"Late in the night at Daytona International Speedway last month, a January chill settles over the usually warm Florida coast that hosts the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race. Just under the halfway point, in the garages and pit lanes of the Acura race teams, something equally discordant has materialized: Nothing. It was quiet, serene even-well, except for the endless Doppler-shifting roar of racecars rocketing past the start/finish line of the legendary racetrack."
"It was loud, but unusually calm. There was little wrestling with engine components in the garage, scant duct-taping of body panels out in the pits, and a dearth of crazed gesticulating from crew members trying to troubleshoot this or that problem. Cars blazed by all night long, coming in just for tires, gas, and driver swaps. Team Penske and Meyer Shank Racing, driving machines based on Acura street cars, enjoyed a mood lacking in the frantic energy typical of previous decades in racing."
"Thanks to decades of racing evolution, machines are far more reliable and now can easily go the distance of even the most grueling races. Acura's engineering A-Team has pushed vehicle reliability even further. "The cars are so good these days that races are now won mostly by strategy," said Team Penske driver Ricky Taylor, who drives the #7 Acura with teammates Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi."
"For Acura, the success of their race cars can be traced to the components and engineering in the famously reliable road cars made for decades by its parent company, Honda, and specifically the Acura NSX supercar. The low-slung, $150,000 hybrid road rocket, which can hit 60 mph in 2.7 seconds on the way to a top speed of 191 mph, has delivered essentially bulletproof reliability in its five years on the road. It's the Honda of supercars."
Late-night at Daytona International Speedway brought an unusual calm to the Acura garages and pit lanes during the Rolex 24. Crews performed minimal mechanical work, with most cars stopping only for tires, fuel, and driver swaps. Team Penske and Meyer Shank Racing experienced precise, restrained trackside operations instead of frantic troubleshooting. Decades of racing evolution and Acura/Honda engineering produced highly reliable machines capable of enduring long events. The Acura NSX road-car architecture and hybrid systems delivered exceptional durability, contributing to a competitive environment where race outcomes depend more on strategy than on fixing mechanical failures.
Read at WIRED
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