Chambersburg native Josh Kirk joined Hendrick Motors´ports in December 2005 in his current job as general mechanic and pit crew rear tire changer for the No. 5 Chevrolet, driven then by Kyle Busch and now by Casey Mears. (Photo Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports)
Josh Kirk was just 18 years old, fresh out of high school, when he got the call to go NASCAR racing.

The Chambersburg native raced go-karts in the Pennsylvania Dirt Series between the ages of 12 and 16, but had hung up his racing shoes to work as assistant manager at an area Jiffy Lube.

"We raced a lot at Hunterstown, Shippensburg and Trailways," Kirk said. "Hunterstown was our main priority, every Saturday night. They were busy and had a lot of karts."

But it was an expensive undertaking, and Kirk resigned himself to just working on street cars and attending races as a spectator -- until the call came.

"I always stayed in close contact with the two people who built my motors," Kirk said. "I'd go out anytime I had free time to work on their stuff or clean parts or clean the shop or anything. They both moved to North Carolina in the mid-'90s. One day I got a call from one of them, who said he had a tire specialist part-time job open if I wanted it."

"I packed up my clothes and headed south," he said, smiling. "I slept on the floor of a crappy apartment for a good six months, and it was a struggle for a while."

The year was 1999 when Kirk began his job as tire specialist for Sabco Racing. In 2000, he followed the Sabates family to Fitz-Bradshaw in the Nationwide Series, where he worked until 2004. He then spent one season working for the Wood
Brothers No. 21 Sprint Cup team, but when driver Ricky Rudd exited, Kirk began looking for a new position. He

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joined Hendrick Motorsports in December 2005 in his current job as general mechanic and pit crew rear tire changer for the No. 5 Chevrolet, driven then by Kyle Busch and now by Casey Mears. Kirk also is in charge of interior detail -- driver's helmet, seat, mirrors, cooling systems, etc. His goal is to become a car chief.

Now 28, Kirk said the best part of landing the job was growing up -- fast.

"Leaving my parents at 18 and just being thrown out into the world, you have to learn how to do everything on your own and manage everything," he said.

And the hardest part of the job?

"It's the traveling, being gone so many weeks in a row," Kirk said. "Traveling is fun, but it makes it tough at times. You're with that same group more than you are with your girlfriend or wife at home."

"It's not as glamorous as what you might think it is from seeing it on TV," he added. "Some people think you just go to the racetrack and it's easy. It's definitely not easy -- it's a lot of work. You put a lot of time and work into it to be good."

Ellen Siska writes about NASCAR for The York Dis patch. She can be reached at esiska@yorkdisatch.com.