Aldo Villagran

Aldo Villagran is a certified aerospace welder with a wealth of expertise in fabrication, race prep and team support. His motorsport experience spans a vast range of disciplines including drag racing, off-road racing, rallycross and drifting. In addition to his work on competition vehicles, he holds a commercial driver’s license and leads the team’s on-the-road logistics.

After getting a start in racing by working on friends’ race cars in his personal time away from his fabrication job, he has turned his passion into a career, filling key roles on multiple top-tier motorsport organizations worldwide.

He initially joined the Papadakis Racing squad as a part-time truck driver in 2010. Since then, he has become a core member of the crew and a key contributor to four of the team’s cutting-edge vehicle builds. He is now the lead technician and car chief for the No. 717 Toyota 86 in Formula Drift, as well as a key fabricator in the shop. 

Along with Shawn Hillier, he is one half of the shop duo known on the racing circuit as “Shaldo.” The two are longtime colleagues with complimentary skill sets whose work together traces back some 15 years to NHRA Sport Compact racing.