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Noah McKay doesn’t remember a world without NASCAR in it. Even as a child, he recalls being immersed in that profession because of his dad’s role as the crew chief.

“My dad was the jack of all trades and had his hands on everything that went on,” said McKay.

Like most kids, they didn’t think too hard about what their career would be. However, he did enjoy exploring some of his own passions which included baseball and BMX racing. 

When the time did come for McKay to think about college, he didn’t have to think very hard.

“My dad went straight into the United States Navy right out of high school. For the longest time, he instilled the importance of education and getting good grades,” said McKay. 

McKay headed to North Carolina State University to study mechanical engineering for his undergraduate degree. The intense program allowed Noah and a select group of students to build race cars. They would compete with other students from around the world.

“We built the entire car from the chassis to working on the suspension. It stole a lot of my hours when I should have been studying,” said Noah. 

Noah continued his studies at NCSU when he was accepted into the challenging graduate program for aerospace. He simultaneously worked for a racing team that was eager to utilize his knowledge from his graduate program. During McKay’s time working for multiple racing teams, he accomplished a lot that was ahead of his time including building an aerodynamics program from the ground up.

“Most of it was trial and error. Having an engineering mindset to do methodical testing was critical. You had to identify what worked and why it didn’t. I was always thinking how we can make it better or have a larger gain,” said McKay. 

During this time, Noah was also playing on his company’s softball team. A fellow teammate said he knew the perfect woman for Noah. The rest was history.

“The minute Ginny and I met, I think we both felt the connection immediately,” said Noah.

They married in September 2007. They added daughter, Wren, to their family in 2011 and son, Merritt, in 2015.

Things were going well for Noah professionally too; he was head of the aerospace division where he managed around 10 guys and another 100 from the technical side in fabrication. However, Noah wanted a new challenge. Noah was approached by a company in the United Kingdom to start up a division here in the United States. Thus, D2H Engineering Incorporated USA became headquartered in Clemmons. This innovative group of engineers made a difference in big ways. For instance, they focused on putting a major dent in emissions reduction with their research on electric cars in the vehicle world. 

While McKay loved the new challenge, he found that running his own business did come with some downsides.

“There is always the push and pull,” reflects McKay. “The push was owning my business was tough because it was during COVID-19. We managed to make it over that side of it, but I found myself never stopping and that takes a toll on your mental health.”

McKay’s family really helped put into perspective what he always told his own employees.

“I remember being at the beach and still working as if I wasn’t on vacation at all. I always told any of my employees when they go on vacation to turn off their phones and stop checking emails because we would handle it back at the office. I couldn’t even do that myself. My son, Merritt, who has autism, could stay in the water for hours and hours. It calms him. I didn’t want to miss moments like that with him or my family because I always was focused on my work and couldn’t take a break,” said McKay. 

“I finally felt the push when the opportunity became available. Once there were off ramps for all my employees to have jobs, I realized it was time to make a switch. I went back into a different aspect of the racing world. I was previously at the team level. I accepted an opportunity for General Motors to be a corporate employee just like the employees in Michigan. I was excited to leverage all the experience I learned not just in the NASCAR world but in other areas too,” explains McKay. “GM made a big investment in our area, and it just made me realize that it was said I needed to pull me back into this industry. Getting to work on projects like the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, high performance cars that won’t be seen for at least 6 or 7 years from now, and Indycars have me really excited.” 

Finding balance has McKay grateful for this next chapter.

“Ginny and I love spending time with our kids. We’ve loved seeing them find their own interests too. We have been lucky to have schools that have encouraged that, at both Summit School and ABC of NC. Both places have really made our kids love learning and meet them where they are at,” said McKay. “Just last week we went to a concert at Summit and loved how much enthusiasm the teachers put into it and really everything there to round out their education. And Cindy Andree Bowen at the ABC of NC has been such a resource and angel. Our community is so lucky to have her and the resources they provide to children with autism. We are so lucky that people like Cindy spend their entire day trying to make kids like Merritt feel special. And now with having a bit more flexibility with work, I’m able to see it more frequently.”