CONCORD, N.C. -- More than 600 team members work at Hendrick Motorsports, and each of them has a unique role that helps contribute to success on the racetrack.
In this series, HendrickMotorsports.com will take an in-depth look at how team members execute those jobs on a daily basis, detailing their workspaces, routines and more.
This time, strength and conditioning coach, Evan Kureczka shares "How I Work."
Computer: “I couldn’t even tell you. It’s an old desktop, but it gets the job done.”
Current mobile device: iPhone 7
One word that best describes how you work: “Efficient.”
Take us through a recent workday: “I usually get up around five o’clock or so and shower. If my little guy wakes up for school early, I’ll see him but usually his mom helps take care of him. I’ll be here by six and usually our first athlete will arrive here at seven at the earliest. Six to seven we open the weight room and get ready for the guys. Any paperwork I can do quickly I’ll do it so I can try to knock it out. Usually, at seven the guys from the No. 48 will come and at eight some more guys will trickle in. At eleven it’s usually our largest groups. We normally get guys around those times. After that we will clean up a bit then the lunch crowed comes in. The afternoon is usually devoted to paperwork. Sometimes, we will have an end of the day meeting and discuss the day in the weight room and how everyone’s health is. That’s not until three or so in the afternoon. After that I’m headed home and picking up my little guy and entertaining him until his mom gets home. I usually cook dinner. After that we go take the dog out for a walk. We will get my son bathed and in bed. We both like to get ourselves to bed early.”
Apps/gadgets/tools you can’t live without: “I’m hoping the email app classifies as an app. Otherwise, I would have to say social media, but I don’t want to admit to that. I check the weather frequently, sometimes we train on the field, so the weather app is a big one.”
Workspace setup: “I share my office space with our part-time guy and our intern. I like having everybody together because we get to collaborate and plan workouts. I like that team setting and working together. I have a desktop there that I use primarily, a white board and a scale for guys to check their weight on.”
How you keep track of what you have to do: “A little silver, paper-calendar notebook. I like the old-school paperbacks. There’s something about being able to actually see everything I write in front of me. I can read it better and pencil stuff in, it’s kind of my lifeline.”
How you got your start at Hendrick Motorsports: “I was formerly sports medicine. I worked for Ortho Carolina and Chip Davis, who works in the chassis shop behind the weight room, was a patient. He had been working here for a long time and I was doing some outreach with some other teams. He told me to come check out Hendrick Motorsports and he would take me on a tour. We toured campus and afterwards I said ‘you know, I work in sports medicine…I would love to go down and check out the training room/weight room.’ So, we went down and I met Mark Morrison, the head athletic strength and conditioning coach. We made a connection and exchanged information and stayed in touch. About two or three years later there was an opening and he reached out to me and low and behold, I’m here now.”
Best advice you have ever received: “I was at a conference and there was a gentleman that spoke, and he said, ‘get comfortable being uncomfortable’. He said if you want to grow in your profession you need to be able to step outside your boundaries. He also said to basically work on areas where you need to grow and develop professionally because at some point, you’re going to have to do those things that you have avoided. Instead of avoiding them, take them head on.”
Mentor or influential person in your life: “I would say both of my parents. My dad from an aspect of leadership as early as youth athletics, he was coaching a lot. I learned a lot of life lessons from him. Now, he is in a manager role for the city of Winston-Salem. My mother works in the health field and was also in business at one point. I try to dabble in business too, so I lean on her a lot for her advice.”
Favorite thing about working at Hendrick Motorsports: “I don’t consider it work. I come to work in workout clothes every day, I don’t necessarily sit behind a desk every day, there’s several days where I am outside and I’m helping guys workout. Also, being able to help people. We’re getting people physically fit and it’s very rewarding to be able to bring people from injury back to being healthy.”
Something people may not know about working for a race team: “When you tell someone you work in racing, sometimes they think of a dirty old shop or garage area. If you ever take one of those people on a tour, they are always surprised how crisp and clean it is. It’s a very well-run organization, very sophisticated.”
Music you listen to while you work: “Unfortunately, I listen to music all day long. The reason I say it is unfortunate is because it’s not usually my choice. Being in the weight room we play music from open to close. So, it’s not always my choice what we are listening to.”