NHRA adds to tech staff

Skelly, Lin added to NHRA Technical Team
courtesy NHRA.com

NHRA Senior Director-National Technical Operations Don Taylor announced that Jim Skelly and James Lin have joined his Technical Department staff.

Skelly had spent more than 10 years working in technical roles with NHRA’s POWERade Series and Xplōd Sport Compact Series before accepting this new position as the technical communications specialist for Sportsman Racing. “It’s great to be home,” Skelly said.

In his new position, Skelly will apply his expertise and experience to rules making, clarification, and interpretation, focusing on the Lucas Oil Series and the Summit Series. In addition, he will join the Technical Department team in providing telephone customer support to racers.

“Sportsman racing is the core of the NHRA, and we need to have the right people at the other end of the phone to answer competitors’ questions and establish the rules,” said Taylor.

Lin joins NHRA as an electronics specialist, and he will be working with the POWERade and Lucas Oil Series. He will be primarily responsible for sanctioning body rules and inspection as well as policing procedures, data analysis, and equipment specification for race vehicle electronics in all NHRA competition classes.

“James brings a huge diversity of experience with electronics in all kinds of racing,” Taylor said. “There isn’t much he hasn’t seen before. He’s a master at looking at data and telling exactly what a car or motorcycle is doing.”

Lin, who will additionally be responsible for training NHRA field personnel on related issues involving Sportsman racing, comes to NHRA after five years as the owner of James Wiring Consulting, a motorsports electronics company in Montclair, Calif. Lin was responsible for engine calibrating with fuel injection and design of mil-spec wiring harnesses.

“I’m happy to join NHRA,” Lin said. “After working in the electronics field with many different types of motorsports, as a consultant for teams, it’s good to get an opportunity to work with a sanctioning body, NHRA, which makes the races happen for all of the teams out there.”