Mike Hanson earned a college scholarship by working with a race team during his 2008 summer vacation.

Prior to graduation from New Glarus High School, the sophomore will get the chance to stack more money onto his initial $25,000 scholarship over the next three summers as a student crew member with the ASA Educational Series.

During the inaugural year of the program, officials distributed nearly $200,000 in scholarships to 12 Wisconsin students who were paired with area teams competing at Madison International Speedway in the Town of Rutland. Hanson was one of five students who received $25,000 awards.

Hanson learned about the series when its founder, Peter Raskovic, talked to students at a 4-H meeting. With aspirations in pursuing an engineering or automotive-related career, the 15-year-old said he has gained valuable experience by being a crew member on Zack Riddle’s race team.

“I’m thrilled to get the chance to do hands-on work,” said Hanson, who plays football and baseball at New Glarus. “I wanted to learn the basics of the car and see how teams strategize stuff on race day. I had never been around a team before and it was really fun.”

Students can put scholarship money toward tuition at Ohio Technical College, a school in Cleveland that offers instruction in automotive, diesel, collision repair, high performance and racing programs.

Randy Dziadowicz, Midwest regional manager for Ohio Tech, said the school has committed $2 million through a five-year partnership with MIS and the ASA Educational Series, including $400,000 in scholarships that will be awarded later this summer. Tuition costs at Ohio Tech range from $18,400 to $27,000, depending on the program, and scholarship awards for students won’t exceed the maximum cost of the full ride for any program.

Raskovic and MIS general manager Dave Grueneberg expect enrollment for the series to triple in size to almost 36 students in 2009. All students in the program are required to pay a $200 application fee, must commit to working at least one day per week in the race shop, and also be at the track to help the team on race days.

Each student is guaranteed a $1,500 scholarship for participating as a crew member or driver in any of the track’s five competitive divisions, and obtains points during the season based on how his or her team performs in 10 races.

Riddle, a Brooklyn native and 2007 Oregon High School graduate, finished sixth in the super late model division at MIS in 2008.

Riddle enjoys doing custom vinyling on cars and is taking graphic courses at Madison Area Technical College and Blackhawk Technical College to further that pursuit. He admits being a bit jealous of Hanson’s award, but said he is happy to help someone earn money for college tuition.

Several duties Hanson did for the team included operating jack stands, pulling tires off, fueling and cleaning cars, and assisting with set-ups. According to Riddle, one of Hanson’s jobs this season will be to learn the finer points of tire measurement, which requires an emphasis on math skills.

“What impressed me most was just his ability to learn as fast as he did,” Riddle said. “I was really proud for him and the award made him motivated.

“I think he would have been motivated whether the scholarship was there or not, but it really rewarded his hard work.”
Executives from Florida-based ASA offices were so impressed with the early success of the educational series, that they’re looking at implementing variations of the program at 39 other member tracks.

Dennis Huth, president of ASA, said putting the proper infrastructure in place to elevate the series to the national level will take time. He said introducing youth to auto racing and possible careers in the sport and automotive industry are the ultimate objectives of the series.

“What Madison has done is help move this program further and faster just by the planning that’s gone into it,” Huth said. “It took off on its own.

“This is a lifestyle. This is something that’s going to impact people not just because it’s a race car, it’s going to impact them because it has more to do with the family aspect. And that’s what motorsports has always stood for and what it has always been involved in.”

Nick Jungenberg, another $25,000 scholarship winner, already has enrolled to take classes at Ohio Technical College and plans a move to Cleveland in August.

The Sun Prairie High School senior has always enjoyed tinkering with cars, built his own four-wheeler from the ground up and helped Nate Haseleu clinch the 2008 super late model championship. Besides learning race strategies and working in the pits for Haseleu’s team, Jungenberg got the opportunity to meet NASCAR stars Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch when they raced at MIS last season.

Jungenberg said earning a scholarship was an emotional occasion for his family. Series officials called parents ahead of time to divulge scholarship amounts, but the students didn’t find out the award total until the night of the ceremony.

Jungenberg anticipates enrolling in a high performance and racing program at Ohio Tech and said he is eager to pursue his career goals.

“I don’t know how I would have paid for school and getting the scholarship was a real shock,” Jungenberg said. “It was a great moment for me. My parents are really proud that I got the scholarship and really proud to see me succeed in something that I like to do.”