Landing a Spot at Hendrick Motorsports: Your Guide to Internship Requirements

Hendrick Motorsports, a powerhouse in NASCAR, offers exceptional internship opportunities for students eager to dive into the world of motorsports. These internships provide practical, hands-on experience, allowing students to contribute to the success of a leading race team. Located at 4400 Papa Joe Hendrick Blvd, Charlotte, North Carolina, Hendrick Motorsports seeks motivated individuals ready to learn and grow. This article outlines the requirements, qualifications, and key aspects of Hendrick Motorsports internships.

Overview of Hendrick Motorsports Internships

Hendrick Motorsports' internship program is designed to give students challenging and meaningful work experience. Many interns extend their time with the team, returning for additional internships. Some even transition into full-time roles after graduation, joining a diverse group of talented professionals. The organization values passion and determination and seeks individuals who can contribute to their ongoing success story.

Design Engineering Internship: A Closer Look

One prominent internship is the Design Engineering Intern position. This role focuses on the development, modification, and testing of automotive structural members and related equipment. The ideal candidate possesses a background in structures, CAD modeling, procedure writing, designing, and testing.

Job Duties of a Design Engineering Intern

The responsibilities of a Design Engineering Intern are varied and engaging:

Interpreting Technical Documents: Reading and understanding blueprints, technical drawings, schematics, and computer-generated reports.
Collaboration and Communication: Conferring with engineers and other personnel to implement operating procedures, resolve system malfunctions, and provide technical information.
System Specification: Specifying system components or directing modification of products to ensure conformance with engineering design and performance specifications.
Research and Development: Researching, designing, evaluating, installing, operating, and maintaining mechanical products, equipment, systems, and processes to meet requirements, applying knowledge of engineering principles.
Troubleshooting: Investigating equipment failures and difficulties to diagnose faulty operation and make recommendations to the maintenance crew.
CAD and Design Assistance: Assisting drafters in developing the structural design of products using drafting tools or computer-assisted design (CAD) or drafting equipment and software.
Oversight of Operations: Overseeing installation, operation, maintenance, and repair to ensure that machines and equipment are installed and functioning according to specifications.
Testing and Analysis: Conducting research that tests and analyzes the feasibility, design, operation, and performance of equipment, components, and systems.
Additional Tasks: Completing any other duties as assigned by the supervisor.

General Internship Responsibilities

Regardless of the specific internship role, certain responsibilities are common:

Project Support: Assisting and providing support to department team members on projects as directed.
Collaboration: Collaborating with department team members to complete assigned tasks and functions.
Communication: Managing correspondence and communicating effectively with team members and peers.
Networking: Networking and professional development with other departments and company personnel.
Team Participation: Attending and participating in team meetings.
Skill Development: Developing and enhancing skills and knowledge of the industry through shadowing.

Eligibility Requirements for Internships

To be eligible for an internship at Hendrick Motorsports, candidates must meet specific academic criteria:

GPA Requirement: Maintaining a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.8/4.0 or 3.0/4.0, depending on the functional area.
Enrollment Status: Being a full-time student (12 semester hours) attending a four-year university and having completed 30 semester hours prior to the internship start date.
Transfer Students: If transferring from a two-year university, having completed 12 semester hours at the four-year university before the internship begins.

Essential Skills and Qualifications

Hendrick Motorsports seeks interns with a range of skills and qualities:

Analytical Skills: Possessing critical thinking and reasoning skills to solve problems.
Accountability: Demonstrating the ability to accept responsibility and account for actions.
Accuracy: Exhibiting the ability to perform work accurately and thoroughly.
Communication Skills: Communicating effectively with others using spoken and written communication.
Detail Orientation: Paying close attention to the minute details of a project or task.
Decision-Making: Making critical decisions while following company procedures.
Ethical Conduct: Demonstrating conduct conforming to a set of values and accepted standards.
Honesty and Integrity: Being truthful and credible in the workplace.
Organizational Skills: Possessing the trait of being organized or following a systematic method of performing a task.
Time Management: Utilizing available time to organize and complete work within given deadlines.
Working Under Pressure: Completing assigned tasks under stressful situations.

Educational and Experiential Requirements

Specific educational and experiential requirements include:

Enrollment: Must be enrolled in a 4-year program pursuing a Bachelor's degree.
GPA: Must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.
Academic Standing: Must be at least a sophomore or second-year student in the degree program being pursued.
Teamwork: Must be a team player and have a high level of integrity.
Attention to Detail: Must possess strong attention to detail and the ability to problem-solve.
Communication Skills: Must possess strong communication skills including written, oral, and analytical skills.
Multitasking: Must possess the ability to effectively multitask, problem solve, and prioritize.
Self-Direction: Must possess the ability to self-direct.
Adaptability: Must possess the ability to work in a fast-paced environment, with effective time management.

Technical Skills

Interns are expected to have certain computer skills:

Computer Proficiency: Intermediate computer skills relevant to the department.
Excel Knowledge: Advanced working knowledge of Excel and spreadsheet creation.

Communication Abilities

Effective communication is crucial:

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Instruction Following: Ability to understand and follow instructions.
Interpersonal Communication: Ability to communicate effectively with customers and company personnel.

Additional Requirements

Attendance: The position requires regular and predictable attendance. Scheduled shifts may include evening hours, weekends, and holidays. Must possess the ability to work a flexible schedule.
Physical Demands: Physical demands will vary among internship roles.
Environment: Duties are performed primarily indoors but occasionally performs work in the shop environment or outdoors. This role must be performed in-person and cannot be performed remotely.
Verbal and Writing Ability: Ability to read and comprehend instructions, correspondence, and memos. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers and other employees.
Math Ability: Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
Reasoning Ability: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions. Ability to deal with standardized situations.

Competition Systems Group Internship

Hendrick Motorsports also seeks engineering students for the Competition Systems Group. This internship focuses on vehicle dynamics, subsystems, simulation, tire performance, modeling, and testing.

Required Skills and Knowledge

Vehicle Dynamics: Solid basic knowledge of vehicle dynamics.
Simulation Tools: Experience using simulation tools for dynamic systems investigation, implementation, and verification (Simulink/MATLAB, ADAMS, Dymola, multibody simulation or similar software preferred).
Data Analysis: Proficiency in data analysis software to analyze systems response (Pi Toolbox, Motec).
Programming Languages: Experience in programming languages such as C#, MATLAB, Python, or similar.

Preferred Skills

Simulator Knowledge: Understanding of how driving simulators such as iRacing and hardware in loop testing works.

Work Schedule

Typical Hours: 7:00 AM â 4:00 PM M-F, with possible overtime and weekends.

Commitment to Diversity and Equal Opportunity

Hendrick Motorsports is an Equal Opportunity employer, encouraging minorities, women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities to apply.

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