wow that is strange. You usually never see mechanical take a liking to software stuff. I did my undergrad in mechanical as well. in retrospect I really wish I studied harder.
Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. ~sigh~
Have you read race car engineering by miliken & miliken (I think) or Motor Vehicle Dynamics by Giancarlo Genta (that one is very dry but has some awesome formulas). I haven't cracked open either of those books in a long time. You've inspired me!