OAKWOOD - Motorsports Vehicle Tech students are getting some real 'hands on' experience with Richard Petty Driving Experience cars at Lanier Technical College.
One of those students is Heather Bowen, who wants to learn about engine management and tuning.
"You see these things on TV and thousands of people are watching them, then they come into this shop and you get to work on them. That's a pretty cool experience," she said.
Mechanical Operations Director For Richard Petty, Paul Corner, said he's preparing the students for internship at his shop in Charlotte, N.C.
"The majority of them will come to us and intern in our shop for three months at a time," Corner said. "By me coming down here and putting them through the basic procedures, it saves my team having to spend time when they come to Charlotte."
"They're more prepared for what they're going to have to do when they get to us, they're less intimidated when they get up there and they pretty much hit the ground running."
Corner is one of the co-founders of the Richard Petty Driving Experience. The company offers race fans the opportunity to drive or ride in an authentic NASCAR car at 27 racetracks across the country and maintains five mechanical operations sites to take care of their 130 cars. This will be their sixth year of doing this training at Lanier Technical College.
Lanier Tech has had more than 60 interns work for the Richard Petty Driving Experience and is now entering an apprenticeship program to supply more technicians. This will evolve into a direct path for Lanier Tech graduates to get jobs working for teams in the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.
Lanier Tech Motorsports Technology instructor Bud Hughes said his students have moved on to major organizations and racing events.
"This past year we had five of our guys working with teams at Daytona full time," Hughes said.
Thursday
October 17th, 2024
9:21AM
