Aggie Spotlight: Testing the dynamics of a winning team
The Roundup, 9/11/08
By Denise Nava
It started off as a passion for the racecar industry, but NMSU alumnus David Salazar has since transformed his love for racing into a rewarding career at the premier wind tunnel for NASCAR aeroDYN in the familiar town known as Race City, USA.
Aerodynamics is the center of Salazar's work at the A2 Wind Tunnel testing facility located in Mooresville, NC, where Olympic Gold Medalist and cyclist Kristin Armstrong recently prepared for the 2008 Beijing games.
"I grew up doing the racing thing," said Salazar, general manager of the A2 wind tunnel. "It's pretty much what I've always wanted to do."
Born and raised in Las Cruces, Salazar has been involved with racing since the age of 13. He began competing in motocross and furthered his interest by assisting the local Salopek 6U racing team during college.
Fascinated by how things functioned, Salazar majored in mechanical engineering technology at NMSU and graduated in 2003.
Salazar explained there was no specific major geared towards aerodynamics at the time, but he took a fluid dynamics class that was close to the subject.
"NMSU definitely prepared me for gaining responsibility and built me up for entering the real world," Salazar said.
After graduation, Salazar moved to Phoenix, and began working with unmanned aerial vehicles, with his mind set on working with NASCAR.
In order to pursue his goals, Salazar moved to Mooresville, NC, the center of the racecar industry, where he lived on a friend's couch until he was offered a job.
"I put out 50-something resumes," Salazar said. "I finally got the job I was looking for."
After joining the aeroDYN wind tunnel team, Salazar was made a test engineer for two years at the facility. His team tests more than 80 percent of NASCAR teams.
"I ran the tunnel and made sure the data was accurate and up to date," Salazar said about being a test engineer. "I was there to make sure the tunnel was working."
Salazar said the tunnel is so vital to NASCAR teams that it can be booked a year in advance.
Following his work with aeroDYN, Salazar was then made general manager of the neighboring wind tunnel, A2, which has not only prepared Tour de France cyclists, but also Olympian Kristin Armstrong for competition.
"With cyclists, the wind tunnel helps them get into aerodynamic and comfortable positions on their bikes," Salazar said. "We keep it as realistic as possible."
Armstrong, who placed first in the Women's Time Trial at the games, prepared at the tunnel in June, Salazar said.
"I'm doing something I love," Salazar said about his job. "It's so diverse and it's never repetitive."
Benefiting from his time at NMSU, Salazar explained the best part of his classes were the hands on material.
"My professors made it interesting," Salazar said. "They made [work] into real world situations. We could see and do things."
Salazar, who's been working with the wind tunnel facility for more than four years, said there has never been a day when he woke up and didn't want to go to work.
For more information about the A2 Wind Tunnel facility, check out www.A2WT.com.