Behind the Scenes of Our Race Team Operations

At Dark Horse Motorsports, we believe the future of racing is hybrid — not in terms of engines, but in how teams are developed, funded, and discovered. Our iRacing series isn’t “just an online league.” It’s the operational backbone that fuels a full, real-world dirt racing program. Behind every race, every split, every streamed event, a professional racing operation is being supported and built — all without needing millionaire sponsors to make it happen.

A New Way to Build a Race Team

Traditional grassroots racing is expensive. A competitive car, maintenance, travel, pit crew, fuel, engine rebuilds — everything adds up. Most teams either have deep pockets or don’t race at all. We wanted to break that formula.

Our solution is simple:

Create a large-scale competitive online racing series that is structured, professional, broadcasted, and high-engagement — and use the organization to support a real asphalt track team operating in the CARS Tour West series.

Instead of one driver paying six figures a year, thousands of racers contribute small entry fees, compete, and know those races are directly tied to real-world racing development.

Building a Team Like a Real Racing Organization

Our iRacing operations mirror professional motorsports structures:

• Sim division

• Team management

• Performance development

• Analytics and engineering

• Driver selection

• Media and communication

• Partnership and sponsor relations

This means we aren’t just running races — we’re building a fully operational motorsports company, from the digital world outward.

Driver Development From Sim to Asphalt

Our top performers don’t just win trophies or digital titles — they become candidates for real seats.

Each season:

• The top competitors qualify through the playoff system.

• The champion earns a shot at driving our actual pro late model in CARS Tour West competition.

• Others can earn development opportunities, coaching, test sessions, and a roadmap toward future seats.

We are turning sim racing into a true scouting and development ecosystem — something NASCAR and F1 only do at the highest levels.

Funding the Car, the Crew, and the Program

The cost of real racing is no secret. A season in pro late model means:

• Car chassis and spares

• Engine and drivetrain maintenance

• Tires and suspension parts

• On-site crew

• Fuel and travel

• Shop operations

• Replacement parts after crashes

Instead of depending on one or two sponsors to take the hit, the league structure spreads the load across the entire community.

It also means the team is financially stable:

• No single crash ends the dream.

• No single season relies on one rich owner.

• The program can grow year after year.

The League Also Helps Real Racing in Another Way

Thousands of racers mean thousands of eyes.

Every race is:

• Broadcast

• Clipped

• Posted across social and digital channels

Our real-world team gains the exposure that takes most teams years (if ever) to build, and that exposure attracts sponsorships the community benefits from.

Real Engineering, Data, and Strategy

Even though drivers start in the sim, they learn real:

• Tire management

• Incident avoidance

• Corner approach

• Multi-lap consistency

• Psychological pressure

We are building a pipeline where a sim driver can show up at a real track already possessing the skills to compete.

Behind the scenes, our team analyzes:

• Lap data

• Driving telemetry

• Split performance

• Consistency metrics

• Racecraft improvement over the season

This data helps us pick drivers with real potential — not just who was fast in one race.

Professional Race Operations Without the Gatekeeping

The old motorsports world works like this:

• Buy in or stay out.

• Big checks talk, talent is secondary.

We’re flipping it.

If someone is good enough in the sim, consistent enough in the playoffs, and committed enough to show up and prove themselves — they can drive a real race car without needing a trust fund.

Building a Team for the Long-Term

Our operational vision is 10+ years:

• Keep the sim league growing every season

• Keep improving the real racing operation

• Expand the number of cars and series

• Open up more seats for more drivers

• Build a racing community that doesn’t require gatekeepers

We want to prove that the fans — the racers — the grassroots drivers — can build a motorsports organization that competes on the track just as legitimately as any independent team in the pits.

This Isn’t a Game. It’s a New Model.

We’re not running “a league.”

We’re building a racing company:

• Sim racing funds the ladder

• Data selects the drivers

• The team races in the real world

• The community watches it all happen

Other sports have pipelines.

Motorsports never did — until now.

This is Dark Horse Motorsports.

A new path.

A new system.

A new way into racing — built by racers, for racers.