Team Honda Research West campaigns the company’s Honda Civic Si at races across the country. Don’t mistake it, though, for a traditional “factory-backed” team.
Sure, Honda provides the cars and related Honda hardware. But the rest of the bolt-on components–tires, safe…
I remember the good ole days (pre-2008 autopocalypse) when some of the dealers I wrenched at gave the techs a car and a budget to go do any kind of racing with to promote the dealer.
I'm glad Honda allows their entities like HMA, HART, etc to go racing too.
And there's a GRM connection...I Crew Chief for THR-W each year for the Thunderhill 25H.
This year we finished 1-2 in class and podiumed overall.
In reply to Andy Hollis :
Andy, I don't think we could do it without you. Even though we seemingly grab people from all over Honda North America, it still takes a seasoned pro to help put it all together.
- Andy Loscavio (Honda PSP Engineer)
Here's the video recap of our 2023 effort. P1 & P2 in class, and third overall. And we had to change an engine the evening of the practice day. No quit in these guys...honored to be Crew Chief.
For anyone interested, we (HART/THRW) are racing ChampCar at VIR this weekend. Stop by the Honda tent and say hello!
When I co-oped at Honda R&D in Ohio in 2000, I helped out with the Motorola Cup Team and went with them to VIR where they clinched the championship that year. I even got to go over the wall on a pitstop to torque wheels. Great team and experiences!
Wasn't some Honda employees racing an Odyssey van they converted to stick shift?
Datsun240ZGuy said:Wasn't some Honda employees racing an Odyssey van they converted to stick shift?
I saw the HART Alabama Odyssey at Road Atlanta in June 2023, it starting giving me plans for when the wife's 2015 Sienna needs retiring.
Datsun240ZGuy said:Wasn't some Honda employees racing an Odyssey van they converted to stick shift?
That is another offshoot of our group HART. We now have associate racing teams in Ohio, Alabama, Alpharetta, and Torrance.
Honda Canada does the same in our Lucky Dog series except judging by the stacker loaded with 3 cars,mountain of spares,stacks and stacks of fresh rubber mounted up etc etc Honda is funding the effort.
kevlarcorolla said:Honda Canada does the same in our Lucky Dog series except judging by the stacker loaded with 3 cars,mountain of spares,stacks and stacks of fresh rubber mounted up etc etc Honda is funding the effort.
Correct, although their funding comes from a separate "bucket" since they are HCM (Honda Canada). They only have one associate team though.
metallitubby said:For anyone interested, we (HART/THRW) are racing ChampCar at VIR this weekend. Stop by the Honda tent and say hello!
Awesome, best of luck to you! I'll be there in spirit.
In reply to metallitubby :
All good lads and fun to race with,we outran them more often then not with an underfunded effort so that feels good lol.
In reply to metallitubby :
I still have my "I know Andy Locsavio" sticker on my Prelude (we used to work at Honda Carland together).
In reply to kevlarcorolla :
While we love winning, keep in mind that our associate race programs are more for team-building and keeping the "Racing Spirit" alive within Honda. The monies spent have a direct correlation to associate happiness and corporate engagement and leadership skills.
Sadly, the Thunderhill 25H is no more. NASA says it just a one-year postponement, but I don't believe in reincarnation.
Word is WRL @ COTA in December instead. Fingers crossed.
In reply to metallitubby :
That paragraph right there is why I'm stoked to have never worked for a corporation haha.
Are Chad Gillsinger and Lee Neffinegger still involved? Pete Halsmer was the pro driver when I crewed.
PMRacing said:Are Chad Gillsinger and Lee Neffinegger still involved? Pete Halsmer was the pro driver when I crewed.
I think Chad mostly does IMSA stuff. My information is a few years old. His son is driving some now.
Lee does a lot of trackside work for teams running Hondas/Acuras in IMSA or world challenge. When I spoke with him a couple years ago he said it's been years since he raced.
kevlarcorolla said:In reply to metallitubby :
That paragraph right there is why I'm stoked to have never worked for a corporation haha.
I would challenge you to find any large company that pays for every aspect of racing and uses it as a tool to build the person professionally without prior experience. This program is priceless as far as building professional confidence and showing our racing spirit inside Honda.
PMRacing said:Are Chad Gillsinger and Lee Neffinegger still involved? Pete Halsmer was the pro driver when I crewed.
Chad is. Lee has been promoted much higher in the senior management at HRC in Santa Clarita.
In reply to metallitubby :
Not knocking Honda in the slightest(brand new ridgeline and old honda motorcycles in my garage),but I'm an old guy that's spent a lifetime in the construction industry.
Simply used to plain english and the language used in your last sentence of the post I replied too makes me lol.
kevlarcorolla said:In reply to metallitubby :
Not knocking Honda in the slightest(brand new ridgeline and old honda motorcycles in my garage),but I'm an old guy that's spent a lifetime in the construction industry.
Simply used to plain english and the language used in your last sentence of the post I replied too makes me lol.
Ahh yes, the corporate speak. It's just me synergizing outside the box to build partnerships to strengthen us for the future 
Things can get very confusing with all the alphabet soup in Honda racing orgs.
There's HRC, which in North America runs IndyCar engine programs, along with support for pro racing in IMSA and SRO (nee PWC). This used to be called HPD, and before that Special Projects (anybody remember Dix Erickson?). They also offered contingency for SCCA Solo, Pro Solo and road racing for a number of years. Worked with those guys both in my autocross days (Dix and Lee) and later with TOMO in PWC.
HART used to only be the pro racing off-hours "club" program for Honda associates (aka employees) which competed mostly in IMSA. But HART also had a club racing side which ran in NASA and SCCA stuff. I first met Chad in the paddock at COTA for a NASA weekend the year he brought out the NSX.
And then there was HMA ( Honda manufacturing of Alabama) who are the masterminds behind the hot rod Odyssey minivan. They also run club stuff like NASA, and have even done some PWC/SRO pro road racing, but their key program was One Lap of America.
And then there's THR-W and THR-E (Team Honda Research West and East). THR-E always blurred with HART since they were all mostly out of the same facility in OH. Very confusing. THR-W (the focus of the OP) is mostly Cali folks.
Two years ago, almost all of the employee programs got rolled under the HART moniker. HART Road Racing, HART Rally, etc. Which gets super confusing as to which group is outta which facility. Well, except for THR-W...they kept their name.
And then there's the employees in Canada who run in the Canadian Touring Car series. They were the ones that came to our rescue at Mosport when TOMO's not yet available to the public Civic Si got wrecked (not his fault) and needed body parts. We borrowed them from an internal Honda demo car they were using as transport. "Hey buddy...I see you have a car that looks like our busted race car...". Thanks, Scott!
Speaking of One Lap, Chad and the guys from HART in OH have been bringing 2-3 cars each of the past few years to One Lap. The NSX pulling an NSX-shaped trailer is a spectacle.
So many great memories. Here's one...they won the bracket drags (I broke out this round by a couple thousandths)...with only 2nd and 6th gears remaining in the trans.
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