MORE NEWS/INFO

NASCAR Technical Institute Celebrates Ten-Year Anniversary: One decade ago this month, NASCAR Technical Institute (NASCAR Tech) – a branch of Universal Technical Institute – became the first exclusive educational partner of NASCAR. The 146,000-square-foot training facility located in Mooresville, N.C. opened in July 2002 as the first technical school of its kind to combine automotive training and a NASCAR-approved technologies curriculum into one program. On Wednesday, NASCAR Tech is celebrating ten years of operation and has helped change the vernacular from auto mechanic to automotive technician. With state-of-the-industry classrooms designed to effectively train students for the workforce, NASCAR Tech has become the leader for automotive technical education, graduating thousands in its ten-year existence. In celebration of its ten-year anniversary, NASCAR Tech will spotlight graduates who have excelled in their industry. Since its opening, thousands of NASCAR Tech graduates have gone on to careers in the automotive repair and motorsports industry. Many have benefited from the school’s specialized programs, providing students with valuable, hands-on training in the heart of NASCAR country. To keep up with NASCAR Tech news, follow the campus on Facebook at facebook.com/NASCARtech.(NASCAR)(7-12-2012)

NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing In Motion Set For Spring 2012 Launch: NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion kicks-off the 2012 season by welcoming 18 partner schools from across the U.S. This innovative case study competition gives college students the opportunity to work through real-world business challenges and scenarios provided by NASCAR and its various industry stakeholders, such as Official Partners, teams and tracks. Since 2009 college students across the nation have spent a semester immersed in the NASCAR brand through NASCAR Kinetics. This grassroots program began with four schools and has grown to become NASCAR’s largest college initiative with 18 schools this semester.
This semester’s first case studies will ask students to create a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy that will help increase Fathead sale of NASCAR-related merchandise. While the second will challenge each team to deliver creative ideas that will help Camping World strength its relationship with NASCAR and promote its products at-track, in stores and online. The final stage of the competition, the viewing parties, will all be hosted in conjunction with M&M’s and will serve to celebrate the colorfulness of the M&M’s characters and NASCAR.
This semester, Kinetics is available at the following 18 schools across the country: Belmont Abbey College, Centenary College, Central Michigan University, Coastal Carolina University, East Tennessee State University, Elon University, High Point University, Indiana State University, Ohio State University, Ohio University, Oklahoma State University, Southern New Hampshire University, Troy University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of Oregon and Virginia State University.
NASCAR Kinetics is available every fall and spring semester to teams of five students who are chosen from each participating school. Eligible students must be at least a sophomore with a minimum 2.75 GPA and pursuing a degree or concentration in sport management, sport marketing, business, management, marketing, public relations, communications, journalism, advertising or broadcasting. These students work together to produce one submission for each case study, while concurrently planning and executing a viewing party of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
While the teams are competing for the grand prize of an all-expense paid trip to the NASCAR All-Star Race weekend in Charlotte, N.C., the greater reward is the invaluable experience that serves to build their resume as they finish school and begin their careers. For more information on NASCAR Kinetics, please refer to the new website: www.NASCARKinetics.com.(NASCAR)(3-27-2012)

Ray Evernham To Give Keynote Address at IMIS Safety & Technical Conference: Ray Evernham, who won three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles as crew chief for Jeff Gordon, will give the keynote address at the fourth annual International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) Safety & Technical Conference Dec. 5-6 in Indianapolis. The IMIS Safety & Technical Conference helps kick off the fourth annual IMIS, the United States’ premier hardcore racing tradeshow, conducted each year at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis and owned by Chris Paulsen, owner of C&R Racing, Jeff Stoops, president of Stoops Freightliner, and three-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.
From car builders to tire manufacturers to parts suppliers, every aspect of motorsports is represented at IMIS, which has a lifetime contract with the City of Indianapolis and reserved show dates through 2017. Attendees come from all levels of the sport and will do so once again this year from Dec. 6-8. From NASCAR team owners to weekend road racers, IMIS attracts motorsports professionals from around the globe.
New for 2012, the first day of the IMIS Safety & Technical Conference will take place at the Center for Advanced Product Evaluation (CAPE), a 50,000 square-foot facility in Westfield, Ind., that was named the 2011 Automotive Testing Technology International “Crash Test Facility of the Year.” Conference participants will hear presentations from some of the top experts in motorsports safety, who will review data from various motorsports crash tests and proven research ranging from Sprint cars to Indy cars and also present new findings for 2012. Participants will engage in networking, thoughtful discussion and various question-and-answer sessions while learning a wealth of information that will help make their track, racecar, or driver safer. The second day of the IMIS Safety & Technical Conference will take place at the Indiana Convention Center on the first day of the tradeshow and will focus on event and facility safety. A list of presenters and presentation topics is routinely updated at www.imis-indy.com as they are added. Attendees who register before Nov. 6 will save $55 on a two-day ticket or $45 on a one-day ticket. To register, go to www.imis-indy.com and click on Conference under the IMIS Events tab. The two-day conference ticket is $250 at the door, or $195 before Nov. 6. Transportation to CAPE is provided. Hotel accommodations, parking and directions, in addition to all the information on IMIS 2012, can be found at www.imis-indy.com. Attendees can incur saving by reserving rooms through the IMIS hotel link under the Hotels/Travel tab on the site. Accommodations representing all price ranges are available.(True Speed Communication)(10-1-2012)

