3 hours Ago By Gowtham Ramalingam
Motorsports has followed the rest of the world in adopting advanced 21st-century tech. The cars, the communication, the safety standards, and every other subset of platforms like NASCAR are fueled by the most precise engineering available. All this inadvertently creates a pressing need for the best engineers during any given event.
The demand for engineers in stock car racing is at an all-time peak as a result. This is why many were left shocked at how unwilling teams are to match the pay that is standard in other industries. Some of them let their thoughts out below IMSA pit crew member and racing mechanic Bozi Tatarevic’s post analyzing the same topic.
One fan wrote, “Most of those salaries are quite a bit lower than I would have guessed.” Another added, “Seems to be about 10% -20% lower than standard engineer pay rates (depending on industry).” One more said, “Those wages are generally not great, even by Midwestern auto industry standards.
” A solution came amidst all the observations. A follower wrote, “They need a union. Sheesh.
” The sanctioning body has come down hard on drivers previously for attempting to form unions. An engineers’ union is the last thing that it would encourage. However, one such organization could potentially see the numbers gain a boost.
But a retrospection of the deeper financial problems in the sport also has to be done. Teams are already embroiled in issues with NASCAR citing that they aren’t making enough profits to keep themselves afloat. Higher pay for the employees would mean increasing the weight of the burden.
This could end up being self-destructive unless they figure out a way to bring in more revenue as a sport, or a way to hand more of the current revenue to the teams themselves. How much are NASCAR engineers paid? The compensation that this crucial job role receives might be shocking to some. IMSA pit crew member and racing mechanic Bozi Tatarevic recently unveiled the salaries of engineers in NASCAR on his X handle.
Someone with a minimum of five years of experience in the field can earn at least $71,000 a year. The higher limit stretches to as much as $150,000. The exact figure depends on the team, its needs, and the employee’s qualifications.
For those with one to five years of experience, the range starts from $51,000 and goes up to $125,000. Again, the numbers are highly variable based on the exact position. Full-time employees with less than a year of experience earn anywhere between $30,000 and $50,000 annually.
While these numbers are standard across racing series, they are below what is normal outside motorsports. The difference forces engineers to move outside of the sport and take a 20-30% increase in pay unless they have a deep passion for speed, which sadly, is the current reality of working in the sport..
