Ahead of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, a team from Chip Ganassi Racing spoke at the National Medal of Honor Museum. Carson Etter is 21 and currently drives in Indy NXT by Firestone.
"Getting the car ready for a race event is long, it's a long, grueling process making sure it's in the best possible shape it can at every single race," Etter says.
A team from Chip Ganassi spoke at a roundtable led by Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta.
"It's about growing and building your tool chest, making sure your tools are sharp not because you need them but in case you do, you are ready," Giunta said during the event.
Giunta said military service members and auto racers share similarities because they must know how to work together, solve problems quickly and work under pressure.
Ganassi's director of human performance, Dave Berkenfield, is also a retired Navy SEAL. He says fans might only see 20 or 30 racers on the track, but Ganassi has more than 200 people on staff working to make sure the car has the best set-up and drivers have the best chance for success. Berkenfield says auto racing and military service have several similarities.
"They cross very evenly," he says. "In the military, it's effort bigger than yourself, bigger than the team. That's really how we approach racing. That's how Chip Ganassi approaches business, life and pit stop performance. You're a small piece of the pie. When you recognize that and are striving to elevate your teammates, the glass ceiling is pretty darn tall, and we're going to try to get to it."
With more than 200 employees, Berkenfield says that shows how many people are supporting the driver. He says engineers will try to reduce drag while mechanics work on the engine and truck drivers move the equipment from city to city.
Berkenfield says that means the responsibility is spread across more people than just the driver.
"As a driver, your name is on the door, but if you're the outside rear tire changer, your name is on the door, too," he says. "Let some of that pressure go. You're here for a reason. We're going to give you all the resources you need."
At a pitstop, Berkenfield says the need for precision and the ability to work under pressure come into the spotlight. He says the crew must change four tires and provide 14 gallons of fuel in five seconds.
"Seven seconds is complete failure," he says.
Berkenfield and Etter say working for Chip Ganassi Racing means employees will push each other to the "very obvious things right," but to also avoid "getting complacent."
"Everybody is changing and evolving," Berkenfield says. "At that point, it's people staying late. It's people turning over every stone. It's asking the hard questions. 'Could we have done this better?' It's tons of accountability."
After visiting the National Medal of Honor Museum for the first time in November, Etter's agent says he donated his Indy NXT car to the museum.
"As they walked Carson through the stories behind the medal, you could see something change in him," Pepper Reed posted online. "Carson walked in without a care in the world, but I watched as the burden of understanding the 'why' behind this institution began to turn his mind from being a carefree rock star, race car driver into a young man with a purpose that surpasses a checkered flag."
Reed says the donation of Etter's livery is worth $164,000.