On Sunday October 6, NASCAR hosted the Cup Series Race: YellaWood 500 at the acclaimed and well-known Talladega Superspeedway. And on that trip, fellow students of yours had the opportunity to help and watch the Playoff Race in action! Just for a bit of historical context, the Superspeedway opened in 1969 in Lincoln, Alabama. Seating 80,000 people at the venue, it draws plenty of people every year for races and other events. Drew Avant ’27 was one of the students who went on the trip and could answer a couple of questions about the details of it, what work they did, and his overall experience of the journey to the Superspeedway in Alabama.
Those who went had simple jobs: acting as ushers. That included guiding to seats, answering questions, and, after the race was over, picking up folding chairs. It wasn’t all work and no play for them, though. Once the race started, they essentially had the chance to watch the entire race. Of course, they had to stand around and answer any possible questions. But most were settled in their seats by that time! Avant mentioned it was “very interesting to work in that type of a fun and rowdy atmosphere.” He added that it was an excellent experience since he grew up a NASCAR fan.
However, I don’t feel that you can only do this major if you want to go into sports! Avant recommended the major, but not only to sports people. He said, “Even if you don’t want to go into the sports world but want to do business, you should do it. The major is mostly business classes with a sports side.” After finishing up his work in the Sports Management major, Avant said he hopes to continue his baseball career by coaching baseball (he is currently a first baseman on the team here). In tandem with that, he plans to declare a coaching minor shortly. Though he did not mention anything related to the movie Talladega Nights or Ricky Bobby, it was overall super fun and unique time, according to Drew.