School opens minority kids' eyes to sport of NASCAR

Serfredrick Hill grew up in a house where the only sport on TV was football and baseball.

A black teen from Washington, D.C., Hill and his family never rushed out to buy the latest Jeff Gordon die-cast and the thought of going to a NASCAR race never crossed their minds.

Serfredrick Hill and Elliott Sadler

That was until about a year ago when Hill was handed a flyer about the Urban Youth Racing School.

Today, the 16-year-old's knowledge of the sport rivals that of a NASCAR official.

He can spout off facts such as when NASCAR was founded, who founded it and the most important aspects that keep the sport growing.

"Sponsors, that's one of them," Hill said "There are five: media, fans, concessions, but sponsors are the most important."

Spoken like a future team owner, Hill was one of a dozen students from the UYRS on a NASCAR-style field trip Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., receiving a hands-on look into potential careers in the sport.

The group's trip, funded by Allstate, began at the NASCAR Technical Institute.

From there, the group traveled to Evernham Motorsports, where the students, ranging in ages eight to 18, interviewed driver Elliott Sadler. Last, the trip ended at Lowe's Motor Speedway and the students were treated to rides around the track in a stock car along with a conversation with Ginn Racing's development driver Jesus Hernandez, who is also a spokesman for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program.

Despite ongoing efforts to increase the minority presence in NASCAR, the sport still only has a handful of female, black or Hispanic drivers. Fernandez, a native of Fresno, Calif., who began racing when he was 16, said he would like to see that change.

"I think it would help if these kids had someone to talk to about the sport," he said. "When I came up, I didn't have anyone to ask questions to. We had to figure things out on our own."

So before the UYRS students suited up for their stock car rides, Fernandez fielded questions from the group that ranged from, "how fast do you go?" to "how much do you make?"

All legitimate; the questions are part of the students' 10-week curriculum that explains the various aspects of the motorsports industry, namely NASCAR, and how to find a career that best suits their interests albeit a driver, engineer or team owner.

Each year, the program enrolls about 50 students at no cost to them and is in addition to their state-mandated education requirements in the traditional classroom. The UYRS typically meets on Saturdays.

Since the schools inception in 1998, which originated in Philadelphia, the school has impacted over 1,500 at-risk inner city students though academics and incentive and reward-based training.

In recent years, Phyllis Berry Myers, director of operations for the UYRS, said dozens of students have found apprenticeships and employment with NASCAR teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing in North Carolina.

In June for the race at Dover International Speedway, Tyrone Crossland Jr., 14, of Washington, D.C., was afforded the opportunity to shadow Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan, who pilots the No. 77 Chevrolet.

"I had to keep an eye on results, how they change tires and learned how to jack up the car," said Crossland, who aspires to be a racecar driver but first plans to finish school and go on to college. "I don't know what my plan will be but it's nice to know about racing."

For Serfredrick Hill, he said the UYRS program has given him more confidence to try new things.

"I love the sport now and I'm glad I know more about it," Hill said, who through his grades in the program hopes to win an opportunity to race in a Legends car next season.

After finding success in Philly, UYRS opened a second school in September of 2006 in Washington, D.C., and plans to expand in the next 10 years.

For that to happen, the school needs a sponsor such as Allstate to provide the funding necessary to keep the school operating.

This initiative helps further Allstate's efforts to promote diversity within NASCAR while providing these students with an exclusive opportunity to learn about the intricacies of the motorsports industry.

"We see the need to educate youth on NASCAR and the different areas they can be involved with and it's not just being a driver," said Stacey Zipse, sponsorship marketer for Allstate. "By providing experiences like the field trip, we can show them the different options and encourage them to learn more."