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WELCOME TO PERFORMANCE INSTRUCTION & TRAINING (PIT)
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Red Bull Racing Team Takes Championship
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Congratulations to the Red Bull Racing Team #83 pit crew for winning the 2008 Pit Crew Challenge sponsored by Craftsman. Red Bull Racing Team utilizes PIT as home base and athletes from a variety of different sports. Several Pit Crew U / PIT program graduates are members of the team including Aaron Shields (FTCa), Jake Brzowzski (RTCa), Andrew Turner (J),
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PIT Students and Staff Participate in Charity Run
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Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) students and staff teamed up with the Red Horse Racing pit crew to raise money through a 5K run to benefit Starfish Academy, a local summer literacy camp serving first and second grade students. Thanks to the group's hard work, campers will be able to attend at no cost to their families. Pit Crew U 57 graduate Desi Olson came in first place for her age group, as did Red Horse Racing front tire changer Steven Tautges, a graduate of Pit Crew U 53.
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Pit Crew U Graduate Receives Championship Ring
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Pit Crew U class 57 graduate Gregory Eclarin (middle) receives his 2007 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship ring for the winning season he spent working with Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 60 car driven by Carl Edwards. Eclarin was apart of NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity program, for which Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) is the official pit crew training partner. Eclarin is pictured with team owner Jack Roush (right) and the team’s Chief Diversity Officer Sam Belnavis.
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PIT Hosts Students Learning about Motorsports Careers
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To some kids — and many grown-ups — a job in the racing industry would be a dream come true. PIT, along with Petty Enterprises, Club Fx, and NTI is making an effort to show local students at an early age what it takes to snag a job in one. On a recent tour organized by the NCMA and IE2, CMS students took a peek into the world of motorsports.
Visit the Press Archive to read the Navigator and NCMS stories in their entirety.
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USAF Maintenance Operations Supported By PIT
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Colonel Robert A. Hopkins Jr., 20th Maintenance Group Commander at Shaw AFB discusses maintenance processes of the F-16 Fighter Wing with PIT team members Amanda Fowler and Breon Klopp, who was the guest speaker for the evening award banquet.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety.
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Support NASCAR Day 2008 at PIT
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Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) is again supporting The NASCAR Foundation and its associated charities by celebrating NASCAR Day 2008 on May 16th.
Visit PIT at any time, watch professional pit crew teams practice, make a $5 donation to help others, and you recieve your collectable 5th Anniversary pin.
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ESPN Films Segment at PIT
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ESPN’s “Over The Wall” filmed on pit road at Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) to shed light on the various size of race track pit boxes and the effect on the pit crew’s operation and safety. Tire changer D.J. Copp of Petty Enterprises hosts the series.
Visit ESPN to watch the segment.
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Past PIT Crewmember Receives USAF Maintenance Award
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Brig. Gen. Burt Field, the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing commander, recognizes Senior Airman Arthur Zimbelman as the Tuskegee Airman of the Week. Zimbelman, a Maintenance Group tactical aircraft maintenance specialist, was selected from more than 8,000 Airmen in the 332nd AEW.
The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing is the most forward deployed Air Force Wing in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety or visit the Tuskegee Airman of the Week site for additional information about the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing in Iraq.
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JGR and RBRT Crews Face Off at PIT
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The NASCAR® Sprint Cup Series pit crews of Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Red Bull Racing Team (RBRT) faced off at the Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) facility to get fully prepared for the first pit stops of the season. JGR drivers Kyle Busch and Joey Logano got in their own practice as they drove for the live pit stops.
For many of the teams’ pit crew athletes, practicing at PIT was like home court advantage as RBRT employees eight PIT program graduates and Gibbs touts four on their Cup Series pit crews.
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Chaplin's Kyle Hardwick has Pit Crew Aspirations
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“My Dad and I came down here to check out some schools . . . ,” recalled Kyle. “Just for the fun of it, on the day we checked out that school we stopped at the PIT [Performance Instruction & Training facility] in Mooresville. After talking to a bunch of people and researching it on-line, we found out that PIT was the way to go.”
