Sean Petersen prevents race vehicles from crashing earlier than they even begin their engines.
Petersen, a 24-year-old automotive technician from Tucson, inspects race vehicles in Southeast Arizona to ensure they’re secure, saving drivers’ lives.
He works for Crown Ideas, an automotive efficiency store on the northwest aspect of Tucson close to Topgolf that sponsors races at Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox. Crown focuses on trackside providers, akin to race prep, gross sales and repair, and Petersen makes positive the automobiles are mechanically sound earlier than winding via a paved observe at greater than 175 miles per hour.
“You can not crack beneath stress on this line of labor as a result of it could possibly be a $150,000 mistake or somebody’s life,” Petersen mentioned.
Petersen has all the time been into something with engines, whether or not it’s dust bikes, previous diesel vehicles or sports activities vehicles. So, when he enrolled on the College of Arizona planning to review engineering, issues appeared to be figuring out. When he was a senior final fall, nonetheless, he noticed a place at Crown Ideas for a motorsports mechanic, dropped out of college, and went for it.
“I felt like I wasn’t going for the proper causes, I didn’t really feel like I belonged within the engineering program,” he mentioned. “There have been some extremely clever folks I met, and in addition a few of the most unintelligent folks. I felt as if I had completely different thought processes as others round me and I ought to cease ignoring my coronary heart.”
Seven months later, he’s discovered his place.
“I’d say what units me other than different technicians is that I’m the youngest by 10 years at the least,” he mentioned. “I do lack the expertise and information in some areas, however I really feel like we’re all the time studying consistently and bettering collectively, that’s what racing as a crew is.”
Whereas principally staying native, he’s additionally had the prospect to journey to California’s Auto Membership Speedway in Fontana.
“Each automobile I contact will get inspected for questions of safety, nearly each single bolt will get touched, every automobile additionally will get arrange in keeping with the driving force’s most well-liked type,” Petersen mentioned. “When a buyer buys a model new (race) automobile, we now have to examine all the things on the automobile and even be on the observe when it will get delivered to the observe and see it undergo its first paces and confirm all the things’s OK.”
The most well-liked selection of race automobile Crown sells is any of the fashions within the Radical lineup, that are light-weight single seater race vehicles with bike engines mounted behind the driving force. Having ridden within the vehicles he providers, he mentioned it was an unforgettable expertise.
When he isn’t engaged on Radicals, Petersen spends most of his time engaged on his personal automobiles, together with a 1989 Toyota Supra named “Caitlyn” and a 1980 Worldwide Scout named “Daisy.” With new transmissions, inside renovations, full suspension and engine overhauls, he’s decided to maintain vehicles twice as previous as him on the highway for years to come back.
“My advice for folks seeking to get into what I’m presently doing: It’s extremely tough and you must know what you’re able to, so merely ‘determine it out’ is the perfect factor I can say,” Petersen mentioned.
Drivers don’t want race vehicles to be glad, although.
“Having an costly automobile is sweet, however then you definately notice how arduous it’s to keep up. I’ll all the time desire a budget ‘regular’ automobile with a pleasant inside,” he mentioned. “It’s like relationship the associate of your desires however just for their seems to be. As a result of then you definately’re caught with a lovely automobile that you just despise as a result of you may’t afford to repair it.”
Inspecting race vehicles typically means arriving on the observe at 6 a.m. and leaving late into the night time, however it’s price it.
“My favourite half about this job is when drivers present kindness and appreciation towards me, as a result of I’m not ‘only a mechanic’ so it’s simple for these to look down upon what I do,” he mentioned. “There’s nothing like repairing and rebuilding a automobile after a foul wreck and seeing the driving force set their greatest private lap time.”
