Drag racing is becoming a powerful learning tool in classrooms across the United States?thanks to the innovative programs offered by the National Hod Rod Association (NHRA) Youth and Education Services (Y.E.S.), in conjunction with the U.S. Army.
The NHRA (
www.nhra.com) is the world?s largest motorsports sanctioning body with a roster of 85,000 members, 144 member tracks, 35,000 licensed competitors and more than 4,000 member-track events. Nearly two million spectators annually attend NHRA national events, and an additional 200 million watch NHRA competition on television.
As the only full-time educational program in the world of motorsports, the Y.E.S. program consists of 22 events along the NHRA national race schedule.
The effort assists teachers and students in determining a course to help young people achieve their long-term career goals through career opportunities fairs, "Education Day at the Track" programs, Tracknology Academy lessons and activities, Raceway Activities for Curriculum Enrichment (R.A.C.E.), "Careers at the Starting Line" video and lesson packet, and other track site and classroom programs.
According to Tom Tiernan, chief, Event Marketing and Promotions, U.S. Army Accessions Command, approximately 50,000 students (from middle schools up through two-year colleges) now participate in the Y.E.S. program annually. The Army became involved with Y.E.S. in 2000, helping to expand the program through a successful partnership with the NHRA.
"Y.E.S. is the key component in the Army?s involvement with the NHRA," says Tiernan. "We believe in investing back in American youth. We care about our country?s future and how we can help shape it. This program plants a seed, telling students: ?Here are some opportunities out there and some ways you can get started in a career.?"
One of the things that students learn is how the U.S. Army can offer a pathway into mechanics and other such related careers.
Y.E.S. began in 1989 with a career opportunities fair (COF) for high school students at Pomona Raceway Fairplex in Pomona, California. According to Don Runyon, drafting teacher at Cleveland High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the program has been very important to his students over the past 13 years, and he has witnessed many benefits as a result of their involvement.
"This is really a beautiful tool to capture the minds of young people. You can literally see the excitement in students? eyes," says Runyon. He notes that he has probably taken 400 to 500 students to Y.E.S. over the years.
"It?s wonderful that there is an organization willing to spend the time and effort to let students learn about careers, willing to give so much back in this way. If every organization?large and small?was doing an outreach program like the NHRA, education would be very different today," says Runyon.
The COF is a cornerstone of the program, providing high school students with the opportunity to explore a variety of career options in the automotive, marketing and communications fields as they relate to the motorsports industry. They attend seminars, view pit and manufacturer midway displays and take tours.
According to Clarke Stephens, currently an educational administrator in Los Angeles and a former auto shop instructor, it is a big advantage for students to learn about different opportunities in the motorsports industry. "They discover there is much more than just the mechanic who works on the car and the driver. Students who may not know what they want to do in a career can suddenly connect to something, such as racing, that they are interested in."
In addition to career opportunities fairs, the Y.E.S. Program has been very successful in giving students an introduction to motorsports while connecting drag racing?s scientific, mathematical and social concepts to classroom subjects.
Education Day at the Track (EDATT) is a race-day field trip for kindergarten through college level students. This program is available on Thursday or Friday at 20 NHRA national events. Classrooms participating in the EDATT program receive an initial education day lesson and activity packet, plus a copy of the "Careers at the Starting Line" video with a suggested lesson plan for use at the track and in the classroom. Many teachers choose to implement such lessons into math, science, English, technology, business and social studies classes.
According to Kelly Kostamo, educational coordinator in Aluchua County, Florida, teachers can use the lessons "to help students tie something interesting and exciting to something they do at school." For example, students may visit the race and then learn journalism and communications skills by writing an article about it.
Racing a "power-belt dragster" is a hands-on activity in the Tracknology Academy program for elementary and middle school level students. This classroom program is popular with math, science and technology teachers who supplement subject matter learning about motion, force, acceleration, aerodynamics, power and other lesson topics related to those subjects. The participating students enjoy the excitement of constructing and painting their own model dragster and racing it on a special NHRA Y.E.S. track.
Raceway Activities for Curriculum Enrichment (R.A.C.E.) is a program designed for elementary and middle school students at select NHRA national events. Participating classes attend an Education Day at the Track program where the students are divided into cooperative learning teams and given a series of problems and questions to solve. Using a variety of resources and learned skills, the students tour the pits and manufacturer midway to find solutions to the problems. Guest speakers, a raceway scavenger hunt, and other activities highlight the student?s experience at the track.
The Y.E.S. program at times includes many different competitions, including contests where students take apart a portion of an engine in a team or create a T-shirt design for the event, as well as photography and video contests.
In addition, students in Runyon?s drafting class "take the program to a whole other level" by helping to do logistics for the event. These students are learning leadership and teamwork skills through their involvement in organizing and seating the 4,000 to 5,000 attendees in Pomona. They brief the attending students on rules and regulations, coordinate lunch distribution and perform a variety of other organizational tasks.
"It?s a layer of education generally not taught in high schools," says Runyon. "And it?s a great opportunity for these students to get invaluable real-life experience." As with many other teachers who are involved, he is filled with positive comments about the Y.E.S. program and what it has meant for his students.
Army Chief Tiernan notes that the enthusiastic support of teachers is the reason that Y.E.S. works.
"I think we?ve generated excitement with a program that meets the needs of teachers. They find it valuable, and that?s what allows the program to grow like it has."
In addition to the NHRA and the U.S. Army, the Y.E.S. program is sponsored by Scholastic, Skills USA-VICA, FFA, Job Corps, Lincoln Tech and Babcox.
The Army also sponsors Tony Schumacher?s Top Fuel dragster, and often provides opportunities for area high school students to get an up-close look at the 6,000 horsepower machine. The Army provides an exciting experience for event attendees through interactive displays at each NHRA national event, including a U.S. Army recruiting center, complete with a rock-climbing wall.
ACTE hosted Army/Y.E.S. representatives at the 2002 Convention and Career Tech Expo in Las Vegas, featuring the climbing wall and dragster.
Sandy Cutshall is a regular contributor to
Techniques. She works as a writer/editor in Mountain View, California, where she also teaches adults English as a second language.
