One of the most frequent questions asked of myself and Journo by readers, is how one can go about getting a job in racing. In email responses and our many posts on the subject, we try to be as helpful as possible, while hopefully keeping people’s expectations realistic. Racing, at the highest levels, is a very difficult industry to break into. It takes a ton of sacrifice to do it, and some get started, only to realize they don’t have the stomach for it.
Over my own career, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been talking to a friend in the sport and said “hey, what happened to so-and-so, I haven’t see him around in while,” only to be told they packed up their stuff and moved back home to go back to work doing what they were doing before the racing bug bit them. It’s a very common tale.
If you read last Saturday’s “The NASCAR Week That Was” post here at TNI, you may have seen the link to Patrick Reynolds’ blog post from Bump-Drafts.com entitled “Walking Away From NASCAR.” Reynolds is a former race team employee who was one of the many victims of the massive layoffs the sport underwent before last season. In his post, Reynolds talks about his recent decision to take a job with a company that wasn’t a NASCAR team. The need to support his family, along with a more stable work environment were his main reasons for taking the job.
Knowing a little about his story, I respect Reynolds a great deal for doing what he did. The guy loves racing, and was able to make his passion a career for a while. But when push comes to shove, some things in life are just more important.
Reynolds post got me thinking about discussions I’ve had with Journo and some other friends before about working in racing.
Racing is a tough business. There is no way around it. It might appear to be all fun and games, but working 60-70 hours during the week in the shop, then heading to the track to continue working all weekend can be very grueling. Working that much is also not very conducive to a healthy home life.
And trust me, nobody is getting rich doing this. Some guys definitely make a very nice living, but it could all go away in an instant. Job security in racing is nearly non-existent. If a team’s funding dries up, the organization could be here today and gone tomorrow.
What makes the lack of job security even worse, is the competition for positions. A guy used to be able to lose his job on Monday, pack his toolbox in his pickup, roll down the street, and be back working again by Tuesday or Wednesday. This just isn’t realistic anymore. Teams that have open positions are now inundated with qualified applicants. All of whom will work more hours for less money then their peers. It can be tough dealing with the pressure of knowing that if you screw up just a little bit, there are 100 guys waiting in the wings to take your spot from you.
For those of you who are reading this that have thought about trying to break into NASCAR, I’m not trying to scare you away. If you want something, go get it, and don’t let anyone tell you something can’t be done. What I am doing though, is trying to educate you on some of the difficulties that lie ahead.
Like we’ve said here many times before, if you want in, be prepared. Learn as much as you can about the sport and which position you want, do what you need to do to make your resume as strong as possible, and network like nobody has ever networked before. Those connections with people in the sport will be your life line.
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In case you don’t know what I do, I will take this opportunity to tell you. I’m on pit road every weekend changing tires for one of the many NASCAR teams. If you’ve watched a race live or seen one on TV, you have no doubt seen me work. You probably didn’t know it, but I was there. Working in racing is certainly a unique career choice, and sometimes I don’t know if people actually believe me when I tell them how I earn a living.
We’ve all been in those situations. You are talking to a friend whom you haven’t seen in years, or you are in one of many different social situations where you are meeting new people. At some point, the topic of what everyone does for a job comes up. When it comes to be my turn, it usually goes like this:
“Oh, you sell tractor parts, good deal. What do I do? I’m actually a tire changer in NASCAR. Yeah… Really.”
When I’m asked what I do, I’m already prepared for a lengthy explanation and the many questions to follow. Once they hear what it is that I do to earn money, they then want to know who I work for, how long I’ve been doing it, how I got into it, what I think about that one guy flipping the other guy at that one race, and so on and so forth. The questions always start out being centered around me specifically, and then they turn towards more general questions about NASCAR and racing.
For those of you who have friends who aren’t race fans, you probably know what I mean about the questions. When something big happens that they hear about, they come to you with questions because they know you are a NASCAR fan. But when they ask one question, you end up having to give a ten minute explanation, because they don’t know the back story and how it all works. And once you answer their question, they most likely have more. That is exactly how it goes for me in these situations.
But, I’ve been doing this long enough now that answering the questions is almost automatic. I’ve even got different versions of my explanation depending on how much I think this person knows about racing. Answering questions and talking with fans has probably helped me with this, as has doing this website.
I always wonder though, especially when I’m meeting new people, if after they find out what it is that I do, if they think I’m completely full of crap. Do they actually believe me, or do they maybe think I’m trying to impress them or screw with them? Or maybe they do actually believe me, but think I’m completely crazy for not having a “real” job.
Either way, I always get a kick out of the look on people’s faces when I say “tire changer.” You’d think I’d just told them that I play in traffic for a living or something crazy like that. Oh wait…
Working in racing is unlike anything I’ve ever done previously. It seems like all the rules that apply to normal jobs and job searching are completely irrelevant. Resumes aren’t as important as your reputation. There are no job boards or websites. Sometimes you can get hired without ever even meeting a crew chief. What your past experience and achievements are don’t matter as much as what you can do right now, today. And job offers are sometimes only valid for a few hours.
Movement and turnover happen in every business and industry in this country, and racing is no different. Some guys are able to find a home and stay there for many years, while others seem to work for a new team every season. But at some point, we all come to that crossroads.
As a young tire changer, all you are looking for is a chance. And if you are smart, you will pit anything and everything you can. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Cup car or a go cart; or if you are making a few hundred bucks or doing it for free. The only way to advance is to learn on the fly and make a ton of connections. But as you move along in your career, the priorities change. Is winning more important then money? Can I have both? What is best for my family? Is there any semblance of job security with a new team (there never really is)?
And as we move along, we all get to that point where we’ve got to take a chance and make a move. Just like anything else, sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. And it doesn’t matter whether you are working for a team currently and a better opportunity comes along, or if you lost your job and are mulling a few different options. In racing, you better not mull too long. Because if you wait and hope to maybe get more offers, or you aren’t sure what is the best path, you might get left behind.
I think for most folks, having somebody offer you a job out of the blue isn’t usually realistic. I know before I worked in racing, nobody ever called me up one day and said “hey, you want to come to work for me?” The only jobs I was ever offered were those I applied for. Racing is different though. All it takes is one phone call to change everything.
But just like every other decision in life, you’ve got to think on your feet, weigh your options, and make the best possible choice with the information you have to work with. Beyond that, all we can do is hope for a little luck.
2010 Just as a little side note, I want to say that I’ve been blessed and am really excited to be heading out for another year in racing. The season officially kicks off this weekend, and both myself and Journo are excited about bringing you along for the ride in 2010. We think we offer something you can’t find anywhere else in the NASCAR media, and we will keep bringing you the best in inside information and insight. Enjoy the races!