Traverse City, Mich., November 21, 2024 – The Hagerty Drivers Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving automotive culture and history, announced today its partnership with the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) and its “Students Preserving American Racing Knowledge” (SPARK) initiative.

SPARK offers high school, trade school and college-aged students a gateway to exciting careers in motorsports via mentoring programs, at-track experience initiatives and opening the door for internships with leading organizations, all the while, documenting and preserving the rich motorsports heritage of the U.S. Whatever their career goal – technical, medical, marketing, or logistics, team and track operations, event planning and more, SPARK ensures that the students that participate have a competitive edge that best equips them for life and drives their future success.

The Hagerty Drivers Foundation education grant will fund student experiences in real-world applications and provide experiential learning.

“Motorsports captures the attention and interest of many young people but too often they are not aware of the career opportunities that exist. The Hagerty Drivers Foundation, through its educational grant to SPARK will provide young adults with hands-on training that provides a path to employment and help document automotive heritage. The preservation of automotive culture and documenting our motoring past are key initiatives of the Hagerty Drivers Foundation. We are excited to further this work with the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and look forward to the positive impact this funding will have for these young students,” said Casey Maxon, Senior Manager of Heritage, Hagerty Drivers Foundation.

Images: SPARK Photos

Just a few of the initiatives undertaken this year by the MSHFA for the program included SPARK student Parker Rossman, then a Senior at North Florida University in Jacksonville, embedding 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 well over 24 hours of non-stop competition.

Meanwhile, Hall of Fame Executive Board Member and former IMSA President Scott Atherton toured the Rolex 24 paddock with SPARK student Nolan Lappin. Through SPARK’s mentorship programs, Atherton has been serving as a more than well qualified adviser for Lappin, who was a Junior at Stetson University this year.

“In 2019 we had the dream for our future generations. We called it Students Preserving American Racing Knowledge, or SPARK. The goal with SPARK is to have a hand in the society we create. We want to help shape education on many levels, bring back trades, and preserve American motorsports racing history. We are thrilled to have the Hagerty Drivers Foundation join us to help fund these opportunities to provide the next generation access to this vibrant and important field,” said Christi Edelbrock, MSHFA Board Member.

About Hagerty Drivers Foundation

The Hagerty Drivers Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit launched in 2021 by Hagerty. With the purpose of shaping the future of car culture while celebrating our automotive past, the Hagerty Drivers Foundation provides scholarships for students in the automotive field of education, as well as students seeking formal driver education training. In addition, the Foundation continues to build a federally recognized program – the National Historic Vehicle Register – that documents and records the important history of our shared automotive past.

Please visit https:///driversfoundation.org/

About Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum

The MSHFA is the only hall that honors all major American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, airplanes, off road and powerboats. Its mission is to celebrate and instill the American motorsports values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition. Founded by Larry G. Ciancio and led by first President Ronald A. Watson, it held its first induction in 1989. Watson spent the next 30 years tirelessly building it into the nation’s premier such hall until his passing in 2019. Originally based in Novi, Mich., it relocated to Daytona Beach, Fla., in 2016 and greets close to 150,000 guests a year in its museum. MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation, Inc.

Please visit https://www.mshf.com/

Media Contacts:

Steve Keyes

skeyes@revolutionworld.com, (248) 952-7022

Andrew Heller

aheller@hagerty.com, (231) 632-1583

Adam Saal – Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

saalgoodpr@gmail.com, (321) 890-2848

Source: Hagerty Drivers Foundation

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