Virginia Tech engineering students interested in a behind-the-scenes career in racing can take part in a recruitment event Nov. 14 on the Drillfield. There, representatives from the Volkswagon Jetta TDI Cup Racing Series will show off a 2008 racecar and gauge interest in students who want to work at series races in 2009.
The event is sponsored by the Virginia Tech Formula SAE Team.
The car will be at the Drillfield all day Friday, with a presentation on the car and TDI Cup Series from 6-7:30 p.m. to follow at the Goodson Learning Center, 100L Randolph Hall, by Dennis McCormack, program director of Arciero-Miller Racing’s Danville facilities at the Virginia International Raceway. Students deemed as TDI Cup prospects will have the chance to ride along in the car (but not drive) from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 15 at the “Chicken Hill” parking lot south of Lane Stadium.
McCormack is seeking students to work in the team’s racecar shop and as data acquisition engineers who can sit with members of the 30-strong driving team to discuss driving stats and time losses or gains. The environmentally friendly car, touted as having a “clean diesel” engine that puts out 33 percent less emissions than other cars, also will be highlighted. “Diesel is not all about clanking motors and black smoke,” McCormack said
Students who qualify can work at races throughout the country, said Bob West, associate professor of mechanical engineering and an organizer of the event. There is no monetary pay, but travel, room, meals and other costs will be paid for, he added. Srinath Ekkad and John Ferris also are serving as VT Formula SAE Team co-advisers for the event.
Any student with a serious interest in a racing career ought to attend the event, McCormack said. When racing team program directors, such as himself, look at resumes of potential employees, experience working at a racetrack is always preferred. “We don’t want to go into a learning curve with a new employee, he said.
West said Virginia Tech has a “strong background and tradition in motor sports” with VIPER (the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research facility), the Center for Vehicle Systems and Safety (CVeSS), and a relationship with VIR.
For more information on the Drillfield event, contact Bob West at (540) 231-7185 or westrl@vt.edu.
For more information, visit Volkswagon Jetta TDI Cup Racing Series.
Event schedule
Nov. 14: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.: VW Jetta TDI Cup car is parked on the Drill Field
6 p.m.-7:30 p.m.: Presentation on VW Jetta TDI Cup Series by Dennis McCormack
Nov. 15: 9 a.m.-Noon : Ride/Drive event for prospective TDI Cup participants