This entry, the first in a series, was submitted by AAA’s Christie Hyde who accompanied the winners on their job-shadowing trip

BACKGROUND:  Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills is a nationwide automotive technology competition for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers as automotive service technicians. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the competition that tests students’ automotive knowledge, workmanship and problem-solving abilities with a written test as well as a race against the clock to diagnose and properly repair intentionally “bugged” vehicles. Each state sent its best two-person team to Dearborn, Michigan, in June to compete in the National Finals, and rising seniors Justin Dwyer and Matthew Ludwig from Fairbault, Minn., took the national title, led by their instructor Mark Lessman.   In addition to winning substantial scholarships and prizes, DeWALT Tools gave the national champs the opportunity to spend a week job shadowing DAYTONA 500-winning crew chief Drew Blickensderfer and the No. 17 DeWALT team at Roush Fenway Racing. This week, the Justin, Matt and Mark will work side-by-side with the team during testing, in the race shop and at Pocono Speedway during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pennsylvania 500.

Monday, July 27, 2009:  Concord, North Carolina
The trio arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina and we drove slightly north to Concord. Most crew members that travel to the races get Monday off work since they’ve worked through the weekend, so we got to take in a few of the sites around the Concord area.

After a late-afternoon check-in to the Springhill Suites by Marriott Charlotte Concord Mills/Speedway, our first stop was Lowes Motor Speedway—home of the Coca-Cola 600 and NASCAR All-Star Race. As we walked up to the main entrance, we came across a racing walk of fame with the hand prints, footprints and signatures of numerous racing legends immortalized in concrete. As they tried to step into the legends shoe prints, Justin and Matt discovered something — most great race car drivers have small feet.

Although the Speedway offers daily tours, we unfortunately were too late for the final one that departs at 3:30 p.m. each day. However, the Speedway gift shop was fun to peruse through as it offers an extensive variety of motorsports gear sporting the name of just about every driver on the circuit. The Speedway also leaves one of the grandstands open on the front stretch until 5 p.m., so we were able sneak a peek inside the 1.5-mile track that seats 167,000 people and has room for an additional 50,000 in the infield. We saw teams getting ready for the Summer Shootout Series, which the tracks holds each Tuesday night from June 9 to August 11 featuring Legends Car and Bandolero racing as well as other special attractions such as school bus racing (that was to special race the following night). With tickets only $7, we all agreed it could be fun to come back the next evening if we weren’t too tired after our first day with the team.

We also drove down the street to check out the new zMAX Dragway, a one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art, four-lane drag strip located beside the Speedway. While didn’t have an opportunity to get inside, just seeing the outside of what’s been called the ‘Bellagio’ of drag strips was impressive.

Our final stop was just a few miles down a few country roads where we found Hendrick Motorsports. In addition to a large museum filled with race cars and displays of the team’s decades of racing achievements, it also gives fans the opportunity to see the race shops of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin and peer in while the teams prepare for the upcoming race. It’s not uncommon to spot one of the famous drivers checking in with their team on how their vehicle prep is coming along.

As our day drew to an end, we dined at Razzoo’s Cajun Café for dinner—a small restaurant chain entirely based in Texas except for its Concord location. The fun and unique menu allowed Justin to taste both gator and crawfish tail for the first time. 

Tomorrow:  First day at work.