Acumen Motorsport announces today the signing of Tony Kester. Tony joins the Team
to drive the #55 ALM Performance GT3 Porsche in the upcoming 50th Anniversary Rolex 24
at Daytona. Tony adds a wealth of experience driving Porsche. He was honored at the
Porsche Cup ceremonies at Weissach as one of the top Porsche racing drivers worldwide.
Tony’s extensive resume includes driving almost every race car imaginable. Professional
test driver since 1979 driving for chassis, tire and brake manufacturers. A Professional
Driving Coach since 1980. Data acquisition specialist and race car Engineer since 1988.
Defensive Driving Instructor since 1982. 1975 – present competed in Grand-AM, ALMS,
and IMSA, driving prototype and GT class cars at venues including the 24 Hours of LeMans
and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Best finish at Daytona was in 2002 with a second place.
Past SCCA Formula Ford Central Division National Champion. In 1990 Tony was the SCCA
Runoffs Formula Ford National Champion with the second largest margin of victory in history.
1991 Olds Pro series champion. In 2001 Tony won the Grand-Am Cup Daytona finale in ST
class after starting last. 6 Rolex 24 at Daytona starts with a fourth place finish in 2001
and a second place finish in 2002.
Tony joins veteran Drivers Frank Del Vecchio, Scott McKee and Doug Grunnet. Tony’s
depth of experience driving Porsche will be invaluable in working with Team Manager Don
Hoevel as the Acumen Motorsport Raceteam prepares the ALM Performance Porsche for
this most grueling of endurance races – the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Quick turn-around for the Acumen Team. After our test on September 29th-30th at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL it was back to CT for Frank Del Vecchio and Jeanette Whitehead, Douglas Grunnet and Pat Galick were off to Europe for business, Gary St. Amour to Arizona and Scott McKee to South Beach, Florida.
The Porsche went to Don Hoevel’s shop in Lakemoor, Illinois for a gearbox rebuild.
Our ‘toy’, the Formula Ford is getting prepped in Frank’s CT garage along with a 1972 Mallock.
Frank is scheduled to drive both cars in the VRG Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving weekend.
Tentatively, we are scheduling another series of testing and driver/crew training on October 27th-28th back at the Autobahn and the Acumen training facility in Streator, Illinois.
We are also scheduled to run the Grand-Am official testing at Daytona on December 6th-7th.
Crew members are continuing to sign up from across the country. A full crew is far more than tire changers and fuelers, but engineers, electronic techs, strategists, suspension specialists, spotters, cooks, and equipment movers.
There is no ‘off’ season!
Frank recently contributed to the above video from NJ Motorsports Park
Acumen Motorsport driver/owner
Doug Grunnet was on hand at Richard
Petty’s Garage to take part in launching the Petty’s Garage: Legacy by Petty Tribute Challenger. Presentations were held on May 28, 2011. The reveal took place at the 2011 Inaugural “Spring Fling” sponsored by the Automotive Lift Institute; the event entry fee's will support the Petty Family Foundation and Foundation Fighting Blindness. The car show itself was open to all makes and models.
Frank Del Vecchio competed in the Jefferson 500. This event was established as a celebration of the great long distance races from motorsports past. Summit Point Raceway retains the charm of racing circuits from the 50's and 60's, and is the perfect facility to experience what it must have been like to compete back in the day! The Jefferson 500 is sanctioned by the Vintage Racer Group (VRG). Frank is a past winner of this event. He was driving a Malloc Mark II.
Doug Grunnet was at VIR in Alton, VA May 13-15th for the Bosch Engineering Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, he was working with the TRG team while meeting with Grand-Am executives discussing Acumen Motorsport entrance into the ROLEX series.
Frank and Doug were at Road America May 23-24th for initial testing. After testing and for the immediate short term the car will be stabled in the Chicago area.
Frank and Doug would like to solicit input from our friends, fans and new team members regarding potential charities that Acumen Motorsport may support. This represents our effort to be socially conscious. We would like your suggestions on what charities we might support, why we should support it and how we best do so. Please e-mail your suggestions and comments via the contact page of this web site. We will review all suggestions and will solicit final comments before any selection is made. It will be particularly important to us as to how we can support this charity.
Stay in touch, visit our website often and join our team!
ld like to solicit input from our friends, fans and new team members regarding potential charities that Acumen Motorsport may support. This represents our effort to be socially conscious. We would like your suggestions on what charities we might support, why we should support it and how we best do so. Please e-mail your suggestions and comments via the contact page of this web site. We will review all suggestions and will solicit final comments before any selection is made. It will be particularly important to us as to how we can support this charity.
