Marietta native, Georgia Tech grad living out his dream as engineer for NASCAR team

Imagine graduating college last December and then trying to find a job during the pandemic. That was the reality for so many college graduates including a Marietta native and a Georgia Tech grad.

However, Dustin Roth not only landed an incredible career shortly after graduation, but he is working with one of the top NASCAR teams in the country.

“I am a second engineer, for the 34 team. So I basically am supporting my lead engineer and crew chief doing what ever we need to do to get the car set up for Sundays and I am also on the side keeping things documented,” he told Channel 2′s Alison Mastrangelo.

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Roth graduated from Georgia Tech in December with a degree in mechanical engineering and a few weeks later landed a job with Front Row Motorsports and driver Michael McDowell.

“So your first job you just happen to be on the same team of the guy that wins the Daytona 500,” Mastrangelo asked.

“Yeah that was my first cup race,” Roth said.

Dustin has been working for the No. 34 team for almost six months now. However, due to COVID-19 protocols and limited numbers allowed in the garage on race day, Roth has not been able to attend a live race this year.

“So essentially we sent up a war room here, where Dustin and the other engineers will watch all the information and data coming in live from practice and races. They actually have radio communication with the team that’s at the race and helps them make decisions,” McDowell said. “I know he is itching to get the race track for sure, because that’s part of the experience and the fun.”

Since he’s still new in NASCAR, Roth is just enjoying the ride for now.

“It’s really cool just seeing this car get put together and watching it on a track knowing that I had some role in what it’s doing,” he said. “It’s just a really cool experience for me.”

Roth wants other engineering students to follow their passions.

“NASCAR and racing in general is always going to take good engineers, and they always want good engineers. so even people like me who do not have a huge racing background can still work in the sport and enjoy it as long as they are dedicated there will always be teams taking good engineers.”

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