January 24, 2007

Road Race Geek

Filed under: Alumni — Justin Jang @ 9:53 pm

1) How long were you involved in SAE/Cal Poly?

Two years? Dean Case signed me up. Didn’t even ask. He just told me I was a member. Also that I was the only speech major.

2) What’s your favorite SAE memory?

The auto crosses. Though technically hosted by the Cal Poly Sports Car Club, we were all SAE guys. I had an old CHP car with 50-series Comp T/As and Bilsteins so I had to run in the same class as the Camaros, Mustangs and the “new” C4 Corvette. I finished 2nd behind the Vette. I couldn’t afford new tires, so I only ran the one event. That was a good car.

3) What are you doing now?

Freelance car photographer & motor journalist. Also teach photography twice a week at Santa Monica College.

4) What’s a normal day at work like?

Oh God. Do I have to answer that? Let’s just say its not unusual for my wife to walk thru the office/third bedroom ask if I’m actually working. I spend a lot of time with emails and on the phone. A few times a week, I actually have to use a camera or write something. The rest of the time I stay in my jammies.

5) A few words on your Civic, your website and the racing you’re involved in.

Ah, something I like talking about.
I bought the Civic new when I was back in school at Art Center (Photo major). I left it stock and just beat the hell out of it for 275,000 miles as a daily driver. In 2002, the guys at HASport put a non-VTEC Integra engine (B18b) in it for a story in Sport Compact Car. I took it to the CA smog ref for a smog certification and the whole deal. It was bitchen. What Honda should have put in it in the first place. But one thing led to another. We kept making it better and better on the track and worse and worse as a DD. (Spherical bearing suspension joints and race valved coilover shocks are not the best ways to impress your wife with your vehicle maintenance prowess.)
After nine whole years without a car payment, I got a new daily driver (Golf 2dr, TDI 5-speed) in 2003. The roll cage and my my first “racing incident” came shortly thereafter. I rolled the thing on its roof, qualifying in the first event I took it to at Thunderhill. That’s why the roof is orange. I fixed it myself and new I could never match the paint on the rest of the car. (I should also note that its a little scary how little time it takes to cut an entire roof off a Civic at the pick-a-part with only a hack saw…)
I’m in my third season, now. The car is still a work in progress. As I learn more and find the time to improve things, I do. What I can’t do, I try not to worry about. I’m in it for fun, so the only races I really lose are the ones where I don’t have a good time.
I started a blog this year where I’ll be writing about it all throughout the season. It’s at http://roadracegeek.blogspot.com/

6) and any other words of advice you’d like to pass on

Do what you want. Do it well. And read The Richest Man in Babylon.

Also, if know you want to go racing someday, warn your wife before she’s even your fiance. Then you’ll both know she knew what she was in for.

Thawley

January 18, 2007

Alumni Spotlight (Chris Curtis)

Filed under: Alumni — Justin Jang @ 12:05 am

The first Alumni Spotlight features Chris Curtis. I got to work with Chris when he was VP for two years. His ability to learn is amazing and he was instrumental in improving the club to what it is today.

1) How long were you involved in SAE and what were your duties?

I was involved with SAE for all four years at Cal Poly and was a part of
the Baja team. I was Safety Office (aka Safety Boy) for three years and
Vice President for my last two years.

2) What’s your favorite SAE memory?

I have many great memories of my time with SAE but one that stands out
is during the Mini Baja 2005 endurance race. We led the pack for most of
the race and it felt good to see people yell out “try to catch that Cal
Poly guy.” Even though parts broke and we had to perform pit repairs, we
still had that car running when it crossed the finish line.

3) What are you doing now?

I am working as a design engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Company in Sunnyvale, CA. I am currently working on a military satellite
program. You can find it on Lockheed’s website but anything else I say
about it is classified.

4) How has SAE helped you?

SAE has helped me in so many ways. I learned about real design problems
and how to build parts that I designed. It also was a great way to meet
friends that shared the same interests. It has also helped me get a job
by showing I had a life outside of just school work.

5) What’s a normal day at work like?

Depends on the day, but usually I spend some time designing with a CAD
program, creating drawings, working with the techs on the shop floor,
and a few meetings. I tend to get a lot of variety through out the day,
which helps when you work 9 hours a day.

6) and any other words of advice you’d like to pass on

To any future or current SAE team members, you are always behind when
building the cars. There is no doubt in that. If you think you’re ahead,
that just means you have more time to test at the end. We have had too
many great cars fail at competition because of some stupid little thing
that could have been found with more testing. So just remember to test
your cars as much as you can.

Powered by WordPress, Hosted by Arvixe