Student earns $10K in NASCAR’s competition

6+November+2016+-++Chevy+press+conference+during+the+NASCAR+Sprint+Cup+Series+AAA+Texas+500+Sprint+Cup+Series+race+at+Texas+Motor+Speedway.+%28HHP%2FGregg+Ellman%29

HAROLD HINSON PHOTOGRAPHY

6 November 2016 – Chevy press conference during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. (HHP/Gregg Ellman)

James Whitley, Co-Editor

An AACC student won $10,000 scholarship from NASCAR on Nov. 6, which she used to transfer to James Madison University.

Rachael Frost, an engineering major, won the first-place prize from NASCAR’s Diversity Scholarship. Frost was able to explain the physics of drafting in her video submission.

Drafting is a tactic in which two or more cars are used to achieve a speed faster than one can go by itself.

Frost is attending James Madison University to get her engineering degree.

Frost said winning this scholarship meant a lot, given what she has gone through.

“It has been a complete struggle,” Frost said. “My dad died in high school and my mom moved to Pennsylvania
… so getting this scholarship is absolutely incredible. It pays for almost a full semester.”

Frost said she grew up watching NASCAR.

“My family always had it on in the background,” Frost said. “Jimmie Johnson is my lifelong favorite.”

Jimmie Johnson is a NASCAR driver for Hendrick’s Motorsports.

Frost said she didn’t want to be an engineer at first.

“My mom is an engineer,” Frost said. “She’s always wanted me to be one, too, since I’m good at math
and science.”

Director of NASCAR’s Multicultural Development Dawn Harris said the company started the scholarships in
a joint initiative with Chevrolet.

“Chevrolet is one of NASCAR’s official partners,” Harris said. “They have a portion of the sponsorship
that is targeted toward our multicultural development department. So we used those funds to create the
NASCAR and Chevrolet Diversity Scholarship to focus on students taking [science, technology, engineering and math] based classes.”

Harris also said the goal of this scholarship is to show it’s not just mechanical engineers behind the scenes at NASCAR.

“There are literally hundreds of STEM-based applications that exsist in our sport,” Harris said. “Another
reason was to get students to think about how their particular area of study can be applicable in a career in motorsports.”

Frost said she hopes to apply to NASCAR’s internship program next summer. When Frost gets her degree, she said she wants to combine engineering and ministry in some way as she pursues her career.