Thrill of Driving the Company Race Car is an Employee Benefit

Imagine being turned loose with the company race car when you are working as an intern. That is exactly what Stuart Ferguson, who is working as an intern at Landmark Construction, got to do at the Thunderhill Race Track with the benefit of a professional driving coach.

“I had a blast,” said Ferguson. “I’ve always enjoyed going fast but this was the first time I’ve driven on a race track. After some classroom instruction, we did drills to get comfortable with the car and the track. By doing figure eights, I learned how fast I could go when approaching a curve and when to brake on the turn. I got to know the car’s limits as well as my own.”

“At the beginning, I was all over the place,” said Ferguson. “The coach helped me know what to look for when approaching blind turns, to be aware of the flags and showed me how to hit the corners to get the maximum speed. It was really exciting to drive at well over one hundred miles per hour and feel in control as I maneuvered around the track. Now, I want to look for my own car to race.”

It is about knowing your capabilities as well as limits … It is an exhilarating place to work.

Landmark Construction provides this racing experience to any employee who is interested in participating as a company benefit. “My parents teased me that I am getting spoiled because most employers don’t treat their employees to these kinds of benefits,” said Ferguson. “I had a great time on the company sponsored snowboard trip at Northstar earlier this year in addition to the recent race track experience. It makes you feel appreciated and that motivates me to work hard and do whatever I am asked to do on the job. I even got to share this experience with my girlfriend and that meant a lot to me.”

“It isn’t just business sponsored outings that motivate me,” said Ferguson. “The idea that the boss would give me the keys to the company racing Audi for the weekend shows me how much confidence the company has in me. I was told to ‘just be sure it is brought back in one piece.’”

When he is not on company adventures pushing his limits racing down a Sierra Nevada mountain or speeding around the race track, Ferguson is gaining practical work experience to help guide his future plans. He completed his AA degree in Business at Sierra College while working at Landmark Construction.

“There is always something new to do at my job,” said Ferguson. “I might be making deliveries to jobsites, managing files in our storage shed, overseeing the automotive fleet or organizing events. I especially enjoy arranging barbeques at project jobsites. I do everything from ordering the meat to setting up equipment. Often there are over 100 guests and it is a lot of fun to meet all the officials involved in the project.”

The internship has helped Ferguson think about his career options. “Being around construction has made me realize how much I like building stuff,” said Ferguson. “This internship has opened my eyes to all the business aspects of construction management. The employees at Landmark Construction have been very friendly and easy to talk to so I’ve gained a great perspective on working in the construction field.”

Driving a race car is a good analogy for the team’s approach to work, according to Ferguson. “Landmark Construction is known for completing high quality building at a very fast speed. Just like when driving the race car, you can’t cut corners or miss any safety precautions. It is about knowing your capabilities as well as limits so you can get from ‘A’ to ‘B’ faster. That is how this team collaborates to get projects built in very compressed schedules. It is an exhilarating place to work.”