Haas appoints Borland as VP of technology
Veteran motorsports engineer Matt Borland has been named vice president of technology for Haas F1 Team and Stewart-Haas Racing. Borland will attempt to become the link between Haas F1 Team and the Stewart-Haas team that competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Borland will oversee the transfer of Formula One technology to Stewart-Haas Racing while providing Haas F1 Team with deep engineering resources. Concurrently, the highly-respected Borland will serve as a gatekeeper, ensuring the privacy of proprietary information respective to each team.
“With his knowledge and work ethic, Matt has helped build Stewart-Haas Racing into the team it is today, and as we build Haas F1 Team and prepare it for 2016, his expertise has already proven to be incredibly useful,” said Joe Custer, chief operating officer, Haas F1 Team and executive vice president, Stewart-Haas Racing. “Matt’s talent as an engineer and manager are augmented by a sterling reputation that is beyond reproach. He is well suited for this dual role that will ultimately lead to the betterment of Haas F1 Team and Stewart-Haas Racing.”
Borland joined Haas CNC Racing, the precursor to Stewart-Haas Racing, in May 2007. He has served in numerous capacities, including crew chief, competition director, technical director and, most recently, vice president of engineering, where he oversaw all of the team’s technical initiatives and research and development projects.
Borland came to Haas CNC Racing with significant NASCAR experience, first with Team Penske from the end of the 1999 season through 2006 and then with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007. Prior to coming to NASCAR, Borland was the race engineer for driver Mark Blundell at PacWest Racing in Champ Car and before that, Borland was at Pi Research, a well-known engineering organization specializing in motorsports.
“I’m an engineer at heart, so I’m always interested in building things,” said Borland, who in 1994 earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Kettering University (formerly the General Motors Institute). “It’s been very satisfying to help build Stewart-Haas Racing from a two-car team to a four-car team that’s always capable of winning championships. Now I have the best of both worlds, as I can continue to help improve Stewart-Haas Racing while building Haas F1 Team. We work smart and efficiently at Stewart-Haas Racing, and there are best practices we can apply to Haas F1 Team. Eventually, both organizations will make each other better, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
The Haas F1 Team is targeting its Formula One debut in 2016.
