When Honda Motor Co.'s new North American development chief gets a text message, he sees a background picture of the automaker's V-6 IndyCar racing engine.
Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 last month using the engine designed by a team led by Berkman, who was on hand at the famed Brickyard to watch the victory.
Motor-sports passion -- central to founder Soichiro Honda, who said, "If Honda does not race, there is no Honda" -- will be an asset if Berkman can apply the same speed and creativity to product development.
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