Students get inside look at industry with Bayne, McDowell appearances
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MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Leavine Family Racing hosted the first annual CAMP 95 summer camp program for high school students with a specific interest in the NASCAR industry on Tuesday.
A total of 19 high school students traveled from all over the country inlcuding Kentucky, Georgia, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Florida for this one-day event in which they got to explore the many careers available in the industry, from engineering and building NASCAR race cars to marketing and sponsorship roles.
This one-day camp included a shop tour of Roush Yates Engines, advice from LFR team members and a question-and-answer session with NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, Trevor Bayne (of Roush Fenway Racing) and Michael McDowell (of Leavine Family Racing).
Bayne and McDowell shared how their careers with NASCAR began, the struggles they faced, and offered valuable tips for these high school students. The pair stated the difficulty of becoming a driver but recognized the many other career paths within the sport itself.
“There are a lot of opportunities in our sport,” Bayne told the students, “It’s very important to know what direction you want to go, there’s a lot of opportunity.”
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McDowell encouraged the kids to persevere and to not be discouraged with unsuccessful moments, something he had to do early on in his career after troubles finding sponsors.
“You’re going to hear a lot of nos throughout your life. That’s alright and you embrace that and keep moving forward. You want to make sure you use the nos as motivation.”
One of the camp attendees, Casey Kirwan of Matthews, North Carolina, enjoyed the opportunity to speak with NASCAR insiders and learned even more about the sport he’s been “a fan of since the age of 4.”
Kirwan, whose favorite driver is Tony Stewart, says he “wants to be a crew chief or working on the cars in some form when he’s older.” And he said the best piece of advice he got from the day was from Bayne.
The No. 6 driver told the campers, “You never know who you are talking to and it’s important to treat everyone well. You just have to be yourself to every person you meet. And have integrity.”
LFR has plans to make this event even bigger in years to come.
“Camp 95 is the first camp of its kind, and the reception it got from the NASCAR community has been tremendous,” said Jeremy Lange, Vice President of Leavine Family Racing. “The team definitely foresees growing it into an annual event and expanding it to include even more speakers and opportunities.”