Two junior technicians are among this year’s biggest winners at the 2019 Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. John Lipscomb and Beau Fleming, students at Lincoln Technical Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, spent Labor Day weekend in the pits with Randy Meyer Racing. It was as a once-in-a-lifetime chance for these budding techs to work on some of the highest-performing race machines on the planet. It played out with their cars advancing to the semifinal round — and a place in the winner’s circle with the racing team.
The Randy Meyer team brought its “A game” to the event. Blazing runs through the qualifying and elimination rounds pushed Rachel and Megan Meyer to a sister-versus-sister showdown in the semifinals. Beau was on the crew for Rachel’s car; John worked on Megan’s.
“Beau was a great help,” said Rachel. “He picked up fast on things and did everything we asked without hesitation — a real contribution to our team.”
“John was pleasant to work with and fit right in with the guys,” said Megan. “He has a quiet demeanor but is very knowledgeable and not afraid to ask questions. He was especially helpful when we were rushed between elimination rounds on Monday.”
“Beau and John were two of the best young techs we’ve worked with,” said Randy Meyer. “We would not hesitate to have them join us again.”
The semifinal run saw the Meyer sisters finish less than one-tenth of a second apart, with Megan advancing and ultimately prevailing in the finals. Having already clinched a regional championship for top alcohol dragsters, the win keeps Megan and Randy Meyer Racing in close contention for the ultimate prize.
Lipscomb and Fleming earned their berths by participating in Respect Is Learned In The Pits. The annual contest is organized and administered by Technician.Academy in consultation with Randy Meyer Racing and with sponsorship from MotoRad. Students in NATEF-certified automotive programs are prompted to apply at technician.academy; a panel of automotive-industry professionals reviews the entries and selects winners.
“The weekend was unreal,” said Fleming. “The guys I worked with were awesome. I learned quite a bit. It was cool how the cars are made to be worked on — and worked on fast. I’ve always wanted to do something in racing, and after this weekend I want to do it even more.”
“I’m out of words to describe how I feel,” said Lipscomb. “It was absolutely awesome. I’m not sure what I expected, but I got way more out of it than I hoped for. I never met a cooler bunch of people to be around and I learned a ton. The weekend reinforced my desire — I’m going to be involved with racing in one form or another.”
“This was the third year for Respect Is Earned In The Pits,” said Shawn Collins, founder and CEO of Technician.Academy. “It’s gratifying to see the interest among students — we had more than three dozen applicants — and to give them a chance to work alongside professionals at the highest levels of automotive performance.”