Graduate finds successful career pairing Motorsports and Marketing

Posted on Wednesday, July 14, 2021

UNOH Graduate Andrew Garris

Written by Communications Specialist Georgia Beard

Andrew Garris’ interest in UNOH began when he spotted the university on Motorsports U, a national reality television show on Fox Sports Network. This show followed students on the Motorsports Team around as they raced at Limaland Motorsports Park, Bristol Motor Speedway, and other racing venues. Andrew decided to follow his passion for motorsports from South Carolina to Lima, Ohio.

During his time studying High Performance Motorsports Technology and interning for ARCA teams, Andrew realized that while he loved the hands-on work, he wasn’t sure how long he would be able to do the physical labor in his career. The next step in his education was to transition to the sport marketing program.

Andrew stayed in the motorsports industry following graduation, taking his first job opportunity as a welder. While in this position the opportunity to move into sales and marketing arose, and Andrew took the chance. “I had the degree and the hands-on experience from welding,” Andrew explained. “I could explain the stuff, it made the transition a lot easier because I understood the shop work as well.”

As the Head of Sales and Marketing at PRO-FABriciation Headers and Exhausts, Andrew is currently in control of all social media, building a new website, handling a majority of the sales, and many other responsibilities. “I think the coolest part about where I’m at now is I’m still involved in motorsports,” Andrew stated. “I get to deal with a wide variety of teams, a wide variety of engine builders, and chassis builders. I get to be friends with everybody, and not just tied down to one particular team.”

Not only is Andrew involved with many teams, but he is still able to go to the race track and interact with the teams. Andrew explained, “I’m still involved in the industry, but just as a manufacturer. There’s a lot of jobs out there like that. Every part of these race cars might be built by a race team, but they’re all manufactured somewhere.”

When Andrew was working with ARCA teams throughout college, he made many connections in the racing world. “The connections are huge and especially for our industry, because it is a big industry, but at the same time, it’s tight knit in that everybody knows everybody,” Andrew said. “I would highly recommend UNOH. Whether you’re going for Motorsports, the marketing side, or working on race cars as a technician or fabricator, you’re going to get a wide variety of experience and a little bit of everything. You aren’t limited to just one proficiency or area of expertise.”

Not only does UNOH have the Motorsports and Marketing degrees, but this year the new program, Motorsports Marketing, will begin. This focuses on marketing specifically within the motorsports industry. For more information about Motorsports Marketing, reach out to Admissions at info@unoh.edu or call 419-998-3120.

Category: Applied Technologies, Business, Health, and Occupational Professions

Keywords: Andrew Garris, Motorsports, Marketing