Kalitta Motorsports Teams With Genius Garage
Three automotive interns helped build the engine for the final race of the season...
Kalitta Motorsports has announced a partnership with Casey Putsch and Genius Garage at the upcoming U.S. Nationals. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes Aug. 30-Sept. 2 at the Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, the final race of the regular season.
Three Genius Garage interns joined engine builder Brock Owens and the Mac Tools team at the Team Kalitta race shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Aug. 6 to build an engine for Doug Kalitta’s Mac Tools Toyota team. The reigning NHRA Top Fuel championship team will run the engine during qualifying for the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend.
Genius Garage posted its story about the interns’ experience at the Kalitta Motorsports shop on YouTube via Casey the Car Guy, who has 216,000 followers. Putsch will post additional content in the days leading up to the U.S. Nationals.
“The relationship developed during Casey’s visit to the race in Norwalk (Ohio) when he joined our team as a social media influencer,” said Team Kalitta general manager Chad Head.
“Bringing Genius Garage STEM interns into our race team and possibly bringing some new talent into NHRA Drag Racing is a big deal for our sport – we can’t have enough talented young people entering NHRA, and if just one of these kids turns into a mechanic or an engineer, that’s big for the future of our sport. It could be even bigger for these bright kids looking for a job after college.”
The Genius Garage mission is to bridge the gap between academia and industry to kickstart careers. It creates hands-on experiences for students/interns and is a 501(c)(3) public educational charity that relies on sponsorships and donations to fund its work.
At Indianapolis, the students will be on site Saturday, Aug. 31, and one intern will shadow a member of each of the three Kalitta Motorsports entries. The interns enjoyed hands-on NHRA engine-building experiences at the shop, and this week’s opportunity will let them see what happens at the racetrack and then during actual competition at the U.S. Nationals.
The interns taking part in the program:
Ishan Allen, Arlington, Texas
- Pursuing Batchelor of Arts degree at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio
- Background in film and sound design and shifting career towards motorsports.
- Enjoys sailing and rally racing
Richard Wang, Orangeburg, N.Y.
- Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y. with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
- Car guy who drives an older Nissan GTR
Shannon Yankowski, Tampa, Fla.
- University of South Florida- Information Studies
- With A.I. taking over information studies, her career path is now her passion for motorsports technology.
- She has a C5 Corvette that she maintains, modifies and tracks
Putsch is a craftsman, artist, engineer and racing driver. As the founder and president of the Genius Garage Racing, Aerospace and Design Programs, he devotes his time to the education and professional growth of creative young minds.
