Wondering where to go to apply for a driving position with NASCAR or NHRA?

Possibly something like that is only gotten through the good ol boy network, but you can try contacting the teams just like any other company. Good place to start is on the team websites and see if they need openings.

 

Checked into that a couple of years back and found that you need to submit a resume to a company called Race Wise, or Race Media to get it all started. They hire from that network only I was told? Good Luck!!

 

Be aware, you don't just drive the hauler, you also clean it, cook, clean some more, you might also be a crew member. In this business it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know, also where you live at. If you're in BFE, they aren't going to fly you back and forth every time. Also, be aware you ARE going to be gone alot. Plus you need alot of experience, they won't just let anyone loose with over $2million in equipment.


Similar to the entertainment thread I posted in. Replace ROCKSTAR with RACE CAR DRIVER. (You get the idea.)


1. If you want to be a rock star, you in the wrong end of the business.You're not there to watch the show, you're there to HAUL the show. I've seen more people get fired by doing something stupid rather than doing their job.

2. Learn to fix things on your truck, you don't have time to wait on the side of the road waiting for someone to come and put a belt on your truck. I was at a show and a new bus driver pulled in, and he'd messed up the rear axle by not lifting the wheels while turning, he wanted a beeper unhooked, when I asked him for a screwdriver to show him how to do it he replied, "I don't carry any tools, it's not my job to work on a bus." I told him, "You won't be here long."

3. If you can't get into a dock quickly, you won't be there very long. There are 10 guys making good money to load or unload your truck, if it takes you 45 min to back into a dock, someone is losing alot of money.Stay with your truck, when it's ready to come in, if you're not in it and can't be found, time is wasted. If there are more than one truck on the tour, you'll have a lead driver, do what he says, if you don't, don't expect to be there long.Plus, if you work your way up to a lead driver, you make extra money. On big shows, the load in will take longer, but on a load out, most shows are done in under 4 hours. (Shows like WWE,WCW, big arena concerts etc.)If they go over 4 hours, it costs alot of money.

4. Drive smooth, you have $100,000+ worth of gear in your trailer, if you tear it up by driving like an idiot, you won't be there long. If you tear up your truck, same deal. When I drove buses, on my last gig I was on, I drove 400+ miles with a bottle of wine sitting on a marble countertop and it didn't move. If you drive a bus, the crew or entertainers need to sleep at night, so driving smooth is very important.

5. You will probably be in charge of how the truck is loaded, learn the pack, your job depends on it.

6. Dragging friends backstage without permission will get you canned faster than you think. Giving someone your laminate to get backstage will also get you fired. Losing your laminate on some shows will cost you $50 for a repalcement, whine about the cost, you'll be gone soon.

7. On some tours, you may given money for fuel, expenses, etc. Keep EVERY receipt, losing receipts or money WILL get you canned, plus you WILLl have to come up with the missing money.

8. Primadonnas need not apply.

9. Keep your logs and truck legal, you can't call the team owner and tell him you're locked in a scale for 10 hours, and you're to be there in 4 hours, because you didn't keep your logs up to date.

10. On some tours you may get a hotel room, don't trash the room or cause problems at the hotel, I've seen more people get fired on a day off for doing something stupid.

11. Some tours now wrap their trailer with the tour on it, remember, you are pulling a rolling billboard, you have to watch your P's and Q's, you're representing that team and sponsors, racing through traffic, etc., will get you canned.

12. See #8

 

You apply directly with the race teams. There are a lot of job placement services but teams do not hire from them very often. Most cup teams will hire from the truck and nationwide series when they need a new driver. I can speak for how the NASCAR stuff works and it is a who you know type deal. You can find stuff driving show cars or souvenir trailers and in time find a gig on a truck or nationwide team. On the a cup deal it will more often than not be a five and a half a day a week job and a salary position. The truck is the entire job including keeping it stocked and clean and you do work at the shop during the week.

At the track you work the exact same hours as the team. On Sundays you will be at the track by 7am and will work all day and when the truck is loaded you become a truck driver again and the truck will be sitting at the shop Monday morning unless a west coast race.

It isnt a big and scary deal at all. In any job you ##*k up you get fired. But is 99.9% different then hauling freight or cars in the normal industry. Most of the guys do not come from a background of OTR. Most come from a racing background and also happen to be able to drive a truck.

