RACE101 Graduation Weekend (Premier Driver)

I had long anticipated the graduation weekend for RACE101 that took place last weekend. With hopes high to win the highly regarded Premier Driver Award my mother Elaine, father Kevin and crew member Dustin began our 14 hour drive south toward race city USA. I spent Thursday and Friday touring NASCAR race shops and taking in all that the motorsports oriented area had to offer. Saturday was of course the big day that all the RACE101 students of 2011 and 2012 had been waiting for. Who would be the next representative for RACE101 and who were the new RACE101 prospects for 2012?

As the evening drew nearer I relaxed and took the time to reflect on my time spent at RACE101 and all the accomplishments I had secured over the 2011 season as a result of the mentorship and knowledge I obtained in the program. I realized very quickly that no matter what the outcome and no matter how the awards were distributed I had already achieved my goals I had set at the beginning of the year.

The ceremony began with wise words from Adam Ross, Annamarie Strawhand and Tony Blanchard, mentors and founders of the RACE101 program. The energy was high in the room as parents and friends eagerly awaited for Adam to announce the graduates and award winners. My parents and I mingled with the Gage family over supper and talked racing for the minutes remaining. By this point my heart was racing and I had a feeling that I may be the one to shake Tony Blanchard's hand and receive the premier driver award. Although there was many other very deserving and hard working students I believed I had the extra edge needed to perform and represent the premier driver position. After a quick introduction of the premier driver award my name followed. " We ask you to please join us in welcoming.... Luke Whitteker." At this point I felt a huge sigh of relief. I did it! I had reached my goals and then some!It still feels a little surreal right now but I am motivated and ready to attack any task and take on the responsibility of being premier driver. I hope I make everyone proud!

I know that the students of RACE101 will go on to represent themselves and there racing careers to great success. They have all the strength and tools to reach any goals that they apply themselves to. As a representative of the RACE101 program and of RACE101 students I believe we are breed of our own and a forced to be reckoned with in the motorsports world. Keep an eye on each and every student!

Please visit www.lukewhitteker.com, http://www.facebook.com/lukewhittekermotorsports, https://twitter.com/#!/lukewhitteker

2012 RACE 101 Awards Gala & Dinner Recorded Broadcast from 2/11/12

 

Watch the entire broadcast from the 2012 RACE 101 Gala Awards Dinner and Graduation Ceremony. Originally streamed LIVE from the LaQuinta Inn and Suites in Hickory, NC on Saturday, February 11th 2012.   The event included the Graduating Class of 2011, plus special awards being presented to students and alumni as well as the naming of the 2012 Premier Driver. Also included is the introduction of the new 2012 class.

RACE 101 Gala and Graduation ceremony just days away; Event to stream live online at www.race101.net

February 7, 2012, DENVER, NC – RACE 101’s inaugural Gala Dinner and Graduation ceremony will be streamed live Saturday night from Hickory, North Carolina. The cybercast can be seen at www.race101.net, and it will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening featuring the announcement of 2011’s graduating class along with special award recipients.

For the first time RACE 101 combined the graduation ceremony with the official introduction of the new class.

“It was important to us to combine a number of celebrations into the same event,” said RACE 101  co-founder and instructor Tony Blanchard. “We are honouring our graduates from last year’s class, but we also plan to introduce significant improvements to our program moving forward, and we wanted to include our new group as well.”

The program’s next Premier Driver will be introduced during Saturday’s Gala, and the faculty admits the decision was tough. One student among the graduating class will be named to compete in the RACE 101 Howe super late model for selected events in 2012.

“We learned that there’s no limit to what our students can achieve,” said co-found Anna Marie Strawhand. “They blew us away with their ambition and their ability to make great things happen. We have high expectations of all our graduates, but only one can be named Premier Driver. I’m confident that we made a great choice, and I’m excited to watch what all of our graduates achieve this year.”

Students from across North America attend RACE 101. It’s a program designed to assist young racers in their areas of need as they progress in the sport. The curriculum is balanced between technical understanding of a race car and its dynamics along with the marketing and media relations skills required to be successful.

“The Premier Driver is something every student wants to win,” said co-founder and instructor Adam Ross. “When you put a group of racers together and create a prize they’re going to compete for it. The Premier Driver is really a tool for us to promote the school, and it’s the best way for us to reward excellence. We believe every graduate should be excited for what lies ahead.”

Along with the Premier Driver title the school will name award winners in the categories of mechanical excellence and  marketing excellence along with a few categories that won’t be announced  until Saturday.

“The awards have great meaning to us,” said Blanchard. “We’re going to recognize some fantastic achievements, and we’re going to announce an initiative to keep our past graduates involved with the program. The knowledge we share is meant to help our racers throughout their careers even though the program is a one-year course.”

To stay informed on RACE 101 and its many students and graduates, visit www.race101.net. For interview requests or specific information, please email pr101@race101.net or adamrossenterprises@gmail.com .

Race 101 2011 Class Graduation Ceremony

Sarah Cornett-Ching Recaps her Year with Race 101
Summerland, BC, February 6th 2012   
    After what seemed like the quickest year ever, the 2011 Race 101 students are now taking the knowledge they have accumulated and putting it to the test on their own. Out of the 15 students in the class one will be chosen as the 2012 Premier Driver at the Graduation Ceremony on Saturday February 11th. For the first time the new class of 2012 will be there to join last years class and be introduced at the end of the Ceremony.

    Everyone is hoping to be named the 2012 Premier Driver and work with Tony Blanchard and the Race 101 house car next year but only one person will take the title.

   " It seems like it was just yesterday I found out I had been accepted into the program and would be making my first trip down to North Carolina, and now it has come time to chose next year's Premier Driver."
    "This past year is a blur, I know I tried my best at every assignment and had great success in my career due to that, but I can only hope it's enough to win the Premier Driver Award." