Race car driver exposes Pepin Academy students to world of possibilities

TAMPA, Fla. – Pepin Academy students with a need for speed get first-hand experience with race cars thanks to a special partnership.

When Steve Conti, an auto shop instructor at Pepin Academy needed a trailer he reached out to Right Trailers, not knowing it would be the beginning of a big partnership.  

The president of Right Trailers is a second-generation race car driver, and not just any little race car, but a National Hot Rod Association dragster driver.

“When I was growing up, people would come by and bring race cars to my auto program, I was right there,” said Conti, and he invited Michael Scott, the president of Right Trailers to bring his NHRA Dragsters to the school for some show-and-tell.

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Scott agreed, “We saw it as an opportunity to share some knowledge. We have over 30 race cars that we sponsor in NHRA.”

Conti saw the relationship as a means of exposing his students to more possibilities.

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“I want them to get the knowledge from the outside world for what they can do; the world is open,” he explained.

Scott brought his personal race car and another one his daughter uses on the junior circuit to Pepin Academy. His father also competes in NHRA, so sharing the family story came naturally.

“There’s so much going on before racing,” stated Scott. “We all learn responsibility, not only because of competitiveness but also in safety. Social responsibility is a big thing, as is sportsmanship. There’s a lot of sportsmanship there’s a lot of camaraderie.”

Conti knows from his own experience that seeing and touching race cars can give students a vision of all the possibilities out there in the science, math and engineering sides of the automobile industry.

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“The trades are coming back,” he said of his classes. “We’re looking at getting the kids ESE certifications. It’s a great opportunity, they are getting their feet wet.”

For Scott, visits like this are a bit like casting a vision of his passion.

“These sports are fast,” he pointed out. “There’s a lot that goes into it that makes it that fast, but you want to be safe while doing so.”

“Some of the common questions we get asked is ‘How fast does the car go?’ This one… goes up to 220 miles per hour,” he shared of his personal dragster. “So you’re accelerating from zero to 225 in about 6 seconds. It’s a lot of acceleration you feel a lot of G forces.”

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For Conti’s students, those questions are often a sign of the new ideas and ideas of inspiration beginning.

“We need people out there to do all of this like mechanics,” admitted Conti, but in the end, he said, “It’s all about the students. I wish we could get more schools to do this for the students.”

LINK: Click here to learn more about the Auto Shop Instruction available at Pepin Academy.

LINK: To learn more about Right Trailers and Michael Scott’s business that supports his racing dream, visit https://www.righttrailers.com/