...After eight weeks of classroom and hands-on training as a member of the Pit Crew U's 61st class of graduates, Kyle Hardwick is now one of a select few driven young men who are members of the PIT's 5 Off 5 On Race Team Performance program.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story by Mike Sypher, Sports Editor for Willimantic Chronicle.
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Harlequin Author Visits PIT
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Author Michele Dunaway took time during to visit Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) for a view "behind the wall". She has sold over 15 novels to Harlequin and her works have been translated into French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Japanese among others.
Dunaway's most recent book in the Harlequin NASCAR series is "Hart's Victory" and is available online at Harlequin as well as in several retail stores.
Her daughter was able to ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr. a question during a recent appearance and from his answer (and the event itself) the idea for "Hart's Victory" was born.
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Teambuilding Book Highlights PIT Concepts
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Author John N. Peragine, Jr. and Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. have released a new business management book entitled "365 Low or Now Cost Workplace Teambuilding Activities" that is available online through both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Readers will find the thoughts and comments regarding teambuilding from a range of professions including several from Performace Instruction & Training (PIT) regarding pit crew activities and how teambuilding is applied utilizing professional over-the-wall motorsports.
Visit the Read Excerpt page within Amazon.com for sample pages of the book.
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Groveton's Chris Reynolds Signs with Red Bull Racing
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As motorsports teams and fans prepare for the 2008 NASCAR season, the citizens of Groveton, N.H. will have another reason to tune into the races.
Groveton native Christopher Reynolds has signed a contract with Red Bull Racing Team to serve as a tire changer on their developmental pit crew.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety or visit the Coos County Democrat.
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Pit Crew Concept Gets Re-Tooled
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The pit crew athletes of Red Bull Racing Team (RBRT) perform live stops outside Performance Instruction & Training’s (PIT) facility in preparation for the upcoming season. RBRT utilizes PIT for daily practices and is the first motorsports team to make pit crew responsibilities a full-time position and really prepare the crew members as professional athletes.
To read more about RBRT’s innovative spin on pit crew training and PIT’s involvement from providing training facilities to skilled athletes visit the Press Archive.
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Teachers In the Pits
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Twenty four teachers from across the state have been touring motorsports shops this week learning how to incorporate motorsports technology into their math and science lessons. Their seminar is through the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching and is called "NASCAR: Science on the Track".
Visit the Press Archive to read the entire Charlotte Observer story and visit ThatsRacing.com online to view a slideshow and a video. An additional article by the Lake Norman Navigator is available in the Press Archive.
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Port City Native Seizes Chance with Roush-Fenway
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Justin Terry never saw this life coming, not in 18 years growing up in Wilmington, not in four subsequent years pursuing a criminal justice degree at UNC-Wilmington.
But a pit pass at Daytona International Speedway changed all that.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety or visit Star News Online to view the article.
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Morin Leads Hendrick Pit Crews
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Greg Morin, Director of Motorsports at PIT, has accepted the position of Pit Crew Coordinator at Hendrick Motorsports for the #48 and #24 teams. Morin was previously responsible for leading the Pit Crew U and 5 OFF 5 ON Race Team Performance programs.
Other PIT team members accepting coaching positions at the highest levels in motorsports include Patrick Bernall (Athletic Training Concepts), Andrew Carter (Roush Fenway Racing), Robert Johnson (Roush Fenway Racing), Greg Miller (Team Red Bull), Mike Mitchell (BAM Racing), Lance Munksgard (Chip Ganassi Racing), Bobby Nicely (Hendrick Motorsports), Terry Spalding (Petty Enterprises), and Andy Ward (Yates Racing).
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Mitchell Adkins Graduates Pit Crew U
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Like many of his peers, 2007 Rock Hill High School graduate Mitchell Adkins headed off for some higher education when he finished high school. But it wasn't at Clemson, the University of South Carolina, Winthrop University or York Tech. Adkins went to school to learn NASCAR.
