UNOH Students Get Involved with Internships at Dirt Track World Championship

Posted on Friday, October 14, 2022

UNOH Students who interned at the Dirt Track World Championships

Written by Contributing Columnist Chance Holley

The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series held it’s final and biggest event of the 2022 season this past weekend, and many hard working UNOH students received the opportunity of a lifetime interning for some of the best Dirt Late Model teams on the planet. The students selected to participate in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Internship program traveled to the Dirt Track World Championships in Portsmouth, Ohio for the series’ largest and final race of the season.

Ten College of Applied Technologies students representing nine different states had the chance to learn from the best minds in the dirt racing world. Jeb Bender (Bloomington, IL), Parker Surratt (Wilimington, NC), Dylan Murray (Halls, TN), Dylan Henkins (Waynesburg, PA), Darian Siebert (Bloomington, IN), Spencer Gottschling (Elyria, OH), Jacob Riess (Independence, KY), Hunter Bailey (Bloomington, IN), Jamie Sullivan (Christmas, FL) and Ashtin Slizewski (Three Lakes, WI) were paired with top running Lucas Oil Late Model teams as they attempted to win Saturday night’s $100,000 top prize.  The students gained valuable real-world experience helping the teams prepare the cars for the weekend’s races.

“Participating in the LOLMDS internship and learning from Ross Robinson has made me learn and grow as a student and a racing mechanic” said Ashtin Slizewski, who has interned for Robinson 8 times this year. “Interning for Ross has allowed me to put the skills I’ve learned at UNOH to the test, and I know that the connections I have made will benefit me as I graduate and move on to my career in the high-performance industry.”

An additional five students from UNOH’s newly launched Motorsports Marketing Bachelor’s degree program worked with Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials during the event. Dixon Smith (Dripping Springs, TX), Chloe Holman (Essex, MO), Shelby Rushin (Naugatuck, CT), Kaleb Haden (Harpers Ferry, WV), and Hailey McFarland (Bangor, PA) received an exclusive behind the scenes tour with LOLMDS officials and assisted UNOH staff in representing the University at the event and on social media.

UNOH alumni were well represented at the event, with recent graduates Mason Bevard, DJ Williams, and Bryce Nichols returning to the Buckeye state to fulfill their duties as full-time traveling crew members for LOLMDS teams. Williams, who wrenches for defending race winner Ricky Thornton Jr in the SSI Motorsports #20RT, expressed his optimism heading into the race. “It’s a great feeling to be heading back to Ohio and the Dirt Track World Championship. This team has had success here in the past, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it in 2022.  I got my start as a crew member in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series through the UNOH internship, and it’s amazing to think about how I’ve made lifelong dreams into reality over just a few years. I think it’s great that the students participating are getting the same head start I got in the industry, and I’m sure I’ll be working with some of them on the tour in the future. Your career is what you make of it in the racing world, and these students have given themselves a huge head start towards turning their passions into careers just like I did.”

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

Keywords: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, Internship, Motorsports