Can do.
If ever an expression matched a personality, that is the case with Trackhouse Racing’s Logistics Manager, Terry Lane. She not only “can do” but most likely “has done” it.
Tasked with managing the NASCAR Cup Series team’s massive travel arrangements, Lane has more than 23 years of experience in that field and has worked for a variety of top-tier NASCAR teams culminating with her present position at Trackhouse.
That tenure includes a distant time in the sport she remembers well - when a race weekend was loading the team into vans for a road trip from Charlotte to Pocono, Pa. or Bristol, Tenn. She’s travelled via hauler halfway across the country, worked on scoring stands, and, when needed, even done the grocery shopping and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the entire crew trackside.
These days, Lane is still organizing the logistics – for often 60, 70, even 80 Trackhouse team members, 40-plus weekends a year as they travel the NASCAR Cup Series circuit from one end of the country to the other. She coordinates their air travel and rental cars, makes hotel reservations and keeps all the schedules straight and the contractees honest.
So on this International Women’s Day, especially, it only makes sense to recognize and celebrate one of the women at Trackhouse Racing who has forged an invaluable presence on the team and ultimately, in the sport.
“This job, you have to love it because it’s pretty much all-consuming,’’ Lane said. “I bet if you talk to anybody in the industry it’s like a passion. I don’t think you’d stay in this business if you didn’t love it.’’
Lane’s fondness for her job and for the sport comes organically, but it was not necessarily the professional path she had seen for herself. Growing up she wanted to work as a veterinarian. In college, she thought interior design may be her path. Before she started working in the racing industry, Lane worked at a bank, a law firm and appropriately enough, in the hotel industry where she got experience in reservations and catering that has certainly come in handy now.
“I never would have seen myself doing this, but here I am loving it,’’ Lane said, acknowledging her diverse background has been invaluable.
“I’ve always loved clerical work,’’ she said. “That may sound boring to some people, but I love to type, I love details, love numbers. What attracted me to this industry was that it’s very high-energy, very creative, and you are surrounded by very smart people.
“I get along with all types of people and I think it takes that personality to be in this business.’’
Lane acknowledges that she certainly sees more women in the sport today than when she started – from executive positions in the boardroom to tire changers at track. But, she says, even decades ago, she always felt like NASCAR was her fit. She never felt like an outsider, and arguably, she is now the ultimate insider.
“For sure,’’ Lane says of the increased opportunity for women in the sport. “I don’t think there’s any job in any capacity that women can’t do, or that there’s something limiting them.
“I was raised by a strong mother and she had strong sisters. I was raised by a group of women, where I never saw any boundaries about what I could do.”
And she’s setting an example for all; to pursue a career that not only makes use of your unique talents, but that makes you want to go to work each day. And that’s something Trackhouse Racing has provided Lane from the get-go.
“I was all-in once I heard Justin speak about his plans for the team and his mission,’’ Lane said. “I was just totally all-in on it.
“The very first time I went inside the teams at the track, I was so impressed with how smart the people were and the energy I felt. You can physically feel the energy here.’’