Visit the Press Archive to read the entire story and visit the Rock Hill Herald to see associated video.
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Driving Your Workforce
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The Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show held in Orlando, Florida in early December offered attendees a seminar sponsored by the NC Department of Commerce entitled "Driving Your Workforce". Breon Klopp, Sr. Director of Development at PIT and other panelists provided useful tips for managing workforce issues and highlighted the statewide resources North Carolina and the Centralina WDB offer to the industry.
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Running Down a Dream
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Growing up in Cedarville, Samuel Kincaid never really thought about living down south. He also never thought he’d have the chance to become part of a NASCAR pit crew.
The 21-year-old Kincaid has taken care of the first part, moving to Mooresville, N.C., less than a year ago. He’s now aiming to achieve his ultimate goal -- to make it onto a professional pit crew.
“Teams do pay attention to Pit Crew U,” Kincaid said. “If you do a good enough job, you will get noticed eventually.”
Visit the Press Archives to read the story in its entirety.
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PIT Honored as Finalist for Small Business of the Year Award
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Staff, family, friends, and clients gathered to celebrate Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) as a finalist for Business North Carolina magazine’s 2007 Small Business of the Year Awards in Raleigh N.C. PalletOne, the nation's largest new pallet manufacturing company, nominated PIT for the award after participating in PIT’s Lean Performance U program, which focuses on process improvement.
Visit the Press Archives to read Business North Carolina’s feature about PIT in their December issue.
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Harder Chasing His Dream
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All the king's horsepower and all the king's men, Oak Harbor's Brandon Harder wants more than anything to be one who helps put it all together as best he can.
In fact, Harder dreams of going over the wall -- as part of a motor sports pit crew, that is.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety.
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Book Featuring PIT Now Available
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"Treasures of North Carolina" is available just in time for holiday gift giving. The 265 page, full color, hard cover book features hundreds of beautiful and interesting places to visit including Performance Instruction & Training (PIT)! Click the logo for online ordering or visit PIT to get your copy today!
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PIT's Annual Blood Drive a Success
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Over 25 donors signed up to give blood at Performance Instruction & Training’s annual holiday blood drive, well surpassing the goal of 20 participants. Each of the 17 units of blood the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas collected at PIT will save or maintain three lives.
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PIT Seeking State Licensure for Pit Crew Training Program
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Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) has submitted a preliminary application to the Office of Proprietary School Licensing for licensure through the North Carolina Board of Community Colleges to insure students receive quality training and opportunities through a well-established and reputable program.
PIT supports the North Carolina Community College System and its mission to open the door to high-quality, accessible educational opportunities that minimize barriers to post-secondary education, maximize student success, develop a globally and multi-culturally competent workforce, and improve the lives and well-being of individuals.
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PIT Finalist for NCMA Award
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PIT Instruction & Training is one of three finalists for the North Carolina Motorsports Association (NCMA) Trade School Education award. Richard Petty will receive the organization's Achievement in Motorsports Tribute Award at the banquet. Tickets are available through the NCMA.
Individuals completing PIT's "Pit Crew U" program are employed by many of motorsports' top teams and have received individual Nextel All Star Pit Crew Challenge awards and team championships as well as series championships in ARCA and NASCAR.
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Book Features PIT as Expert Source
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Brian Tarcy is author of the new book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to NASCAR". The book is available online now Amazon.com.
Tarcy requested assistance from Performance Instruction & Training (PIT) staff on chapters related to over the wall pit crew performance and how pit crews have changed in recent years.
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Manufacturing Juice Boxes to Tightening Lug Nuts
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When Blue Ridge Paper decided to implement Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) to maximize their process efforts just a year ago, they wanted to do so in a way that would be effective and stimulating to their employees. Since implementation of TPM with the assistance of PIT, several Blue Ridge Paper locations have seen production increases of 20 percent or more.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety.
