The Motorsports Student

Your Guide to Motorsports Education and Jobs in Racing

Archive for the ‘Motorsports Education’ category

ASA Student Educational Series Sees Growth in 2011

December 26th, 2010

A program that started as a pilot program at Madison International Speedway in 2008, the ASA-Student Educational Series will grow in 2011 to offer students from Ohio Technical College, a motorsports school, the opportunity to extend their education outside of the classroom and earn a motorsports scholarship.

Ohio Technical College came into the program as a partner in the series, which is licensed by the American Speed Association, in 2010. Participants must first be enrolled at Ohio Technical College to be a part of the ASA-Student Educational Series.

Image courtesy of The ASA-Student Educational Series

Students that take part in the ASA-Student Educational Series are given the opportunity to earn points based on their participation in racing activities that determine the value of scholarships that are applied to their motorsports education at Ohio Technical College. A total of $135,000 in motorsports scholarships have been distributed.

In order to participate in the program and earn scholarships, students work with race teams during the summer as they compete weekly at participating ASA member tracks. They complete a log book of their hours, activities and responsibilities, and complete an essay assignment at the beginning and end of the summer detailing their experience, what they expect to learn, the results of their training and how they will apply it to their motorsports engineering and automotive education.

Students apply the scholarships earned as a result of their summer experiences to programs at Ohio Technical College, including Automotive, Diesel, Auto-Diesel, Collision, Restoration, PowerSports, Manufacturing, and Welding.

The American Speed Association started as a single racing series in 1968 and is now a fast growing racing sanctioning body. The ASA Member Track program is comprised of asphalt and dirt short tracks along with road courses around the United States, as well as a variety of regional and national touring series. ASA-Student Educational Series expects to see growth in the number of ASA Member Tracks offering programs, as well as the number of student participants.

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Posted in Motorsports Education, Ohio Technical College, Scholarships

NASCAR Technical Institute Breakdown

December 20th, 2010

Location: Mooresville, NC

Degree: NASCAR automotive technology certificate

Admissions: Open enrollment, no deadline. Classes start every six weeks.

Application Fee: No

Tuition: Ranges from $18,000 to $43,000 per year

Financial Aid: Available by filling out the FAFSA

Scholarships: Need-based, Federal and Private available

NASCAR Technology Training Program:

UTI’s NASCAR Technology Training Program is a 48-week core program that teaches students general Automotive Technology with a NASCAR racing component. Students will be trained to troubleshoot, service and repair automobiles and ultimately learn advanced techniques for building and testing a competitive NASCAR engine.

UTI’s hands-on labs are state-of-the-industry classrooms where students will find equipment and instructors ready to prepare them for a great career as a NASCAR technician.

Scholarships are available through the UTI Foundation Scholarship Fund, which can be viewed at: http://www.utifoundation.net/UTI-Foundation/Scholarships-Grants. While many scholarships are earmarked for certain criteria, for example military veterans or those attending a particular campus, many are available for those who need a motorsports scholarship or racing-related grant.

Learn more about a motorsports education and careers in racing today at: http://www.uti.edu/Programs/NASCAR.

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Posted in Motorsports Education, NASCAR, Scholarships

Tags: Certificate Program NASCAR Technical Institute North Carolina

IUPUI teams up with USAC for Motorsports Engineering Program

December 11th, 2010

IUPUI and the United States Auto Club (USAC) have announced a partnership that will offer IUPUI Motorsports Engineering students the opportunity to assist in managing and promoting nine USAC Midget Series events at the Speedrome in Indianapolis in 2011.

Students from the Motorsports Engineering Program in the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI will work alongside USAC staff and officials in USAC Regional and National Midgets Series events. Some learning opportunities include areas such as journalism/public relations, marketing/promotions, graphic design and media, in addition to performing technical inspection and timing and scoring duties on race days.

Internships credits will be offered for Motorsports Engineering students who participate in the USAC events. Students will be prepared for motorsports careers and careers in racing by seeing the ins and outs of running an established sanctioning body and executing race events.

Because practical experience is extremely important to a well-rounded motorsports education, IUPUI and other programs are offering more opportunities for students to get involved in racing beyond traditional experiences.

Learn more about motorsports engineering and auto racing schools in our Schools section.

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Posted in Careers in Motorsports, Dirt Track Racing, Motorsports Education, Motorsports Engineering, USAC

Tags: BS Motorsports Engineering Indiana IUPUI

Book Review: Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension

December 6th, 2010

If you’re interested in learning more about dirt track racing and motorsports careers, reading books about the industry is a good way to gain technical insights, from racing basics to advanced information, and big picture information on how different racecars work. Reading racing books is an especially smart way to use your offseason time to widen your motorsports education if you can’t get into a garage and tear some equipment apart yourself.

One of the books we’ve turned to over and over again throughout the years is Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension by the editors of Circle Track Magazine. Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension isn’t your typical textbook-style read: it’s actually a compilation of magazine articles that discuss the basics of dirt track chassis theory and design, setups, tuning and driving. While the book is geared mainly towards e-mods, modifieds, and late models, there is information about sprint car chassis’ as well.

Even though a lot of the information is geared towards one type of racing, Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension is designed to provide an overall feel for the technology that you could apply to any dirt race car. Like courses you’d take at a racing school or in a motorsports engineering program, you’ll get practical information mixed in with your theoretical background.

Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension is a great holiday gift – and a great offseason read. I know we’ve enjoyed it! If you’re looking for other great off-season reads, check out our Resources page.

