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Your motorsports career could start here
Area has several educational programs for the serious racing enthusiast
Jay Havens has always wanted to earn a living in the racing industry. He's now pursuing that dream through coursework in Patrick Henry Community College's motorsports program. (Bulletin photo by Chase Young)
Sunday, March 29, 2009
By CHASE YOUNG - Bulletin Sports Writer
Jay Havens has aspired toward a career in NASCAR since he was a child.
His love of racing was nurtured on dirt and asphalt tracks across Virginia and North Carolina, places visited on family trips since he was a toddler.
“Racing is about the biggest part of my life that I have,” explained Havens. “My family's been involved with racing ever since I was little. So I guess it's just kinda something I've been used to, something I really enjoy doing.”
Havens considers racing a lifestyle, one he hopes will become a career.
“Crew chief would be my dream job,” said Havens, a full-time student in Patrick Henry Community College’s motorsports program. “Doing anything like fabrication, motor work, anything like that would be a dream come true for me. Any kind of NASCAR team, drag team, some kind of race team. That would be my lifelong dream.”
In his second year at PHCC’s program, the 19-year old Ridgeway resident is taking steps toward his career one class, one turn of the wrench, one step at a time.
“Basically, the technology, where it keeps advancing every year, you’ll basically need a little bit of an extra edge on your shade-tree mechanics. You'll actually have to come get a degree in different machines, different techniques with the way things run now,” said Havens. “It's come a long way from the backyard boys racing to now.”
TIME TO HIT THE BOOKS
Securing a career in NASCAR as part of a pit crew or working in a team's shop can be as elusive as winning the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. The increasing need for well-trained and highly-skilled employees has made classroom time almost as critical as track time.
“I would say you're not going to be able to get into racing without the experience of college,” said PHCC Motorsports instructor Talmadge Thomas. “The ol' days are gone.”
It doesn’t look like they're coming back anytime soon.
“If you go down to Hendrick and Childress (race team headquarters), they’ll tell you there’s been a change,” said Jeff Fields, the dean of applied sciences and engineering technology at PHCC Motorsports. “Nowadays the teams, with the amount of sponsorship they're looking for, they really want that training before (employees) step into their own shops. If you're not technologically savvy today, it's extremely difficult.”
To make things even tougher, the nation's sagging economy has hit the racing industry hard, forcing many larger race teams to scale back operations, while eliminating some smaller outfits altogether.
That shrinkage in the market makes the hiring process even more competitive.
“There's more good people than there are positions. Fortunately or unfortunately, with the economy like it is, it kinda goes back into the deal where you need a real well-rounded person,” said Jeff Hensley, a Horsepasture native and crew chief of the No. 16 Albertsons Toyota truck.
“There's no substitute for an engineering degree, don’t get me wrong, but you've got to have practical experience. And with everything like it is right now, that's more important than ever.”
PLACES TO LEARN
An integral part of Virginia's “Motorsports Alley,” Martinsville, Henry County and the surrounding area offer educational opportunities unique in both their resources and applicability.
Patrick Henry Community College's motorsports program provides a fundamental, hands-on approach to everything from engine building to body fabrication. PHCC offers three different certification programs which encompass engine technology, auto body technology and fabrication, as well as a two-year Associate’s Degree which melds the three programs.
The school’s instructors include Thomas, who served as a crew chief for Wood Brothers Racing as well as B&H Motorsports; and Lou Larossa, who helped Dale Earnhardt Sr. win four Cup championships as an engine builder. The program also partners with racing facilities such as Arrington Engines, Harris Trucking and the Virginia Motorsports Technology Center (VMTC) to offer a state-of-the-art learning facility that allows its students to get a grasp of what the industry is truly like.
“I've looked at ODU (Old Dominion University), PH (PHCC), Virginia Tech. N.C. State's got a great mechanical engineering program also. None of their mechanical engineering or any kind of engineering could compare to the hands-on training that you get down here,” said Havens. “It gives a great idea about what's going to be going on if that's the career you decide to take.”
Unique in its closeness and affiliation to the racing industry throughout the immediate area, PHCC offers opportunities “second to none,” according to Thomas.
PHCC is not the only educational opportunity available in the area, however. The New College Institute has partnered with Old Dominion University to offer a four-year Bachelors of Science degree in engineering technology.
“The aim of the motorsports program is to develop engineers in a broad sense that are capable of influencing the racing industry as a whole,” said NCI’s Fred Lopez, a engineering technology instructor. “(It's) not specific to NASCAR obviously, but to develop professionals capable of understanding, developing and creating products instrumental in the future growth of the sport world-wide.”
While the majority of NCI’s lectures are delivered on-site, the facility also offers lectures via video-conferencing. Along with instruction inside the classroom, the institute offers laboratory practice through partnerships with Virginia International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway, according to the school’s Web site. The program also allows students use of a driving simulator, vehicle dynamics rig, chassis dynanometer, and engine instrumentation laboratories in Danville, the Langley Full-Scale Wind Tunnel operated by ODU, and the facilities of VMTC.
For those of a younger generation looking for an education intimately involved with motorsports, Carlisle School, a private institution in Martinsville, offers The Academy of Motorsports.
Geared toward high-school students, the program works in conjunction with PHCC, ODU and Virginia Tech, as well as Virginia International Raceway, South Boston Speedway and the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research to provide a complex degree of classes ranging from driver instruction to the fundamentals of engine fabrication, according to the school’s Web site.
TIPS TO TAKE WITH YOU
While each of these opportunities offers important skills, one of the most valuable tools available for securing a career cannot be found in the classroom.
“I know from my past experience hiring people, I look at people’s commitment,” said Hensley. “I’ve actually hired people more so for their commitment to what they’re doing than I have been for their ability. At this level, you’ve got to be able to want to do whatever it takes, and if you don’t have that whatever-it-takes attitude, it’s hard to go.”
Allan White, a current employee of Kevin Harvick Racing and a PHCC motorsports alum, shared a similar sentiment.
“If it’s going to local tracks on Saturday night, dirt tracks, and scraping mud off the car, do it. That’s where kids get their breaks. You never know who’s watching, and it could always lead to something,” he said. “That’ll get you further than anything.”
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