Nicholas Berlo

Background

About Nicholas Berlo

I am an engineer for Rick Ware Racing and serve as the race engineer for the 01 and 15 cars as they compete on a part time basis in 2025. As the shop engineer and part time race engineer, I have a wide range of duties and responsibilities within the team. As the shop engineer, I conduct/oversee all of the chassis and suspension measurements conducted via CMM. I develop designs, CAD model and 3-D print a large variety of parts, from performance related parts, to general items to enhance shop and team efficiency. The total output of 3-D printing within the team has tripled over the last 2 years since expanding our 3-D printing footprint. I have also been involved in the wind tunnel testing over the last 2 seasons, collecting data and formulating post-test reports. As a race engineer, I work along side the crew chief to evaluate and enhance the performance of the car through simulation, telemetry and direct driver feedback. I oversee the overall mechanical setup of the car while also verifying its compliance to NASCAR regulations. It also my responsibility to prepare the race shocks and get them through technical inspection. As this race engineer role is with a part time entry, I work in the war room on certain weeks I do not travel to the track. This allows me to maintain situational awareness of the performance of the car and continue to improve my knowledge and gain experience while not physically at the track. Being spread across multiple roles has really allowed me to become more well rounded as an engineer overall, because it allows me to see the sport from both sides of the fence. Being a shop engineer has helped me as a race engineer and being a race engineer has helped me as a engineer back at the shop. I also utilize my meteorology experience and knowledge from my time in the Air Force to provide the team with weather outlooks for race weekends and also more immediate forecasts as it pertains to race strategy. I am also currently a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force Reserves and have been serving since 2013. I primarily engage in weather forecasting duties, while also holding additional management duties as a Unit Deployment Manager and Vehicle Control Officer. As the Unit Deployment Manager, I was responsible for planning, organizing, and overseeing all unit-level deployment activities. Key duties include managing deployment training, ensuring medical and administrative readiness, preparing equipment, and acting as a liaison between the unit and higher leadership regarding the unit deployment program.