May 31, 2013 - K&N Engineering Invests in Education of Nation’s Top Technicians
Victory Lane is the most sacred place in racing. Cameras capture drivers celebrating atop their cars, doing backflips and spraying ice cold beverages high into the air. Team owners are elated, giving interviews and praising the driver, sponsors and crew chief for a job well done. The people you don’t see are the hardworking men and women who have been in the garage all week twisting wrenches, running diagnostics and cranking up the drill to make sure the car is primed for Race Sunday.
Among this group of talented and devoted individuals is a collection of NASCAR Technical Institute students (NASCAR Tech) who are doing things way ahead of their time and helping win races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, thanks to the help of K&N Engineering.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East has been around for more than 20 years and serves as the sport’s top developmental series. Before the 2010 season, K&N Engineering came on as the title sponsor for both the East and West series after agreeing on a seven-year sponsorship contract.
In addition to being the title sponsor, K&N Engineering is also a proponent of NASCAR Tech’s Spec-Engine Program. In 2008, the campus rolled out the program to award students with excellent grades, attendance and professionalism scores the opportunity to join forces with race teams and work on the engines that rev each Sunday. It has only grown since then. About 100 students per year participate in the program, all of which have earned the honor to be there. The criteria includes excellent attendance and professionalism scores, as well as a GPA average of 3.8 or better.
K&N is working diligently to outfit what is now called the Spec-Engine Room at NASCAR Tech in full K&N brand fashion, as well as provide the campus with the first-class filters for the engines that make NASCAR the most popular sport in America.
Not only is K&N doing their part from a branding perspective, but they are looking to make an impact on the education side, as well.
“Our goal is to be imbedded in the facility itself when it comes to curriculum,” said Tony Yorkman, sports marketing manager for K&N Engineering. “K&N’s education program works with Universal Technical Institute (UTI) to educate students and instructors on K&N products and benefits.”
NASCAR Tech has a long standing tradition of turning out some of the sport’s best technicians and pit crew members, which makes this partnership a natural fit. Already, the Spec-Engine Program is surpassing expectations.
When asked if he saw the success coming at such rapid clip, Yorkman said, “No, I didn’t. But when you start to look at the sheer numbers and caliber of teams running engines produced at NASCAR Tech, it’s incredible. Looking back, there are proven results in NASCAR Tech’s testing, so those results were destined to translate to the track.”
On any given weekend during this year’s K&N Pro Series East schedule, spectators and opposing teams will see up to seven student-built engines.
In 2012, a sixth–place finish by then rookie, Kyle Larson, at Rockingham Speedway (Rockingham, N.C.) locked up the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship, all while running student-built engines. The victory marked the first NASCAR touring championship for Rev Racing and NASCAR's Drive for Diversity initiative.
Just this April, Ryan Gifford, driver of the No. 2 Sunoco NASCAR Tech Toyota, took the checkered flag at the BLUE OX 100 at Richmond International Speedway.
While championships and series race victories are always something to celebrate, K&N is continually looking ahead to grow the relationship and help educate NASCAR Tech students and instructors.
“We want people to be aware that K&N is invested in the students who might one day be running this company,” said Yorkman.
For more information about K&N Engineering, please visit: www.knfilters.com. For more information on what it takes to succeed in your next career, please visit: www.uti.edu/partners/nascar, and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook.
