Performance Tech Motorsports’ Junior Engineer Set to Sing National Anthem at Sebring International Raceway

Performance Tech Motorsports’ Jennea Katic is doubling down this weekend as a junior engineer and a professional singer.

Katic, a mechanical engineering freshman at Emory Riddle University, began working with the team in 2021 and has since been named the junior engineer for the No. 38 Ligier JSP320. On top of her school and at-track responsibilities she’s taken on one more honor this weekend, singing the national anthem for the Alan Jay 120 on Thursday, March 17. Team Principal Brent O’Neill is excited to help usher in the next generation of Motorsports members, particularly when they’re as outstanding as Katic.

“We met Jennea last year and it was clear from the start that she is a super smart girl with a bright future ahead,” O’Neill said.  “She came on for one weekend and immediately showed a deep understanding of the sport and a willingness to do whatever we threw her way, which is hard to find in interns. I was blown away when I found out how vocally talented she was as well! We’re incredibly proud to have someone like her representing our team and honoring out country.”

Katic, a South Africa native, moved to America when she was in Eight grade. At the time she wasn’t sure what she had her sights set on, so she tested the water with all her school had to offer.

“When we moved to America there was a big push to decide what to do with my life,” Katic said. “I was 14 and was choosing between singing, robotics, STEM and engineering. I decided that engineering was ultimately the right path for my future. I joined the robotics team and fell in love with it. I did every role I could on the team. We sent the team to the championships three years in a row. This helped me decide engineering was the way to go but I still didn’t know what direction at the time.”

Like so many individuals in the sport, motorsports was a passion instilled in her from a young age. She buckled down and learned any and everything she could, which marked her as a huge asset to Performance Tech Motorsports when applying for the position.

“I was basically born into racing,” Katic said. “My parent’s main business was automotive manufacturing along with building and maintaining race cars. When we were back in South Africa we were either at home, or the track, or church, or the shop, it was a continuous cycle that lit the spark. When I was young I tried to learn the basic tools and apply myself as much as I could. I was doing competitive singing at the time, but I still grew up around the automotive industry in general.”

As Katic and the team enter one of the busiest weekends of the year she’s going back to her roots even further by performing the National Anthem.

“Singing was the first thing I fell in love with,” Katic said. “I started singing lessons at the age of four and started competitively singing when I was five. The first song I won a gold medal to was Three Little Kittens; I was dressed in a cat suit, full ears and a tail, it was great. At age eight I won the overall category in South Africa’s biggest competition for performing arts. I kept singing until we moved to America where I had big dreams of Nickelodeon or Disney Channel, but those quickly got shut down, it was a whole different playing field here. The last big competition I did was the American Prodigy. It was an online international singing competition that allowed the twelve winners to sing a solo at Carnegie Hall in New York City. On top of that I also won judges distinction. I eventually was trained on how to sing the National Anthem which has been a tremendous thing that has stuck with me. I’ve been able to sing it at presidential rally’s, political dinners.”

As her performance approaches Katic reflects on her journey to becoming a US citizen. While she’s not there yet, she is excited to be able to honor a country she is so proud to live in.

“Moving was very hard, especially as a young kid,” Katic said. “We were able to come to America under a family business visa, and it’s been a brutal eleven years becoming a citizen. We were denied a green card twice when I was younger. After six years we finally got our green card and now my parents have become citizens while I wait for my final papers to get processed. When people complain about America I have to hold myself together, because so many people do not understand what they are complaining about. It is so amazing here, so many people take America for granted. It is such an honor singing an anthem of a country that I so much want to be a part of. This is a blessing; I am blessed I have the opportunity to live in such an amazing place.”

The weekend for Katic and the team begins Thursday, March 17 with a full day of practice sessions. Watch her take on her first Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Saturday, March 19 at 10:10 a.m. Eastern, broadcast live on Peacock TV and in increments on USA Network. For the full weekend schedule and broadcast details visit https://www.imsa.com/events/2022-mobil-1-twelve-hours-of-sebring-presented-by-advance-auto-parts/.