Champ Car race at So Cal this weekend.

http://www.cart.com

Yay!!!

---jps

...i went to the Vancouver Indy last year... i thought the BCSCA (provincial equivalent to the SCCA) sprint race which followed the event was far far better, not even as far as the racing went, but also with regards to flames being fired, the sounds, the smells, and most importantly being able to go through their pit area and talk with the plentiful rotary competitors. :)

Originally posted by wakeech
...most importantly being able to go through their pit area and talk with the plentiful rotary competitors. :)

I never found any problems with access to Champ car drivers. I remember being in Wisconsin and going to Road America on a Wednesday to check out the awesome track I had always heard of. Lucky me they where having the Cart race that weekend. I asked the track management if I could take my car on the track and of course they said no. The next thing you know here come a few CART team transporters to get ready for Thursday. Guess what? I bumped into a CART driver and we talked a bit about this that and the other. I had mentioned that the Road America mangement would not allow me to drive the track. He fixed that by telling them he was going to drive the track. He took me out for some laps and then we swapped seats and he coached me. I had to get new tires the next week.

In fact, the CART community was so nice I got a job in the biz, as an engineer, after college. Unfortunately I found the job to be boring and unchallenging so I left the industry after a few years.

I still go to a few races a year and still have no problem with access to the drivers that have no idea that I ever worked in the biz. Heck, I even had a brew with Ashley Judd (wife of Franchitti)a few years back in Houston. Can't get better than that!

babylou - What was boring about being a race car engineer (it couldn't have been Ashley Judd!!!)? My 16-year-old son is thinking about becoming an automotive engineer and maybe focusing on racing so I'm especially curious.

there are many many "levels" of engineer in a race team... most of the guys who do the big thinking and decision making are well up the ladder, and a lot of the lower "entry level" engineers just take routine measurements, maybe create data to be interpreted by that fellow up the ladder in conjunction with the driver... sometimes the pitcrew and mechanics are engineers who function just as mechanics... just things i hear from hanging around F1, i (unfortuneatly) probably won't be able to get into the industry.

http://www.toyotaatlantic.com

A. J. Allmendinger - Best American race car driver

Fastest Qualifying Lap Times:

Champ Car ___ 1:08.177

Atlantic ______ 1:16.267

Trans-Am _____1:22.038


http://www.trans-amseries.com

shkeller55 - I recommend your son to go for an engineering degree at Clemson University. They have a good motorsports program.

http://www.clemson.edu

The biggest racing employer in your area is Panoz.

http://www.panozmotorsports.com

Originally posted by shkeller55
babylou - What was boring about being a race car engineer (it couldn't have been Ashley Judd!!!)? My 16-year-old son is thinking about becoming an automotive engineer and maybe focusing on racing so I'm especially curious.

I was a lubrication engineer for one of the oil companies assigned to a specific team. No actual design work. Just monitoring lube performance and tailoring the lubes for the conditions. Lame!

Wakeech,

You have it mostly right except the engineering capabilities of an F1 team are quite large so there are many decision makers regarding design. Yes, some of the F1 pit crew are engineers, but most are mechanics. It takes no skill to be a pit crew member in F1, unlike CART or especially NASCAR. That is why F1 can have engineers as pit crew members.

I am an inventor and therefore wanted to design stuff. In CART most of the design is aero and I don't do aero. I was not willing to move to Europe so F1 was not an option. Plus, the pay to be an engineer in racing is subpar unless you become a chief engineer.

shkeller55,

I see you are in Georgia. If your son is to study engineering then you are lucky that there is a good state school in the vacinity, Georgia Tech. Of course, if he is 16 and is planning to be an engineer then there is about a 75% chance he will change his mind when he is 19 or 20 and will probably finish school with some other degree, like theater.

wakeech,

Aren't you 19 and studying economics? I have read many of your posts. I think it is time you discovered that you are a closet engineering geek and change your course of study. You might as well work at what you enjoy because you will be doing it for 40 years.

Gotta get back to work now. No more internet. Deadline to meet.

Supercharger - thanks for the info on Clemson, we'll look into it. My son's girlfriend is being recruited to play soccer at Clemson so as long as they keep dating he'll be *very* interested in Clemson.

Wakeech - thanks to you too for the insight.

babylou - Thanks for the info. I'm a Ga Tech grad myself (degree in Industrial Engineering) but I worked in the computer industry. We know about Panoz too; I think he might be interested in working for them. And yes, he could of course change his mind. He's also mentioned medical school as well as other things. Whatever happens though I think he'll be a car enthusiast for life, just like me.

Originally posted by shkeller55
babylou - And yes, he could of course change his mind. He's also mentioned medical school as well as other things. Whatever happens though I think he'll be a car enthusiast for life, just like me.

When I went to college I started out as biochemistry on my road to medical school. The problem was I discovered that I didn't like looking at guts. Not one bit. So against all family advice I followed my passion and changed to engineering.

Originally posted by babylou

wakeech,

Aren't you 19 and studying economics? I have read many of your posts. I think it is time you discovered that you are a closet engineering geek and change your course of study. You might as well work at what you enjoy because you will be doing it for 40 years.

heh heh, yup, that's me... but i know i'm an engineering geek: i just suck ass at math... seriously. i had to take Calc I twice to pass... :o

i really wish i could do engineering, and i know i love it, and i know that (with effort) i can understand my stuff, buuuut, well, heh, admissions would never let me, at least not for a long long time, and i come back for a second degree or something, who knows...

but yes, for now, it's just a passion, a pass time, a hobby... :)

but, really Lou, thanks. thanks a lot. :)

babylou:

Have you ever used your occupation as a pick-up line?

"Hey, baby. I'm a LUBRICATION ENGINEER, you know..."

Heh, heh, heh. Sorry, I'm just a little twisted.