Western Tech program is path to drag racing dream job

If you’ve ever wanted to work as a crew member for a drag racing team, listen up.

El Paso’s own Western Technical College has started a new program designed to get graduates to the top level of drag racing: The National Hot Rod Association.

Western Tech is the only school in the country teaching these skills and for those not afraid to get your hands dirty, it could lead to a dream job working on the fastest cars in the world.

The world of drag racing is extremely competitive, especially for new crew members trying to get their foot in the door!

“This is the best of the best, this is the Super bowl level of drag racing when you work with NHRA,” said Jack Werner, program director at Western Tech. “Graduates of this program will be ready to go to entry level programs on a professional race team in drag racing.”

Tech is starting a new program in partnership with Don Schumacher Racing.

“Our relationship with Matco tools and DSR racing actually introduced us into an internship program with DSR,” Werner said. “Through that we developed and realized there’s a need for entry level technicians on the pit crews. So we developed that program here and established that training.”

The average passenger car churns out about 300 horsepower, however, top fuel dragsters, because they burn methane nitro fuel, churn out about 10,000 horsepower. Only elite mechanics can work on those machines and at Western Tech they are preparing students to become full-fledged members of a drag racing team.

“I got out at Bliss and I started school two weeks after my ETS,” said Western Tech student Rachel Eckman, who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq as an Apache helicopter mechanic.

She’s attending Western Tech using her G.I. bill and last summer got her hands dirty while interning for four races with Schumacher Racing.

“That’s my favorite part about the job, it is, just getting in there and tearing it down and cleaning it up and putting it back together and making it better and faster and louder, I love it,” Eckman said. “There’s nothing faster or louder or cooler. I spent six weeks with those guys and it was absolutely incredible.”

So here’s your chance to be part of an NHRA pit crew! If you’d like to be considered for the new nitro program at Western Tech, contact the school’s admissions department for details.