Studying NASCAR coming soon to a college near you (cont'd)

The university also touts its Motorsports Engineering program and annually awards a four-year Kulwicki Scholarship given in memory of late Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, who lost his life in a plane crash in 1993. Kulwicki, a college grad who was known for carrying a briefcase around the NASCAR garage, was an engineer and a supporter of engineering and science education. The scholarship is presented to a high-school senior who demonstrates outstanding academic achievement and has an affiliation with auto racing.

Rick Hendrick, another proponent of higher education, in May dedicated the Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology at the Central Piedmont Community College's Levine Campus.

But the growth of NASCAR as a major isn't limited to Charlotte.

Other schools in the south and across the country are offering new courses in mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, tire technology and other areas of auto racing.

Old Dominion University in Hampton, Va., recently began offering a motorsports-technology degree as well as the Virginia Motorsports Technology Center in Henry County.

Designed to boost the motorsports industry in Virginia, the state poured $1.2 million into the facility, which is near Martinsville Speedway.

The center will house companies that build racecars and engines and will link with a new advanced motorsports curriculum at Patrick Henry Community College.

Seemingly, long gone are the days of the shade tree mechanic.

The NASCAR Technical Institute receives dozens of applications daily from young men and women who dream of working on one of the premier Cup teams in NASCAR.

Armed with engineering degrees and hands-on experience, they are becoming a team's dream, especially for manufacturers such as Toyota who this season is touting its new, enhanced engineering packages.

Newman said he wished more drivers were engineers and had college educations.

"It would be good for the sport," he said. "I think that the interest mostly lies in the age of drivers. People don't want to wait for kids to be out of college to hire them to drive. I wish that weren't the case. I'm glad that I have my education and I'm glad there are so many engineers in the garage."

Former substitute teacher turned Roush Fenway Racing Cup driver Carl Edwards is two semesters away from earning his degree at the University of Missouri. He agrees the sport should put a premium on education.

"The more you learn the better," Edwards said. "Having the knowledge to access information in this sport is power and schools creating a NASCAR major is amazing. Maybe when I retire I can get a job teaching the classes."