tjohnston

Well I have been into cars since I was little. After High School I went to a community college to be a mechanic and then went to work for Ford. I worked there for3 years and just got bored of it. My passion was NASCAR so I packed up and moved to NC from VA. I went to the NASCAR Technical Institute and graduated with honors. Ended up working at Tire Kingdom after that for a while because the school wanted me to go work in a dealership again, but I still wanted to be on a NASCAR team. I decided to go back to school and went through the Bobby Isaac Motorsports Program at another community college. My break came towards the end of those classes when I was offered a job at DEI as a fabricator. Towards the end of that season, Michael Waltrip was leaving, Chance 2 was closing down so I had to go find somewhere else to work. I landed a job at Joe Gibbs Racing in the bodyshop. Although I have worked for 2 chevy teams I am a die hard Ford man on the street.

I just purchased my 3rd mustang. The first one that I owned was a 1986 SVO that was in pretty bad shape (I only paid $800 for the car). I ended up running out of money to restore it and had to sell it. A few years later I bought a 90 GT. I kinda fell into that one since I worked for CarMax and we were allowed to buy 2 wholesale cars a year. Owned it for a little while and left it pretty much stock. When I decided to go back to school I sold it. Now I have a 92 notchback that I couldn't pass up. It has a few things done to it but still remains pretty much stock. My daily driver isa 1998 Ford Ranger Supercab 4X4.

Here are some pics of the new one. I will post some of my old ones as soon as I get them scanned in. Enjoy!

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3.../truckcar2.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...n28/stang7.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...n28/stang2.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...on28/stang.jpg

jimmy08

Welcome aboard.Is working on a race team everything you thought it woild be?

PennState

welcome!

tjohnston

It really is. The biggest thing about working for JGR is the fun aspect of it. We spend so much time together in the shop that we have to do something to take the edge off. We throw anything from tape ***** to bouncy *****, blow up water bottles on each other etc. Everyone works towards the same the goal which is to win. We work hard and the fruits of our labor are right in front of us every week whether it be Busch or Cup.

A lot of people relate working on a race team to the military. It takes dedication and a lot of hard work. There is no waiting to get that car done tomorrow. NASCAR doesn't care if you show up or not, the race will go on with/without you so if you have to work 7 days a week 14 hours a day, that's what you do. It's stressfull but that's why we do everything we can to have fun.

It took me about 5 years to get into the sport. Knocking on doors, making phone calls, chasing leads. The best way to get in is to know somebody and even then it's hard but once you make it, the feeling is incredible. Walking into the shop after a winning weekend and seeing the car covered in confetti andthe smell of stale beer is just awsome. I wouldn't trade working in ths industry for the world.

Kiryoku

Welcome and Best of Luck