Are you interested in motorsports and racing?

[D Walker]

Want to travel the country, get little to no sleep under stressful conditions while watching everyone around you have tons of fun? Then you might be a great candidate for a crew guy on a race team.

In preparation for the second half of the season, and because several of our "usual" crerw guys have moved on for various reasons, I am looking to add several new crewmembers. Basically the program goes along like this-

If interested you will spend some time in the shop working in the shop with us on the race cars and learning what is expected and required at the track long before we get there. If you fit in and work out, then when we go to the track we pay for your hotel, food, etc. as well as a small daily wage.

Now, the reasoning for the training on your own time is:
- The most important thing to us is that you are fully capable of doing what is required at the track as professionally and as efficiently as possible and that you "fit in" with everyone, as we basically live with each other for that week. The most effective way I have found to do this is to have us all work together on our own time over a short time which tends to highlight any sort of issues, such as unreliability, temper or disposition issues, etc.
- we have to pay $189 per crew guy for your hard card, so we want to know your going to fit in and not flake out after a single event.

If for some reason you absolutely cannot come down to help in the shop, well we can talk and see what works out.

Things I am specifically looking for:
- Ability to listen and follow directions 100%
- Supreme reliability, not just about showing up, but calling in when your going to be late etc.
- Need to be at least outgoing, being peppy and fun is a plus. Talking to fans and answering questions about the series, the car, etc. is a HUGE thing for us. Part of the crews job is to literally welcome each and every race fan into our space and make them feel like they belong. No matter how rushed we are, no matter how bad a situation is, having a smile and laugh for the fans is supremely important.
- Neat clean and organized is a plus. I am not particularly any of these, so everyone else around me has to take up my slack
- No need to be the worlds greatest mechanic, but everyone has to pitch in and get things done. EGO is not welcome, so being content with the job you have and doing it the best you can each and every time is important. EVERYTHING matters, even cleaning the windows, and a sloppy job costs.


So thats it! Anyone interested please feel free to contact me, either via email at don@grid-1.net or at 720-212-5838

[borisovich]

awesome =) i wish i could just come over to your guy's shop to like try to help around and learn how to work on cars =)

[borisovich]

just emailed you! =)

[borisovich]

i can like come over every day after work =) and like come for like the whole day on off days xD i just love cars but they hate me =(

[bellalyssa]

Crew "guys" only? What about a knowledgeable girl?

[D Walker]

I do not discriminate based on sex, race, colour, or creed.

[bellalyssa]

I supposed I'm curious about the time commitment you'd want from your crew. Is this a 40 hour a week in the shop thing plus weekend time? How do you run it?

[Milcre]

I would be interested depending on the commitment of time. I don't know a whole lot but I learn fast and am eager to learn.

[D Walker]

Good question!

Ok so lets start with no- its not a 40 hour a week sort of thing. What I am thinking is a couple of hours after shop hours a couple times a week or maybe a half a day or something on a Saturday sort of schedule. Since we do not do pit stops unless there is something really really wrong, there is no need to drill for hours and hours on how to quickly change tires.
There will also be test days at HPR or other tracks and maybe a club race or two to put it all in perspective.

What is important is how to prep the car at the track after unloading, between practices, and before the cars go out to race. There are very specific things that need to be done and done right in order to make it all work, and it can be hard to communicate all those things in the jumble of a race weekend. Going over everything and training each crew member to know what they need to do as well as knowing what the other members need to do is beyond valuable.

Ideally, we structure along these lines-

Each car has two crew members that attend to it and who are responsible for making sure that it is ready to go. Actual decisions about tire pressures, setup, etc. are made by myself, but it is up to the crew to make sure any changes need to be made.
Perhaps to better explain, lets walk through the before, during and after of a simple practice session-

Before-
all fluids are checked, topped or replaced if needed
brake pads are checked for thickness and possible damage, replaced as needed
brakes are bled
car is on jackstands so every nut, bolt, drain plug, fitting, etc. is checked for tight, this is reffered to as "nut and bolting" and literally requires a handful of wrenches, sockets, etc and starting at one end and working to the other.
while nut and bolting, visually check all zip ties, safety wire, clips, etc. are in place, any loose wires or fittings are secured, and anything out of the ordinary is brought to my attention
tire pressures set
fuel put in the car as specified, sometimes we run full, other times we run light, so this is important.
car is cleaned inside and out- a shiny happy race car is faster and looks like we care about being there
Windsheild is cleaned, and there is a very specific way to do this
wheels torqued to spec
SD card for the Racekeeper is checked and installed, then checked again before the car goes out
Radios checked and set to correct frequency


While car is on track-
spare wheels and tools to change them brought to hot pits in case of damage, bottles of water/gatorade for drivers and crew taken to the hot pits
at least one crew member hand-timing the cars as well as watching the live T&S on a smartphone
tools out and ready should any changes to the setup need to be made. since practice is limited, this requires a major hustle

After car returns from track-
car goes on jackstands
tires/wheels checked for damage then cleaned of tire chunks
car cleaned and made shiny and happy again
if there is damage, a determination is made as to how to fix it in whatever time frame we have
all fluids checked and topped off
fuel checked
data downloaded from dash
SD card from racekeeper downloaded and then card turned into SCCA
New SD card for next session installed in racekeeper and checked again before next session
radios checked and turned off or put on charge
brake pads checked
brakes bled

In addition to all of this we need to be welcoming to the fans, other drivers and crew, etc. that parade through the paddock during the weekend. Literally say hello to passersby, invite them to look at the car, offer to let the kids sit in the seat so thier parents can take pictures, etc. etc. Unlike other teams you might have seen at the track I truly believe in an open paddock and that it helps us all out when the fans and spectators feel like they can get so close to the teams.

So you get the idea. A lot of it is repetetive and seems like small things, but they all matter. There are other things, but this is what I think of off the top of my head.

[speedjunkie]

If I didn't already work a full time job (that sometimes bleeds into my personal life for months at a time haha) I'd be interested haha.

[Milcre]

I think I could really do this. When, during the year, does the circuit run?

[D Walker]

The next race event (Mid-Ohio) is in August, then they are about 2-3 weeks apart for the last three events Sears Point, Laguna Seca, and Road Atlanta.

Cheers!
Don

[SecondGenPAt]

The next race event (Mid-Ohio) is in August
Don

gah! love that track. been through their school and had a blast.

I'm free every evening and most weekends, let me know.
-Pat

[Colombia28]

Hey Don, since it's now summer i have quite a bit more free time. I would love to help you guys out and be a member of a pit crew if ya all like me and it works out. When would be a good time to give you a call and discuss?

Thanks!!

Andrew

[D Walker]

Pretty much anytime is fine to call me, if for some reason I dont answer its a bad time and I will call you back!