© Team Penske Brad Keselowski honors graduates as Universal Technical Institute paves way for NASCAR dreams

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While the lengths of classes vary, students can complete most programs at UTI in one year or less. New classes start every three to six weeks, meaning incoming students aren’t forced to wait a full semester before they are able to enroll into the next round of courses, compared to traditional four-year and two-year schools. With accelerated courses and revolving enrollment, UTI also allows students to finish school and go right to work, speeding up the process of obtaining a job shortly after graduation by partnering closely with industry and employers and placing four out of five graduates in their particular field of study.

Scan0001John Dodson, brother of the late crew chief Barry Dodson who helped lead Rusty Wallace to his lone NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1989, serves as the Vice President of Business Alliances & NASCAR at NASCAR Technical Institute. While brother Barry led on the pit box, John was a tire changer and a fabricator on the title-winning team.

John Dodson used his 25 years of NASCAR competition experience from 1977-2002 to transition to helping younger generations learn how to be successful in the industry. He has been with NASCAR Tech since the school‘s inception in 2002.

Admittedly, Dodson said he has received more joy from assisting students achieve their dream careers than when he was living the NASCAR dream for himself.

“I never thought I would be in the education and workforce development business, but I love it,” Dodson told NASCAR.com. “… Racing and education are two different worlds in a way, but it‘s great to see students train for exciting and fulfilling careers.”

When it comes to teaching students how to succeed in the challenging industry, Dodson reflected on his younger years when he earned his first job in the sport, noting it took six years before anyone on the team even asked for his opinion.

RELATED: Virtual tours of NASCAR Technical Institute

The first person to do so just happened to be championship-winning team owner Rick Hendrick while working with Dodson’s brother at a spoiler test. It was at that moment when Dodson had an epiphany, one he carries with him to this day and passes along to his students.

“I realized that life happens in stages for these students and graduates,” Dodson said. “You‘re grinding and learning in your 20s, you‘re getting to provide more input in your 30s and in the 40s you‘re becoming the boss.

“I have really tough conversations with these young people when they graduate,” Dodson added. “… It‘s kind of jokingly, but it really means a lot to go in with your ears open and your mouth shut. I give that speech to all of them. … You‘re going to have to show them what you can do, don‘t talk your way into anything. Work hard, grind and the sky is the limit in this industry.”

Dodson noted that 2019 served as a banner year for the institute‘s spec engine program as NASCAR Tech student-built power units won three of the 12 races on the K&N Pro Series East schedule, as well as six pole awards with two different drivers. Drivers who were victorious with NASCAR Tech engines included a pair of wins with Chase Cabre at Memphis International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway and then Max McLaughlin at Watkins Glen International.

At Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the NASCAR Modified Division, student-built engines recorded seven feature wins, plus the track championship with driver Burt Myers.

Along with the engine-building courses, NASCAR Tech also offers a variety of other courses based on student interest, including chassis applications, pit crew, finish fabrication, chassis fabrication, advanced fabrication and aerodynamics and CNC machining.

“Every week in every series, we have NASCAR Tech graduates on every team,” Dodson said. “We go to Victory Lane every single time NASCAR drops the checkered flag with our graduates. That is exciting.”

Team Penske currently has graduates working on pit crews for Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney at NASCAR‘s highest level.

“Universal Technical Institute graduates have the skills to deliver for our organization, which is why we rely on UTI to help us identify new talent,” team owner Roger Penske said. “UTI has not only helped us win on the race track, its graduates work throughout our organization. This special paint scheme is a great way to recognize the recent graduates of UTI and celebrate our partnership. We look forward to honoring the UTI graduates on the No. 2 car in Texas next weekend.”

Additionally, Team Penske‘s NASCAR entries have been powered by the mighty FR9 Roush Yates Ford engines since 2013, and Roush Yates Engines have hired more than 115 UTI graduates since NASCAR Tech opened its doors.

Not only are graduates earning jobs in the NASCAR realm, but Keselowski is also tapping into the UTI talent pool for his own company, Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing, located in Statesville, North Carolina.

To give you an idea of the confidence Keselowski has in UTI‘s NASCAR program, Dodson noted Keselowski most recently called him in February while down at Daytona International Speedway preparing for the Daytona 500 to inquire about potential graduates to fill a position. After offering a recommendation, Keselowski approached Dodson at the drivers‘ meeting before the Daytona 500 to tell him the company hired the recommended graduate on the spot and praised the graduate’s work.

“(Keselowski) knows that he could not have his facility here in North Carolina without the right workforce,” Dodson said. “It‘s really cool when you get a call from Brad Keselowski saying I‘m depending on you guys, we need the right kind of guys up here. He wants the all-star graduates, he gets them and he pays them well. Their future‘s bright. I think that‘s quite a testament when a NASCAR champion is contacting you for their own trained talent.

“It‘s also really important that when we send our employer partners these graduates, they‘re getting thoroughbreds,” Dodson added. “They‘re getting what we say we‘re going to deliver, because without that, then the phone quits ringing. … It‘s important to us that these great kids keep coming here so we can continue to feed the industry well-trained winning talent.”

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