WXYZ — When Belle Isle turns into one of the more scenic venues on the Indy Car circuit, all eyes turn to the excitement that auto racing provides, the sights and sounds are special, especially to young people.
“Using motor sports as the magnet that bring kids to STEM education is huge and the potential opportunities that that brings,” NXG Instructor Matthew Maxey said.
Anyone who has gotten behind a wheel of a car has some sense of how it works, and that’s exactly what the NXG program is designed to do for kids to introduce them to racing, and the science and technology behind it.
“Bringing the program to Detroit was a logical step, we thought this was a way to expose young people to new opportunities and careers that they may not have thought about connecting to motor sports,” NXG Co-Founder Ron Reid said.
The two day pilot program will take 20 minority students from Detroit and teach them the basics of the science behind auto racing, showing them first hand the intricacies of what makes these cars go, and then paying off their work with the fun part, driving, all the while giving kids like Ethan Kent the opportunity to see a new sport, or career, that could help them in the future.
“What excites me the most is getting to put on the race suit and getting in the race cars. Getting the experience that I never really thought to get because I never really was informed with cars and stuff, so this event will help me,” 13-year old Kent said.
“These are people that probably had no connection to our industry or even the racing world before this. 2,000 people have been exposed to the program since Rod’s inception, that’s amazing and we want to make that happen in Detroit,” President of Penske Corporation Bud Denker added.
If you’re interest in signing your child up, you can get more information by clicking here.