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Posted in Motorsports Education

IUPUI Announces Motorsports Engineering Scholarship

December 3rd, 2010

IUPUI will announce today at the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) the creation of a scholarship program for the motorsports engineering program in conjunction with CARA Charities. The announcement will be made at the inaugural IUPUI-sponsored IMIS Youth Safety Program.

The CARA Motorsports Scholarship is available for traditional, full-time students that are admitted directly into the Motorsports Engineering Program at IUPUI. Preference will be given to students that have demonstrated commitment to community by volunteering for a charitable organization.

CARA Charities was founded in 1981 as the Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary by the wives of legendary IndyCar drivers in an effort to promote auto racing and engage in charitable activities. Today, CARA Charities operates as one of the longest-running charitable organizations in open-wheel motorsports.

In 2008, IUPUI, a leading auto racing school, became the first university in the United States to offer a bachelor’s degree in motorsports engineering, and the university continues to improve and develop motorsports education programs to encompass various aspects of the sport. From a 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in Motorsports Engineering and a Motorsports Technology Certificate offered by the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, to a variety of racetrack opportunities and outstanding internship placements, the motorsports programs at IUPUI continue to thrive.

For more information about motorsports at IUPUI, visit The Motorsports Student’s Schools page.

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Posted in Motorsports Education, Motorsports Engineering, Scholarships

Tags: BS Motorsports Engineering Indiana IUPUI

Spotlight On: Motorsports Engineering

November 20th, 2010

There are many different paths for getting an education in motorsports that will eventually lead you to a career in racing: motorsports engineering is one of them. In fact, if you are looking to get into the technical, racing side of the sport, motorsports engineering is one of the best tickets into a professional motorsports operation.

A motorsports engineering program will combine all of the training that an engineer would get, from physics and mathematics to economics and business, with specialized education and research that applies directly to the motorsports world. All of these principles can lead to jobs outside of auto racing, so don’t be afraid that you’ll be limited to one field if you choose a motorsports engineering degree: with the heavy emphasis on mechanical engineering, the automotive manufacturing and motorcycle technology fields are directly applicable, along with countless other non-automotive careers.

In a motorsports engineering program, you’ll take courses that directly relate to auto racing, like: race vehicle dynamics, race car design and development, NASCAR engines, vehicle aerodynamics, tire mechanics, race car simulation, materials science, data acquisition and analysis, and many more.

Anyone in a racing engineering program will also be exposed to laboratory experiences, which will teach students how to create an experiment, gather data and analyze it, and directly apply it to motorsports subjects. Most programs have a speaker series, where you’ll learn practical knowledge from industry professionals.

And, most importantly, the majority of programs require participation on a school race team, where you’ll apply your knowledge directly to an actual race car.

Schools that offer motorsports engineering degrees include UNC Charlotte, Old Dominion University, and Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. If you’re interested in learning more about motorsports engineering and motorsports education, check out: Engineer To Win (part of the Motorbooks Workshop) or Formula 1 Technology.

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Posted in Careers in Motorsports, Motorsports Education, Motorsports Engineering

N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University Adds Motorsports Technology Degree

November 16th, 2010

In North Carolina, NASCAR country by every account, one school is going beyond its peers in racing education by offering a Bachelor of Science in Motorsports Technology. N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University will be the first in the state to offer a B.S. in a racing field, while other schools like UNC-Charlotte offer concentrations in motorsports fields.

N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University, a historically black university, hopes to deepens NASCAR’s commitment to diversity by providing qualified students to NASCAR and the racing job market.

Currently, the state offers more than 25,000 jobs in the racing industry with an average salary of more than $70,000, according to the N.C. Motorsports Association. The industry provides approximately $6 billion of economic impact to the state.

For more information, visit N.C. A&T’s site at: http://www.ncat.edu/.

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Posted in Motorsports Education, NASCAR

Tags: BS Motorsports Technology N.C. A&T North Carolina

Deadline Approaching for the Brienne Davis Scholarship Application

November 7th, 2010

For the past three years, the UTI Foundation of the Universal Technical Institute has partnered with the NASCAR Foundation to offer one $10,000 Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship for a qualified female student who will pursue an automotive technology education at any UTI campus. An additional $3,000 scholarship provided by C&R Racing will also be awarded.

The scholarship is given in honor of Brienne Davis, a UTI graduate and NASCAR official who was killed in a car accident in 2008, in order to increase the number of women in NASCAR and the motorsports industry. Davis was one of a few female officials in the sport of NASCAR.

Recently, over 20 NASCAR drivers, celebrities and The Charlies Daniels Band participated in a Jail and Bail Event to raise over $150,000 for the UTI Foundation and the Brienne Davis Scholarship Program.

In order to qualify for the scholarship, female students must be enrolled at an UTI campus with a future start date in 2011, complete a scholarship application that includes a letter of recommendation, and write a 250 word essay on financial need, passion for NASCAR and motorsports education, and how the scholarship will help her pursue a career in racing.

The deadline for completing the application is December 31, 2010. For more information, visit the UTI Foundation’s website here.

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Posted in Careers in Motorsports, Motorsports Education, NASCAR, Scholarships

Welcome to The Motorsports Student!

November 4th, 2010

At The Motorsports Student, our goal is to provide you with everything you need to learn about getting an education and starting a career in motorsports. Whether you’re interested in being a NASCAR crew chief or want to work in sports marketing, The Motorsports Student is here to help you find the right path to achieving your dreams of an education or job in racing!