The collaboration with Hendrick is a two-way street. For 8 hours a day, lines of Haas CNC machining centres create a noise worthy of a NASCAR team. "The first Haas machine arrived in 1996, says Jim Wall, Hendrick Motorsports Engine Development Manager. "Today we have 47!"

Hendrick has two main workshops: engine and car production. "Initially, we focused more on engines, but as many other requests for components started to arrive, we achieved a fairly balanced split between engine construction and vehicle production," explains Wall.

To give some sense of the workload, around 900 finished race-engines will leave the Hendrick production plant this year alone, all machined in-house from forgings, destined for the team's own cars, as well as many other cars on the NASCAR grid.

Amazingly, the shops at Hendrick only work a single shift: "So, we need to carry out many processes in a way that doesn't require night-time supervision," says Wall. "For this reason, the reliability that Haas machines guarantee is fundamental. Furthermore, they are user-friendly and highly versatile - characteristics that allow us to process a wide range of parts. It's also important to be able to count on a partner like Haas for support, given their ability to act quickly, and ensure that spare parts are available immediately."

Haas Automation's commitment to motor racing will remain a vital part of its business strategy for as long as Gene Haas has his sights set on a championship - somewhere in the world. The company's story, including its racing activities is unique and inspires hundreds of thousands of its machine tool customers and users. Now, thanks to the global reach of F1, perhaps millions of young people will better understand the inexorable link between manufacturing technology and the motor sport they enjoy every weekend of the season. Amongst them will be F1 team owners of the future - or maybe just aspiring machine shop owners who will always remember the name Haas.

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