I agree 100%. Right out of high school I begged Mike Streicher for a job at Hawk chassis. He finally allowed me and I lived in his dads basement for almost a year. He was the best learning experience I ever got for race cars. He started me out on nerf bars and such and slowly over time I was welding and bending the whole chassis up. Some of them got tested hard. It was always a job I took very serious as I was racing one myself. You are really taking someones life in your hands. That being said, the same reason that was just talked about also limited my time there. Money is not great. I was single with no plans in the near future at the time to do anything other then pay rent and buy tires. The 3 or so years I was there was like going to college. I do NOT have any schooling on my record. But I bet I could do just as much as someone that does. I am a hands on guy. Old school by todays standards I guess. I am 33 now with a family I love alot and race a lot less, but not once have I ever thought back and wondered what if? I say if you want to learn it then do it.

Jason Fuller

You know that's funny, but I raced 1/4 midgets back in the 60's with Mike and his dad and I can still remember his dad telling me how to weld a chrome bumper without messing up the chrome too much, he really was a master. Went about 30 year or so and went to the Chily Bowl (and it was that year) with AJ Felker. We were sitting in AJ's trailer and low and behold this voice out of the past came right into the AJ"s trailer like a message from God . It was Mike's dad, the Striker's were 2 trailers down, and I would know that voice of his anywhere.

Yeah "big Jim" was a unforgettable person! LOL He was a good guy. He was sometimes tuff to drive for but overall the both of them were great to me. I can remember running there midget at Toledo and we led the first 10 or so laps, then AJ Davis and Jimmy McCune were putting the pressure on.....big jim just walked away and thought we were done. LOL Long story story short we won the race. He just wanted to win them all by two laps! LOL

That is the guy I'm thinking about** perfection was not quite good enough. His cars were beautiful and very very fast. He wasn't afraid to pass his knowledge on to the next generation either.


******GOOD BETTER BEST NEVER LET IT REST UNTIL YOUR GOOD IS BETTER AND YOUR BETTER IS BEST*******

If you don't want the answers why do you ask the questions? It seems that you only want someone to tell you what you want to hear.

Read Doug Wolfgang's book.

Quote in there along the lines of:

If you want to make a living in racing, start racing somewhere. Get the best education you can, don't get married. Live at home as long as possible. Win 200-300 races and you'll never have to ask for a ride again.

Chances of succeeding at anything in today's world without an education(including racing,) are slim.

Mike Dicely is a great example of what a college education can do for you in the racing industry. Probably the largest micro sprint manufacturer in the country.

Mike's wife isn't a dummy either, she's helped probably as much as he has, in their success in their business, I believe she has a degree in marketing, and it shows in their catalogs and marketing. Bob!

I would take someone who can do the job before another w/ a piece of paper that says so. Worked w/ a lot of idiots who where ASE Certified on things called Reduction Task Forces. I have a high school education w/ some Vocational Education thrown in. If I'm so dumb because I don't have a piece of paper why was I called to these meetings?
Come to find out I stopped by this guys office I knew, under his name said "Head Of Reliability". People say the world survives on paperwork, we also WIPE w/ paperwork.

come spend a weekend in st louis, the chassis buisness is tough. and every car i build is engineered around safety first. and go your butt to school, a lot of people have no idea that i went to school for mechanical and electrical engineering, and it helps having that info when running a buisnees and designing a car that may save some kids life.

Finally, somebody with some sense..........Man these guys are killin me....