It's A LOT of work and travel, all the time. Not just on race weekends. You need to love it, or you'll get burned out quickly.
As for smelling like brake cleaner, well, that depends on what your job is on the team.
When I was starting out on an underfunded privateer team, servicing cylinder heads into the wee hours of the morning, wasn't unheard of. Machining blower rotors at 2:00 am, also not unheard of. Assembling clutch packs well after midnight, also not unheard of. Etc., etc.
Interpreting the data from the Data-logger, and determining the appropriate setup of the car, you miss out on your hands smelling of brake cleaner.
I do it because there is simply nothing else like it.
The Finals in Pomona are a couple days away.