Learning the laws of motion and measuring the center of gravity might not have been so frustrating in college had the teacher come from the University of NASCAR. You could learn about friction and air resistance through drafting class at Talladega Superspeedway followed by Advanced Heat Transfer 101 via your university-issued firesuit.

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I didn't finish high school, because I never understood why I had to learn the things they were teaching.

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DIANDRA LESLIE-PELECKY

Sadly, there is no such institution, but we do have Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, physics professor at the University of Texas at Dallas and author of The Physics of NASCAR.

She and the powers that be at the National Science Foundation have collaborated with NASCAR to create a series of user-friendly videos that teach high-school and college-age students the basic concepts of friction, safety and sound through the functionality of stock cars traveling at speeds up to 200 mph.

Keep in mind these videos aren't your typical after-school special with Bill Nye the Science Guy. The videos, entitled The Science of Speed, go into great detail and are filmed on location inside numerous Sprint Cup Series garages and race shops starring top drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers.

Learning science from a NASCAR driver you watch every Sunday and respect is far more valuable than trying to memorize formulas from a text book, believes Vickers, who is an admitted computer geek and techie.

"When schools are able to teach science to students in a way that they enjoy and can relate to it, they'll retain the information. I believe it can help," Vickers said.

Leslie-Pelecky and the NSF hope the videos are an unconventional teaching tool to reach students whose interest in science is waning. They also look to improve the country's science scores among students in grades eight through 12. (Continued)