Because of the steady growth in the number of participants, there are schools that have been organized to serve this emerging industry. An enthusiast can go to school to be educated in the various disciplines of the motorsports industry, then pursue a career in a specific area of expertise. The schools we are featuring are ones that cater more specifically to stock car racing. Key members of some of the programs helped us understand exactly what was available and how those programs could help a person pursue a career related to stock car racing.
Carolina Motorsports Tech
Center, Hickory, North Carolina Director Mark Davis recognized the trend to educate racers some years ago in his previous work as the director of the Catawba Valley Community College motorsports training center. To expand his contribution in the area of motorsports training, he chose to venture out and create his own private school where there were fewer limits to what could be offered. He is now free to put together any course of study that might be desired by a person interested in a career related to motorsports.
Mark's school teaches Metal Shaping, Track Tech, and Fab Machining as one-week courses. The core classes, consisting of eight-week sessions, include Chassis Fabrication, Motorsports Welding, Assembly, Chassis Dynamics, Race Team Operation, Metal Body Fab, Refinishing, and Graphics.
A unique addition to the overall program at this school is the Carolina Team Concept, where students can become members of a real race team. They build, maintain, and race a real USAR Hooters ProCup race car. This is a full season course that prepares a student for the real world of racing in a true racing environment.
Many of the program's graduates have gone on to work for top race teams earning wages that equal or exceed the wage averages earned by working in what we would consider "normal" job categories sought by individuals sporting four-year degrees.
Many top professional race teams, including many Winston Cup teams, have hired graduates of the Motorsports Tech Center. Davis is proud to offer that often the teams call him for prospective employees. "Being able to work together as a team member is one of the most important lessons a student can learn," said Davis.
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Concord, North CarolinaRichmond Gage is the Director of the Motorsports Management Technology program at the south campus of RCCC. The program was instituted in the fall of 1997 and is a two-year associate's degree offering designed to prepare the student for an entry-level management/marketing position in the motorsports industry.
Students are trained in the fundamentals of the industry. While other two- and four-year institutions offer programs relating to the technical aspects of motorsports, RCCC's program was the first in the country known to specifically address the business aspects of the industry as well as the technical aspects. Over 60 students from 12 states are currently enrolled in the program.
Gage is a former Winston Cup team manager with 23 years of motorsports experience. Technical instruction comes from veterans of the industry. The program's advisory committee includes some of the top names in the racing community in and around Charlotte, North Carolina.
RCCC's graduate students have gone on to work with some of the most famous race teams in the country. This school places students in programs through internship programs, which many times leads to employment, or by direct hiring of the graduate.
University of Northwestern Ohio, Lima, Ohio The High-Performance Technology program in the College of Technologies covers many of the tech aspects of race cars. Associate's degree and diploma programs take from 36 weeks to 2 years to complete. Classes are Monday through Thursday in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Under special circumstances, late-night classes are offered from midnight to 5 a.m.