Story contributed by Trent Schanen
Former Catawba baseball All-Americans Wade Moore (West Rowan) and Ryan Query (A.L. Brown) are recent graduates of the Performance Instruction & Training facility in Mooresville.
They were part of an eight-week program that featured classroom instruction and hands-on-training that included live pit stops.
“Pit Crew U” is a training course for individuals interested in a career in the motorsports industry as an over-the-wall pit crew athlete. In addition to learning pit-stop choreography and each of the six positions on a pit crew, students become proficient in race-day preparation, equipment maintenance and selection and pit road rules and regulations.
Moore, a West Rowan graduate, will be joining PIT’s “5 Off, 5 On” race team performance program, which prepares students for tryouts and placement with professional teams.
“The students have been working hard for eight weeks and their time in Pit Crew U is over, but their career is just beginning,” Bob Plott, PIT’s general manager, said. “Being invited into 5 Off 5 On is an amazing opportunity for them to continue to advance their skills.”
“The newest graduates have a reputation to live up to as Pit Crew U alumni hold positions with championship-winning organizations in all divisions of motorsports,”PIT director of motorsports Adam Merrell said.
The recent graduates join a group of Pit Crew U alumni who, in the 2013 race season alone, were part of 10 championships at every level of NASCAR.