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Conference Attendees Learn to Win
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For the second year, PIT Instruction & Training provided a sample of its award winning experiential training program for attendees of the Learning 2007 conference at Disney in Orlando. A group from Farmers Insurance posted the fastest time of the conference by changing two tires in just over 18 seconds. The team received a nice gift from Elliott Masie, the conference organizer and learning expert.
PIT was the receipient of the Elliott Masie Learning Consortium 2006 Learning Leadership Award.
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Charlotte Pipe Makes Annual Visit to PIT
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The plumbers that use Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company’s materials are the people to call in the case of plumbing woes – and now flat tires, too. For three years, Charlotte Pipe has run a promotion for the end-users of their products, plumbers around the nation. Based on six months of sales data, winners are flown into Charlotte for the fall race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and a real NASCAR education.
Before the weekend’s race, Charlotte Pipe treats the winners to a tour of their manufacturing facility and a variety of racing related events, like that at PIT Instruction and Training in Mooresville. While at PIT, motor sports’ leading pit crew training facility, participants learned about the function of the modern pit crew, then were able to experience the different positions themselves.
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Mechanix Wear Hosts Pit Crew Challenge
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Before the October 13 NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, PIT Instruction & Training was a part of the Mechanix Wear tent in the Lowe's hospitality area.
After the participants got some coaching from trained pit crew members, they raced the clock to tighten lug nuts on the right and left sides of a stock car using professional nitrogen-run air wrenches and walked away with a pair of Mechanix Wear gloves.
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PIT Hosts Youth Council
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More than 70 high school students representing Youth Advisory Councils across North Carolina gathered at PIT Instruction & Training on September 22 to learn more about leadership and teamwork through PIT’s own brand of experiential teaching and learning.
The event was part of a state-wide conference hosted by the Town of Mooresville and Erskine Smith, assistant town manager and youth council advisor. Youth Advisory Councils are the state's student ambassadors that meet monthly to speak about community issues that affect their peers and provide various community services.
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PIT Teams with Penske for Alltel My Circle 500
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On May 26, 2007, PIT Instruction & Training teamed with Penske Racing and Alltel in a pit crew championship and go-kart race with No. 12 Alltel Dodge driver Ryan Newman for the conclusion of the Alltel My Circle 500 Contest. Joan Goldsberry and her Circle of 10 friends completed two days of qualifying and competiton and to win the My Circle 500 grand prize money.
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Pit Crew U Enrolling for Success
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Stock Car Racing Magazine again featured PIT Instruction & Training with a story and tips on how you can land job in motor sports.
PIT Instruction & Training received significant mention for the success of participants in it's Pit Crew U training program including a picture of the ARCA Series 2006 Champion Frank Kimmel and his pit crew trained and coordinated by Coach Greg Morin at PIT Instruction & Training.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety.
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Learning Program Receives Award for Innovation and Leadership
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PIT Instruction & Training is the 2006 recipient of the Learning Innovation Award from The MASIE Center and Learning CONSORTIUM for its experiential learning program relating success in high-level motor sports to successful performance in businesses and industries.
Visit the Press Archive to read a related Press Release and a Transcript of the award presentation.
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PIT to Appear on Reality TV with Barenaked Lady
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Ed Robertson, founding member of the Barenaked Ladies, had no idea what he'd gotten himself into when he flew his Cessna pontoon plane from Canada, landed on Lake Norman and visited PIT Instruction & Training.
Ed and his production crew were in Mooresville to film a segment of Ed's UP! adventure reality show. The segment is scheduled to air when the new fall television season begins.
Visit the Press Archive to read articles.
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Visiting Author's Book Available at PIT
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Author Neal Thompson has visited and written about PIT Instruction & Training. His book Driving with the Devil goes deeper to bring you the excitement, passions, crime, and death-defying feats of the wild, early days that NASCAR has carefully hidden from public view. Neal's most recent book, Hurricane Season, is scheduled to become an HBO film in 2008.
