Student Experience Event: COTA SPEED TOUR

Thanks to our partnership with SVRA, students got an up-close look at how a professional racetrack operates. Students toured race control, learned about the track’s marshaling program, and discovered how marshals get started at local events, track days, and amateur races with clubs like SVRA. The event was a fantastic chance to meet race teams and track managers and explore the incredible opportunities in motorsports.

The day kicked off with an inspiring introduction from Driven to Care’s founder, Lisa Weinberger, who shared information about scholarships and career paths in the automotive industry. Students split into groups and met their volunteer Pit Tour Guides, who shared their expertise with students and provided valuable insights.

Each group met with Phil Spano from Esses Racing (Buda, TX) and Bill and Scott Dollahite from Dollahite Racing (Austin, TX). They shared what it takes to work on these amazing cars and why teamwork is so important—on the track, safety is everything! Hearing from industry pros and their teams was both inspiring and eye-opening for students.

Students and instructors also got to check out a simulator (SIMS) trailer arranged by SVRA, watching Formula 4 drivers compete and then trying the simulators themselves—it was a blast! Some even took a spin in Lisa’s Italian military Jeep from post-WWII - a 1952 Alfa Matta Jeep. The fun wasn’t just for the students—Lisa, who was motivated by their cheers, improved her track speed by two seconds!

Special thanks to McPherson College grads:

- Vintage car restoration specialist, David Phillips

- Insurance executive, Ryan Frazier.

McPherson is a premier program that specializes in a variety of professions within the vintage car industry. Learn more about McPherson here: https://www.mcpherson.edu/

Thank you to:

- Tucker Carpenter from Penske Automotive

- Natalie Chapman, a graduate of Austin Community College's Automotive program.

- Les Kiser, known locally as “The Speed Mayor”. Les generously serves as an ambassador for charities and car clubs.

- TechForce for helping promote this event. Learn more about TechForce at www.techforce.org