So You Want to Work in NASCAR? Part One

So you want to work in NASCAR? It is a question that has probably crossed the mind of every fan in the sport. The journey to a career however can be a long, difficult process, but I am hoping I will be able to remove some of the mystique. This first post features some of the common mistakes people make when trying to find a job in NASCAR and some tips for what not to do to land that coveted position.

Let me start off by clearing up the common misconception that you will walk into Hendrick Motorsports tomorrow, start sweeping their floors and in a couple of years time rise to the position of crew chief. I realize this is how Steve Latarte got his start, but unfortunately it will not be the way you get your start. As far as I know teams do not even have people (with the exception of a janitorial staff) sweeping their floors. That being said there are people who do get paid minimum wage to glue up lugnuts for pit practices and do other tasks. Even these positions though require some amount of knowledge and a way through the door.

The second thing many people do is dropping their resume off at team facilities, or sending them through the mail. I know Penske sends out a form letter saying they will keep your resume on file and receptionists have a standard, I’ll get this to the right person line. Guess what? They are not keeping anything on file (that is of course unless you consider the recycling bin a file) and the right person is not seeing it. Teams get hundreds and thousands of resumes from fans looking to get into the sport every year. Whether you are qualified or not they do not have the time to sort through all of them to find good candidates for a position if and when it opens up.

For those not in the sport already there are many resume services out there that say they will help you get a job in the sport. In exchange for this service you will pay several hundred dollars. My advice with these is do not do it. I know people who have used them and they yielded absolutely nothing for those individuals. I can also say I do not know anyone in the sport who has gotten a job through one of these services. I am not saying there is no one in the sport who has gotten a job through the services, but the odds are very bad. Most within the sport know about the services and they do not carry a lot of weight.

Likewise, the how to get a job in racing seminars are not going to do you much good either. If you are looking for an impressive panel and some face time with people who work in the industry than it is probably worth the money. If you actually want to get a job it is probably not. Generally a lot of information is available before hand and it is hard to not know what you are getting. It is what it is and for the most part you get what you pay for.

As I come to an end of this first post, it is important I impart my first NASCAR lesson. In this sport, it is not necessarily about what you know, it is about who you know. While this is true to a point in other industries, it is the be all, end all, in this one. If you can not name drop, and back it up, it is very hard to get your foot in the door.

I will be continuing the series on Friday talking about some of the schools and programs in the Charlotte area, what they do, how much they cost and what you can hope to expect from them.

This is the first in the So You Want to Work in NASCAR series. Please remember if you would like some advice, feel free to email either T.C. or myself. While we do want to give you the tools to find a job, we will not be serving as references or giving out information on open positions we know about. In other words we will not find you a job.

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