Engineers News: Bringing it home, Sept. 2015

Member Mark McManus races down the track.
Face
to Face
with...
Nine-year member Mark McManus
➾➾District 20
➾➾Heavy equipment operator
➾➾2015 Pirelli World Challenge racecar driver
When Operator Mark McManus isn’t behind the controls of
a piece of equipment at a jobsite, you can find him behind the
wheel of a finely tuned racecar, speeding through the S curves
at the track.
Growing up, McManus raced mountain bikes and BMX, but
that all changed the day he sat passenger side in a racecar during
a practice run.
“I came home, immediately put all my bikes and things up
for sale and built my first Miata,” he said. “That’s how it all
happened.”
He quickly got his racing license, raced the Spec Miata series
in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and soon discovered
he had a knack for the sport. In 2005, he received the Rookie of
the Year award, which he noted “opened all the doors for me.”
Three years later, he went pro.
People might imagine lavish living for McManus, but going
pro didn’t mean he could quit his day job.
“My wife and I are raising our kids, and racing is very
expensive,” he said. “It’s difficult at times.”
McManus works as a foreman for St. Francis Electric and
recently worked on the Doyle Drive Replacement/Presidio
Parkway project in San Francisco. Having a good job as a
member of Local 3 makes it possible for him to finance the time
he puts in on the racetrack and to rest assured that his family’s
needs are met, their future protected.
“Our benefits and our retirement definitely give a peace-ofmind
feeling,” he said. “Others work, and they don’t have what
we have. There’s no question about the way I feel about being
union. It’s definitely a better way of going.”
In recent years, McManus has been able to worry less about
those racing costs. He proved himself more than capable behind
the wheel of a 2005 Lexus IS 300 while racing in the United
States Touring Car Championship (USTCC). He won Most
Improved Driver for 2013, and shortly thereafter, Lexus USA
representatives decided to sponsor him. They gave him the car
he races now, a 2013 Lexus IS 250.
Now that McManus is driving for a big sponsor like Lexus
USA, other sponsors have been coming out of the woodwork.
With more sponsors supporting him through their products, he
can better focus on honing his driving skills.
This year, McManus is racing in the Touring Car (TC) class
of the Pirelli World Challenge circuit, which began in February.
“There are so many cars, and you’re just door-to-door the
whole time,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun!” It may be fun, but it isn’t
for everybody.
“You’re so close together, and you come around the S curves
10 miles an hour slower than NASCAR does, at about 115,” he
said, as he described racing the Sears Point track in Sonoma,
Calif., one of many he will race on this year. “If someone checks
up and you’re not paying attention … it can be really bad.”
McManus’ racing career has clearly had an upward trajectory,
and with that in mind, he has his sights on racing GT and GTS
class someday.
“That’s when you become a paid driver,” he said. “You’re not
only racing but making 200 grand a year!”
McManus has a bright future and can count on his fans, which
include his own Local 3 brothers and sisters, cheering him on.
September 2015 | 29