 

My old boss sponsored a driver, he still does and to be honest pulling a cup car is dang hard work and mostly the way you drive is off the books.

I pulled the support trailer and had to keep up with the main trailer with the car, run like heck, set, polish, run like heck, clean, set, run like heck. Fix your own truck, repair the little things like lights and tires. You are a rolling advertisement and all the DOT know you are mostly off the log.

Some tracks have not been upgraded to let large trailers in so the area is tight and ground men or women are needed to get in and out. Parking on midfield is inches away due to so many rigs.

 

Pretty much everything SHO-TYME and nit2winn has mentioned already.

Most of the drivers that we have had walk through our doors, thought they were the cats meow. And they felt they needed to let you know that. Well, they don't work for us anymore. We have found that the most humble, honest, hard working professional drivers are the ones we want to keep the most. Just simple as that.

If you get hired by a race team. DO NOT, and I repeat...... DO NOT walk into the race shop in the first week and expect to reinvent the wheel. You won't make any new friends! And you'll most likely be gone as soon as they can find a replacement. Also, if your being asked or told to help with something and you reply with the "Ain't my job" attitude, you will be replaced, also!

Another thing a lot of newbies don't do, is get all the facts and information about your job duties and every little detail that your going to be expected to do once your hired. Ask every little question you can think of pertaining to about the position your applying for (schedule, pay, time away from home, etc, etc). I've seen so many drivers on the race circuits get hired and then realize just how much work is involved. Then they start whining about how little they are getting paid for the amount of work they're doing, then they start whining about not being able to be home on the weekends, and so on and so on.

Working for most all professional race teams with big budgets can be fun and rewarding. You get to drive some of the nicest, cleanest, newest, well speced rigs on the road. You mostly get to stay at nice hotels. Most meals are paid for or you usually get a Per Diem. Heck, for a lot of teams, most all expenses are paid for. You usually work for a salary (some pay by the hour and or what you do at the track). You usually get a lot of home time during the winter (depends on race circuit). And you get to meet some of the most interesting people you can imagine.

Good luck!

 

have no clue w/ the circle jerks but was on a NHRA team myself. with the exception of dsr and possibly force i do not believe any of the teams have "drivers". they got one for the race car but as far as he semi goes it purdy much works like this. the crew members w/ a cdl take turns getting the rigs from race to race. they are not usually one of the 3 guys that do the motor between rds but more often the blower guy, the cyl head guy, or one of the 2 or 3 parts washers. dont ask me why but i have been there myself and that is how it works.
so, if its really what you want to do and (as mentioned above) its "a lot of work". more than you can ever imagine. its only a job for a single man (imo) and depending on your teams budget (and your teams luck (nitro is funny stuff) you might end up having a hotel room but only seeing it 1 of the 4 nights your boss booked it for. not cuz hes cheap, but cuz you n the rest of the crew are staying up all night (again) going thru the car trying to find the gremlin that has been keeping you from going from A to B quick enough to make the field. or you might be driving back to the shop to grab a motor that the guys there have just stayed up all night building cuz you already spent the 4 bullets you brought with you. IF YOU DON NOT LOVE, and i TRULY MEAN LOVE drag racing forget you ever had the idea. if you love it like i do go up to a low dollar team, tell em you will wash parts wax truck n trailer do what ever they ask of you when ever they ask it, and tell em you will do it for free for the first race or two, and you MIGHT have a chance. dont expect to be someone that even touches the motor cuz you wont be....i dont care how much experience you have mechanically.
i was the diver (the bottom end guy) back in the mid '90s or DGR. that was right after his accident and he had hired mike dunn to replace .... shoot.....who was it? (someone that couldnt drive for #####). anyways, the ONLY reason i was building the short blocks and maintaining them between rds was because i knew someone that was really close to darrell and jerry. that and the fact that i justed to street race with mike yrs prior. we sucked the first yr (did win denver) and i loved it, but talk about work...you have no idea. relocated (leaving my g/f 3000 miles away in so cal) to move into a loft at the shop (above the race car) which worked out pretty good - cuz all i did was work n sleep for the 30 some odd dayz we had to get the car truck n trailer ready for our new sponsor (he had just lost coors beer and at the last minute picked up a salsa company, remember that?). work 18 hrs sleep 6 ... 30 dayz straight- then the season started