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Lincoln Tech Races to the Next Level

Photo: AllanBrewer

Panther Racing sponsor is driven to excellence in automotive education

Teaming up for Opportunity on the IndyCar Circuit

Every race fan knows a kid who’s plenty bright enough but can’t seem to connect to the constricting core curriculum on a college campus. Or maybe it’s a co-worker or friend, dreading the drudgerous demands of his current day-job, who lunges at a race ticket like it’s golden salvation.

Perhaps it’s time for them to consider an evergreen alternative to traditional diploma and degree, and look into career training specific to a much-in-demand trade…like working in the motorsports industry for an auto racing team.

If it sounds enticing Panther Racing principle John Barnes has a place he can recommend to you. A graduate of Indianapolis’ decades-old Lincoln Tech program, and the youngest chief mechanic ever to participate in the Indianapolis 500, Barnes appeared Saturday to speak to visitors assembled for an “Open House” at the school.

“I feel like more young students should utilize what the school has to offer so they can explore the opportunities there are in motorsports, especially right here in Indianapolis,” he says as he stands aside the bright orange and black Revive Panther Racing IndyCar in the lobby of the “Performance Area”.

LincolnTech.com: The Tools and Training for High-Tech Trades

LincolnTechRacing Panther Sponsor Paces Career Preparation

Lincoln Tech Institute began operations in downtown Indianapolis during the post-war education boom fueled by the returning veterans of the second World War. Now working through its sixth decade of high-tech training, the school features over one hundred thousand feet of advanced automotive diagnostic and training equipment in a modern suburban facility on Indy’s race-oriented northwest side. Within steps are names known by rote to race fans: Forsythe Racing, Andretti/Green Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, to name just a few.

Pam Sonneborn, Admissions Representative for the Institute, gets right to the point in talking about what the school can do for the right-minded student of auto studies: “Honda and BMW are all over this place looking for people.” With its twenty-seven week long STEP program, BMW offers (with its dealers) an intensive course of instruction that is paid for by the manufacturer and that may lead to permanent employment.

This is not training geared toward esoteria and mind-bending theory. Each of the 43 air-conditioned classrooms features the hands-on tools and devices that make autos in general, and race cars in particular, tick. The fifty-odd work bays in a high-ceilinged work area that mimics the fighter-aircraft maintenance bay of a warship are meticulous and clean, with ample lighting and space to learn in.

With nearly two hundred students on its campus pursuing a “High-Performance” track, the program has the resources and critical mass necessary to foster a truly exceptional training experience.

For example, Panther mechanic Mike Armstrong is only two years removed from receiving a degree in Automotive Service Management at Lincoln Tech, and now he’s turning wrenches on Vitor Meira’s IndyCar series machine.

PantherRacing.com: Taking the Lead With Lincoln Tech Training

“Once I got to Panther I already knew how to use the measuring devices, and the steering and suspension pieces all translated to the IndyCars,” says Armstrong on Panther’s website. “But most importantly, at Lincoln Tech I was diversified in ways of dealing with different people, and that’s been a huge part of my career in racing.”

Of course, it can’t hurt recruiting and job prospects that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is only a few minutes south down Georgetown Road from the school. Originally built as a test-track, and configured in an oval because it was the lengthiest design possible in the rectangular tract of land available, the Speedway joins Lincoln Tech as two home-grown institutions that contribute verity to the oft-repeated mantra that Indianapolis is the capital of international motorsports.

The relationship between team and school also serves well in Barnes’ and Panther Racing’s broader commitment to bringing motorsports opportunity to the community. In May the team announced plans to open this fall a Panther Education Center for middle-school students. In June, they announced a Purdue University partnership program for 2007 that will have student interns participating in all facets of modern racing enterprise, including engineering, mechanics, public relations and marketing, within the team’s Indy Pro Series operation.

With nearly eighteen hundred students total on its roster, the Indianapolis branch of Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is one of fifteen locations nationwide offering instruction for career-oriented youngsters and adults. New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas sites feature course offerings in Automotive Technology, Diesel Technology, Collision Repair, Electronic Systems Technician (EST) and HVAC. Only the Indy location, though, offers the unique “High Performance” option that makes the training possibilities so intriguing.

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