Vance Welker keeps the Porsche Penske team ahead of the curve
In his over two decades around the track, Vance Welker has learned a few things. That preparation is everything. That the small things make a big difference. And that you never get tired of winning, which Vance did at 24 Hours of Daytona in January, 12 Hours of Sebring in March and Grand Prix of Long Beach in April. In 2015 he also won the Indianapolis 500 with Juan Pablo Montoya behind the wheel.
In the latest installment of “Driven: The Team Behind The Triumphs”, we talked to the 25-year Team Penske vet about life as a Chief Mechanic, and how his previous career in cartography led to his current role.
First things first: you’re fresh off Porsche’s tremendous victory at Daytona 24 from January. How did that make you feel, especially winning it back-to-back?
Relieved, honestly. It’s always hardest to come back from winning the Daytona 24 last year, and then having to come back the new season. Pressure was high, repeating what we did in the #7 car. But standards were set high early on.
In your previous life you were a cartographer. What led you to racing?
I was a geography major in school. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work with my hands or do something else. So I went to school, finished school, all good. But I grew up in an automotive background. My dad, my grandfather, had a body shop. I worked there and I had very natural talents and was able to just pick up a wrench and do whatever. My grandfather showed me a lot. My uncle showed me quite a lot.
Your role as chief mechanic – what does that entail?
It’s actually not so much about the car. It’s more about the people and making sure that the crew has what they need. It’s more of a supporting role. Supporting the people around you to let them be the best that they can be. Making sure they understand what they’re doing, why they’re doing and how they’re doing it. It’s super important for me that they succeed, because if they succeed we all succeed.
What would you say is the most challenging part of your job?
If you look at it from a big picture you think “oh my gosh,” but when you look at the things you have to do in front of you, when you break it down into little pieces, it’s all manageable. And this goes back to the people – if they know what they need to do and know how they’re doing it and they give good feedback, then I don’t have much worry. Then the job is pretty easy.
Race prep and the pressure of the actual race are very different. Can you talk about your philosophy of how you approach both?
Race prep is by far the most important thing you can do. That’s why I say prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It’s a little bit of a relief when you start the race because at that point all it is is managing the race, right? It’s pretty much just problem-solving.
Porsche & Penske together have quite the legacy in racing. Does that add any pressure for you?
Yeah, there was definitely a lot of pressure to make it work. Like any group effort with any big team coming in to work with another big team, there’s pressure to make it stick, so to speak. For me it’s a little easier because a lot of these people are Porsche. I know all of them. I’ve dealt with them. They were working on the R Spyder program with me. So that helped out a bunch, having that familiarity.
What would you say has been the biggest win of your career?
By far last year’s Daytona. The biggest one for sure.
That’s Welker’s way. Watch this space for other Porsche motorsport profiles. And check out the latest IMSA television schedule