Purchase your copy of Driving with the Devil by visiting PIT Instruction & Training on visit Neal's website.
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Pit Crew U Participant Driving His Way to Success
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Adam Edwards completed PIT Instruction & Training's Pit Crew U program and worked for a variety of corporate programs at PIT including the National Pit Crew Championship Powered by Tyson.
In just a few short years, has compiled quite a resume of activities and titles. He was featured by Virginia Tech Magazine and recently served as "crew chief" for author Sharyn McCrumb while writing her new book Once Around the Track.
Visit the Press Archive to read the Virginia Tech feature in its entirety.
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Discount Tire Also Improving Off the Track
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Discount Tire Company is a large national corporation utilizing PIT Instruction & Training Lean performance programs to improve efficiency, communication, and quality. Discount Tire Company recently visited PIT Instruction & Training in Race City USA. The event was capture by photographer Chris Keane and several pictures can be viewed or purchased at the SmugMug photo-share website.
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School Receives National Award for NASCAR Program
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Congratulations to Grier Middle School for winning a 2007 Time Warner Cable National Award. The Speedweek Unit created by Beth Suber after studying NASCAR and physics won one of only 15 national awards. This award and $5,000 was presented in Washington, DC on June 5th.
Ms. Suber is also Gaston County Schools 2007 Teacher of the Year.
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PIT Plays Role in Celebrity Reality TV Show
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John Elway, Superbowl MVP, won the Fast Cars & Superstars celebrity driver competition shot at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. PIT Instruction & Training providing a variety of staff, equipment, and consulting support.
Visit Gillette Young Guns for details.
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Jostens Discovers more than Just Race Cars
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Jostens Yearbook Division held a workshop for more than 200 high school students and their yearbook advisors at PIT on April 26th & 27th.
The "Racing to Success" Workshop provided information on creating and designing yearbooks with high quality under tight deadlines . . . a printshop pit stop!
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Local Team Captures National Prize
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Congratulations to Lake Norman High School students Evan Martin and Kyle Wishlinski their 4th Place finish in the Ford / AAA Student Auto Skills national competition held in Dearborn, Michigan. Their instructor is Martin Page. The regional competition was held at PIT Instruction & Training for the fifth year.
Read the story and view event video at Charlotte.com or visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety.
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Television Commercials and Movies Find Home at PIT
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PIT provides equipment, cars, pit crew members, coaching expertise, and its facilities for movies, commercials, and television segments including Gillette Young Guns Fast Cars Superstars television show, the hit movie Talladega Nights , a stage show in Hollywood for the movie CARS, and commercials for Breyers Klondike Bar with Kasey Kahne and Goodyear Racing Wet Tire Shine with Tommy Baldwin and Larry McReynolds.
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PIT Continues as Official Program Partner for Drive for Diversity
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The Drive for Diversity Crew Member Development selected its 2007 participants to receive over-the-wall training from PIT that will ensure each has the skills necessary to successfully compete with teams in NASCAR’s national series.
Visit the Press Archive to read the story in its entirety.
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Leno's Ross the Intern Travels to Race City USA
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The Tonight Show with Jay Leno sent Ross Matthews ("Ross the Intern"), to Race City USA for a a very funny segment of "Ross the Intern Goes to Pit Crew School" taped at PIT Istruction & Training.
Ross spent a day training with actual crew members at PIT and eventually made the big time as the sign board holder for the Robert Yates Racing #90 Citi Financial Ford in the NASCAR Busch series during the fall race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
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Drive for Diversity Receives Feature Story
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Charlotte Observer editor Joe Marusak and photographer David T. Foster III visited PIT Instruction & Training during a recent PIT CREW U class that has several Drive For Diversity recruits.
Visit Press Archive for the print version of this story.
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GMA Invites PIT to Showcase Program in the Big Apple
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PIT appeared on ABC Good Morning America to discuss its award winning Lean / team building program.
Visit GMA Weekend Edition or visit Press Archive for the print version of this story.
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