UCF Students Win NASCAR Competition: A team of five undergraduate students from the DeVos Sport Business Management program beat 18 other universities to win the NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion competition. Team members included: Kaitlyn Blizzard, Jaime Fox, Hannah Meyers, Bill Morrison, and Brandon Vinieratos. The team placed first for each of the two assigned case studies. The case studies focused on developing a comprehensive social media strategy for Michael Waltrip Racing, creating a promotion for Michael Waltrip Racing that focuses on its relationship with Aaron’s, and developing a retail, at-track, and digital promotion to promote the official partnership between Dodge and NASCAR. The team was also planned and executed a NASCAR Race Viewing Party that attracted nearly 185 people.(see full article at ucf.edu)(11-20-2011)

2011 Kulwicki Scholarship awarded: Brantt Malloch of Sanford, NC was awarded the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship during race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Established in 1994, the four-year Kulwicki Scholarship is one of the highest honors within UNC Charlotte’s Motorsports Engineering Program housed in the Lee College of Engineering. The scholarship honors the late NASCAR Winston Cup points champion who died in a plane crash in 1993. Kulwicki was an engineer and a strong supporter of engineering and science education. The Lee College of Engineering presents the scholarship to a high school senior who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and has an affiliation with auto racing. Malloch, an off-road, four-wheel-drive enthusiast, has a passion for jeeps and the outdoors. “I love to work on my jeep, modify it and take it out in the woods to see what it’s capable of.” After attending the summer motorsports programs hosted at UNC Charlotte, Malloch became interested in the college’s world-class, hands-on engineering programs and deep roots in NASCAR. “I plan on using the education and experience I receive at UNC Charlotte to allow me to work within the industry I love,” Malloch said. “The mechanical engineering degree along with the motorsports concentration is the building block of not only a career and hobby but a future.” Malloch is the son of Frank and Beth Malloch of Sanford. He graduated from Lee County High School in June 2011. He was a straight-A student, captain of the drum line and a member of the mock United Nations team, science club, National Technical Honor Society and National Honor Society.()(10-25-2011)

Motorsports Alumni Chapter Starts: Alumni from The William States Lee College of Engineering and other university programs came together May 17, 2011, to form the UNC Charlotte Motorsports Alumni Chapter. Meeting in the Kulwicki Motorsports Laboratory, the alumni, faculty and staff laid out plans for the new chapter. New Chapter President Ryan Zeck (BSME 1999) said the chapter welcomes all UNC Charlotte alumni interested in motorsports, not just graduates of the motorsports engineering program. The formation of a new alumni chapter requires the commitment of 16 alumni to serve on the chapter board. The new Motorsports group was able to get 21 people to sign up for the board.(more info at uncc.edu.(5-30-2011)

N.C. A&T to offer degree in motorsports technology: The UNC Board of Governors on Friday granted N.C. A&T approval to establish a bachelor's degree program in motorsports technology. The program will train students to work with team owners, corporate sponsors and others in the motorsports industry, according to information provided to the board. The university already has a motorsports concentration in its department of manufacturing systems.(Greensboro News & Record)(11-9-2010)

Professor studies the culture of NASCAR: John D. Miller teaches early-American literature at Longwood University, but lately he has lectured on a more contemporary theme: NASCAR and globalization. A fan himself, Miller says the lure of NASCAR is not so much the cars and the race as the spin they bring to an archetypal American narrative. "I think most fans are attracted to NASCAR because it celebrates this national culture," he said. NASCAR's popularity has increased with the rise of globalization, which some people see as a threat to traditional American identity, he said. They look to NASCAR as a way "to celebrate and reaffirm a traditional set of American values." That script is followed from the start of the race. Miller notes that NASCAR is the only professional sport that still begins with a prayer over the public address system. The national anthem is sung by a national recording artist, accentuating its importance, and the military fly-by seals the association between patriotism and the military. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a doctorate from the College of William and Mary, Miller wrote his master's thesis at Auburn University on the culture of NASCAR. Miller looks to NASCAR for the stories it tells about America "that help define that cultural identity for people, for readers or for sports fans."(see full story and quotes at the Richmond Times Dispatch)(12-8-2009)