MOMENTUM - February 2024 - 32

CAREER CORNER
" I wasn't focused so much on driving, but
more so on engineering, " he said, but it was at
that time Boehm saved enough money for a
track day in his personal vehicle, which he drove
daily. To his surprise, he could connect his
engineering knowledge to his driving ability
and perform quite well as a driver. By this time,
it was his junior year and he decided to fully
commit to FSAE and doubled down on his
participation in the club.
" You don't have to have any experience to
get started; the barrier to entry is time
commitment and sticking to it, " he said.
Boehm focused on designing the car,
rebuilding the engine, building the chassis,
notching tubes, tacking them in place, using jigs
to match the intended design, manufacturing
vehicle subsystems, and eventually expanded
into data acquisition as the car came together.
His hard work paid off and he earned the role of
team lead in his senior year of college. " It was
really different from the classroom, " Boehm
remarked. " You can get hands-on experience
from labs, but not at a big project level. "
While getting that classroom and lab
experience is necessary to completing a degree,
many students feel better prepared to enter the
workforce with some project management
experience under their belt. The same way an
engine operates in perfect harmony with the
rest of a car, students must learn to do the same
as a team.
" FSAE is subassemblies, components, and
ideas that all work together harmoniously, "
Boehm said. " Having all of that click is
necessary to being effective in a leadership
role. "
After graduation, he left school with the
confidence and conviction to go realize his
dream. He started as a test driver and engineer
with Honda R&D.
" Leading a technical program was really
valued by my employer, and it's why I got hired
immediately out of school, " he recalled. On the
technical side of things, he also understood the
value of being well-rounded as an engineer,
studying mechanical engineering while also
working on things that balanced between
electrical and mechanical.
" As a test engineer, it is important to
measure what you and the car are doing to be
able to repeat it iteratively and draw
conclusions from that data, " he said.
When he's not behind the wheel, Boehm is
analyzing driver inputs and vehicle outputs,
calculating lateral G to make suspension
32 February 2024
Kevin Boehm gave the UNC Charlotte FSAE team a tour of his garage and race cars.
adjustments, and trying to infer from the data how to go even faster.
Go faster, indeed. A decorated champion in all rights of the word, Boehm
credits his engineering approach to driving style for his success. That talent
and dedication propelled him from the Sports Car Club of America to Touring
Car America, and now to Gran Turismo. When he finally went pro, Boehm
reacted the only way he knew how: " It was a short moment of relief, then a
moment of panic knowing how much hard work lay ahead. " That labor of love
resulted in winning ten out of 14 season races, never finishing lower than third,
qualifying on pole in half of those races, and leading over 60% of laps that
whole season. He dominated the year driving while also being an integral part
of the race engineering team.
" I was busy on a scale I never comprehended before, but I knew I couldn't
drop the ball, " he said, looking to his team with both a sense of responsibility
and gratitude.
Although he is undoubtedly accomplished, Boehm refuses to get
comfortable with the amount of knowledge he has acquired and where he is
career-wise. " I have to fight the urge to think I know what I'm doing, " Boehm
said. " There is always a new way to think about racing. " He draws on his
experience in Formula SAE to balance utilizing the experience he has without
dismissing new challenges or considerations. He doesn't rush into any solution
or recommendation, but instead assesses its collective value. When looking
forward in his career, he intends to focus on GT racing and hopes to be
successful enough to race in the GT3 category.
When he reflects on the experiences that got him to where he is now,
Boehm remembers enduring the difficult classes, challenging projects, and
never-ending assignments, but most importantly, his time in Formula SAE. It
shaped his relentless pursuit of perfection in the engineering craft.
When asked what advice he would have appreciated back in his FSAE days,
Boehm said, " Don't question what you are doing-understand the importance,
pay attention, and know it's all worth it. " n
Written by Rebecca Vollmann, Section Chair and Treasurer of SAE Florida.
MOMENTUM
49ers Racing
MOMENTUM - February 2024

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