Grass Roots and Beyond Racing Education
Racing schools are places high school graduates can go to learn about race cars, high performance engines and race team management. If you plan on pursuing a career in motorsports, these schools will give you not only important information and hands-on experience, they give you a head start in the employment competition for professional race teams. The information we offer comes directly from four well established schools located in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio.
All of these schools will readily offer proof that graduates of their programs have been and are employed by major professional race teams in many different sanctions of auto racing. From constructors to crew chiefs, a great many of the current members of the top tier race teams got their start by attending schools like those described here.
It is common for community and technical college motorsports programs to come and go, but the ones we are presenting have been around for quite a while and will be here for years to come. If you are interested in a career in motorsports, contact these schools and see if they offer what you are looking for.
Forsyth Technical Community College – The Richard Childress Race Car Technology Program at Forsyth Tech offers an associate degree program that takes the student from “Introduction to Racing” to participation in completion of race cars and engines. The degree includes detailed classes and labs with concentrations in chassis, race engines, race brake systems, race wiring, electronics, chassis and body fabrication, machine shop processes, MIG and TIG welding, and cutting processes.
FTCC offers North Carolina’s only two-year Race Car Technology degree. During the two-year term students also take their transferable college English, Math, Psychology, and Computer courses. The program is designed to expose and train the students in general motorsport skills that are required to become gainfully employed in the industry.
The program recently added three certificate programs for students that want to concentrate in a specific area. The certificate programs include Racing Engines, Race Car Setup and Chassis Fabrication Certificates.
Race Car Technology is an ever evolving industry. The FTCC courses continue to change to reflect advancements in Race Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, and Quality Control. The Business of Racing, including Marketing and Professional Ethics as related to the Motorsport Industry are all topics that have been recently introduced through our Introduction to Racing class.
The group of students is usually a 50/50 mix of some experience to those having no racing background at all. Students with previous racing experience could have worked as crew members, tech inspectors, and drivers. Drag racing, road racing, short track pavement and dirt racing is the most common type of experience that students enter the program with.
The student body is quite a diverse group. Not only do they focus on the Race Car Technology Program but the college also offers degrees in programs such as Advanced Manufacturing, Broadcasting, and Graphic Arts. Students enroll from various parts of the United States and they come with a variety of motorsports interest including NASCAR, NHRA, IMSA, Indy, Formula One, NASA, Dirt Late Model and Motorcycle racing.
The graduates are currently being employed in various professional venues including motorsports, research and development and aerospace. From the motorsports perspective the students are currently employed by several NASCAR Monster Energy Cup, XFINITY Series, Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Touring Series. NHRA Drag Race Teams, NASA Road Race Teams, Formula Drift Teams, Indy and Formula One Race teams. Students are also finding jobs with engine builders (automotive and motorcycle), chassis builders, manufacturers and vendors as well as the aerospace industry.
The college is privileged to be partnered with Richard Childress Racing and its subsidiaries. Along with that the college is currently cultivating partnerships with race teams, vendors and manufacturers through our Work Based Learning program. This program allows students to work for a race team or manufacturing facility while earning college credits. This program develops resume skills, interview skills, and interpersonal skills related to working in a real life racing atmosphere.
Greenville Technical College – The Motorsports Technology program at Greenville Technical College in Greenville, SC is designed to prepare students for many different jobs in the motorsports industry, whether that’s close by in the Motorsports corridor from Charlotte to Atlanta or anywhere in the country. The program teaches a wide variety of courses related to high-performance vehicles, emphasizing hands-on learning both in the shop and through experiences such as field trips to racetracks and race shops around the Carolinas.
Greenville Technical College is the only college in South Carolina where students can enroll in the General Technology Associate in Applied Science degree with a concentration in Motorsports, a two-year program that provides extensive experience in Motorsports, with cross training in automotive and auto body techniques.
Greenville Technical College has two certificates that are geared towards the motorsports industries. The first is a race chassis and suspension setup certificate that takes two semesters to complete. The students learn how to MIG and TIG weld in this program and they spend much of their time learning to use metal shaping tools such as bead rollers, shrinker/stretchers, tubing benders, tubing notches, and the English wheel.
The students also have a very unique experience in this program as they will build a complete chassis as a team. The students begin with bare stock and form every piece to make a scaled down chassis that is complete with floor pans, wheel tubs, the complete cage, and suspension mounting locations. The students get an opportunity to use their learned fabrication skills to build these scaled down frames.
The other program that the college offers is the Engine Performance certificate. Students spend one semester in this certificate. This certificate expands on the student’s basic engine building skills by combining AERA’s curriculum with Greenville Tech’s lab exercises to teach the students’ performance engine building applications.
The students work through three courses to build a small block engine using basic theory. The students will then utilize software and research to find ways to gain power based on their calculations. The students will dyno test their engines many time throughout the process and verify power gains and losses. The college has a supply of various head configurations, cams, carburetors, and other performance parts to assist with the students dyno testing.
Greenville Technical College’s Motorsports program offers a real-world experience by working with the college’s race car, built to Rev Oil Pro Cup Series standards. The car was built from the ground up by students, with sponsorships and donations from many partners.
During the chassis setup courses the cars are carried to local tracks for testing and tuning. Students get the opportunity to experience first-hand what adjustments are made at the track in real time with a pit crew. The students are also exposed to many of the local motorsports businesses throughout our local market through internship opportunities, site visits, and guest speakers that come in and share their industry knowledge with our students.
To find out more about these colleges of motorsports technology, go to their websites and contact the recruiters. There is a lot to offer someone who wishes to make motorsports his or her career.
Get a head start on your competition for employment by including a degree in your resume that is specific to motorsports. It will be sure to impress any perspective employer.
We’ll be back with Part Two where we look at the Racing College of Virginia and the University of Northwestern Ohio tomorrow!
Sources:
Forsyth Technical Community College
www.forsythtech.edu
336-757-3247
Greenville Technical College
www.gvltec.edu
864-250-8000
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