Rising High School Students Selected to Participate in Motorsports Institute

Twenty-four rising high school juniors and seniors with backgrounds in high levels of science and math have been awarded a unique opportunity to participate in a week-long motorsports camp.  The Motorsports Institute Summer Camp is hosted by The North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA), in partnership with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers-Education Foundation (SME-EF).  The camp will be held June 15-19 at Central Piedmont Community College and Charlotte area motorsports facilities.  Curriculum and camp management will be conducted by Ten80Education’s Fast Track RC team.   

Applications were received by students from several schools in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  The students’ experience will not be a typical classroom environment.  Using remote control RC Cars students will learn in a challenging hands-on environment that will teach the correlation of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) as it relates to Motorsports and Manufacturing.     

Working in teams, students will be challenged to design and manufacture some of the parts for the RC Car as well as solve various problems associated with manufacturing, design and engineering in a competitive racing environment.  In addition, students will interact with industry professionals and experience real motorsports facilities such as NASCAR Sprint Cup team - Stewart-Haas Racing, Legends Car Manufacturer - 600-Racing, a wind tunnel at - Windshear and NASCAR Sprint Cup powerhouse - Hendrick Motorsports.  The camp will conclude June 19 with a competition held inside the Hendrick Motorsports Team Center.  Family members of the campers, students, educators, media and public officials are invited to attend the final day event and can contact the NCMA for further information.         

In addition to SME-EF, NCMA and Ten80Education, several companies have pledged support to make the camp possible.  Donatos will provide students each day with a complete lunch.  Mechanix Wear has donated safety gloves, Lowe’s donated goggles and Stock Car Steel and Aluminum, the leading provider of metal to the racing industry, has provided metal materials.

For more information or media attendance inquiries contact:
Shawn Stewart – sstewart@motorsportsnc.org, 704.455.5606

About the NCMA:
The North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA) is the voice for the motorsports industry across the state of North Carolina.  The industry provides a 5.9 billion dollar economic impact and over 26,000 jobs to the state.  The NCMA is involved in public policy through work with the North Carolina Legislature and the National Motorsports Coalition; Business development through the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Chambers and Economic Development Groups; Workforce Development which involves educational institutions statewide; the business community and motorsports organizations. The NCMA also provides networking opportunities and industry information and resources to its membership.  The NCMA is the annual host of the North Carolina Motorsports Industry Awards, which recognizes industry businesses, education and leaders for their achievements.    www.MotorsportsNC.org <http://www.MotorsportsNC.org>

About the SME – Education Foundation:
For nearly 30 years the mission of the SME Education Foundation has been to attract and develop the future manufacturing workforce by acquiring and intelligently applying resources to support the advancement of manufacturing education. Through our partnerships with like-minded corporations, organizations, foundations, and individual donors, SME-EF has been able to continue to inspire, support and prepare the next generation of manufacturing engineers and technologists. www.SMEEF.org <http://www.SMEEF.org>