Thursday marked the debut of the World of Outlaws and Hershey’s Sprint Car Experience.
The event took place in Hersheypark Stadium, which was originally constructed as a speedway.
The stadium field was lined with sprint cars as thousands of spectators flocked to Chocolatetown. It was an opportunity to shed light on racing’s profound origins in Central Pennsylvania.
Before becoming Hersheypark Stadium, Milton S. Hershey constructed Hershey Stadium Speedway for racing 84 years ago.
The event featured World of Outlaw and Pennsylvania Posse driver meet-and-greets, access to antique and race cars, transporter excursions, and a celebration of Hershey Stadium Speedway’s anniversary.
Fans and students were able to view sprint vehicles up close and meet their drivers.
Brock Zearfoss, World of Outlaws driver No. 3Z (Jonestown), remarked, “It’s always a pleasure to come here and spend time with the kids, just to see the joy on their faces.”
Before the ceremony, pupils from Milton Hershey Middle School displayed their work. Some of the renegade drivers were shown what the students in the internal combustion engine class have been working on while learning something new.
“It was incredible. Seventh-grader Kevin Collier from Milton Hershey remarked, “One cool thing I learned about racing is that the engines in sprint cars cannot be started by simply pressing a button.”
“They opened their eyes. Providing them with various options. Scott Cordner, a Career in Tech Education instructor at Milton Hershey, remarked, “Small gas engines are one thing, but they may not have been aware of the various pit crew jobs.”
This is the second year that illegal drivers have visited classrooms.
Both Zearfoss and Carson Macedo, driver of the No. 41 car in the World of Outlaws (Jason Johnson Racing), aim to encourage students to consider their career options.
“Even if you can only interest one child in motorsports or automobiles in general, that’s one more. Zearfoss remarked that all of the students in the class were engaged in hands-on activities and seemed to appreciate the subject matter.
“Give them another option to consider to demonstrate that anything is conceivable. [They may believe] “I can go outside, attend school, and perhaps become an engineer.” Come back, work for one of these racing organizations, and perhaps one day you can become a driver. “They are merely pursuing their hopes and dreams,” said Macedo. “Many people have seen or been around it, and fortunately, it’s abundant in central Pennsylvania.”
Who knows, perhaps the next crew commander or engine constructor is in that classroom.
On Saturday, some Milton Hershey students will assist a few teams in the pits at Williams Grove Speedway.
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