and the track with Boehm Motorsports. Archives
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