Florida High School Students Meet UNOH Motorsports Team

Posted on Friday, February 07, 2025

Students from Dewitt Taylor Middle-High School meet with UNOH students at Volusia Speedway Park

Written by Contributing Columnist Hannah Kelsheimer

Just hours after the UNOH Motorsports Team’s Feature win at Volusia Speedway Park, the Team welcomed a bus of local high school students to the track to introduce them to the world of professional motorsports.

On Wednesday, February 5th, more than 30 students from Dewitt Taylor Middle-High School were introduced to UNOH students and staff as well as professionals working at Volusia Speedway Park. During their visit, students got to hear personal experiences from UNOH students and graduates, walk through the sprint car and modified pits and learn about everything that makes a race team tick. Sponsorship, marketing, social media, engine fabrication, tire preparation, transportation and even driving race cars were among topics of exploration.

“This motorsports marketing thing could be a potential career for me now,” one female high school student told UNOH. “I didn’t even know this work existed before today.”

The students were treated to an inside look at the UNOH Motorsports Team’s operations in the pit area. They were able to watch an engine specialist start a race car and talk about the engine, learn about the differences between the front and back ends of a car, see the process for creating Team social media posts and even practice carrying tires.

“It was awesome seeing high school kids interested in what we do,” Team tire specialist Jack Stoneman said after the experience. “I had students asking me great questions like, ‘what’s with the colored tape on the tires?’ or why we run different compounds, with ‘how are the tires different?’. It’s awesome to know someone can be so interested in something as simple as our tires.”

The students and Team also got to hear from owner of Motorsports Team partner Longhorn Chassis. The company’s owner, Steve Arpin discussed his entrepreneurship and passion for racing. He encouraged the high school and college students to work hard and chase their passions, finding a career path that speaks to them.

The UNOH Motorsports Team’s UMP Modifieds will be at Volusia Speedway Park for three more nights of races, all leading up to the Big Gator Championship on Saturday night. These races will continue to be broadcast on the DIRTVision streaming service app and YouTube channel. Racers Station on the UNOH campus will continue to stream every race. All UNOH students are welcome to come on by and support their fellow classmates every night at 5:30 p.m.

Be sure to follow the Motorsports Team on social media for real-time updates, photos and videos from the track and all kinds of student-led content from the Team’s media crew.

Facebook: UNOH Motorsports Team

Instagram: @unohmotorsportsteam

Category: Applied Technologies, Campus & Community

Keywords: Motorsports, Volusia