Studying NASCAR coming soon to a college near you

Certainly NASCAR is a get your hands dirty, crawl under the hood type sport, but added technology and increasing advancements is demanding higher levels of education for its players.

And while NASCAR's CEO Brian France would like to "get back to the basics" of the sport, change is inevitable amidst growth and a diverse talent pool.

Paul Harraka

Team owners now expect their engineers and crew chiefs to come with college degrees, and a number of universities across the country now offer motorsports as a major paired with NASCAR-specific curriculum. Soon Ryan Newman won't be the only college graduate on the track.

Paul Harraka, the 18-year-old Jersey boy recently selected to join NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program, is on his way to Duke in the fall. Harraka was accepted under the school's early decision program. Raised to value academics and competition, Harraka said he plans to use his education to further his racing career by obtaining a mechanical engineering degree with a minor in business marketing.

"Nearly every major Cup team today has at least 20 engineers, those who understand the car best will do the best; Ray Evernham told me that," Harraka said. "And drivers need to increase their marketability any way they can and education is attractive for big companies."

Before NASCAR driver Ryan Newman could race in the Cup Series, he promised both his father and team owner Roger Penske he would get his degree. He did, which makes him the only college graduate on the track right now.

"My dad specifically, always said that you're going to get your education before you go full-time racing, period," Newman said. "The second person that was highly involved with that was Roger Penske. He wanted me to have my diploma before we started racing and racing hard. That makes a big difference."

Now 30 years old, Newman paid his way through Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind., and said the education has helped him to manage his time more effectively and has made him a better problem solver.

While more drivers are taking a second look at education, universities and colleges are meeting the demands with NASCAR curriculum and degrees.

"It shows the influence NASCAR has on education," Newman said. "Just for the benefit of NASCAR and the affect we have on kids and high-school students, instead of saying, 'I want to go to NASCAR,' I want them to say, 'I want to get an education then go to NASCAR.' I think that would be nice."

The powers that be at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte fully support that statement.

Last spring, the institution launched a new American Studies class that focuses primarily on the history and culture of NASCAR from its inception to it current state as the country's most popular form of motorsports; "Motorsports in the South: A Southern Tradition" (Continued)