Hagerty Drivers Foundation Sparks Student Engagement in Motorsports

As part of its mission to preserve automotive culture and history, the Hagerty Drivers Foundation has partnered with the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) and its “Students Preserving American Racing Knowledge” (SPARK) initiative.

“This new partnership will help us use the excitement of motorsports to capture the attention and imagination of many young people,” noted Casey Maxon, Senior Manager of Heritage, Hagerty Drivers. “Too often, young people are not aware of potential career opportunities in the automotive space.”

SPARK serves as a gateway for high school, trade school, and college-aged students to discover careers in motorsports via mentoring programs, and at-track experiences. It opens the door for internships with leading organizations while documenting and preserving the rich motorsports heritage in the U.S. Whatever the career goal is of participating students—technical, medical, marketing, logistics, team and track operations, event planning, or otherwise, SPARK ensures that the students have a competitive edge that best equips them for life and drives their future success.  

SPARK student Parker Rossman’s experience exemplified the program’s objectives. Rossman, then a senior at North Florida University in Jacksonville, embedded with Lone Star Racing at January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. Rossman was primarily assigned to assist the team’s tire specialist and learned a great deal about what it takes to literally keep a modern-day GT3 racing machine—and himself—rolling for 24 hours of non-stop competition. It’s this kind of experience, and the ability to help young people interested in the automotive world, that drove the partnership between the Hagerty Drivers Foundation and the MSHFA.

“We are excited to further this work with the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America,” said Maxon. “We look forward to the positive impact this funding will provide.”