The first thing Lucescu did was talk to John Capps, head of the Driving 101 School. Through Capps, he hired 13 drivers and 3 star doubles. Heading up the list is David Empringham, former Indy Lights driver. I can't teach an actor to be a driver in a week or a month. You can only exploit the natural ability already present.
Professional drivers are a necessary expense.
Serving as motorsports consultant for Trackforce Productions, the movie's production company based in Toronto, Empringham's first duty was to compile a list of drivers. It's a group of guys I raced against, who all have Champ Car experience. Empringham says the list of 20 was whittled down from hundreds of resumes submitted. But he and Lucescu agree that driving talent and movie making are not necessarily synonymous. They may have impeccable racing credentials, but it doesn't translate into what we're doing.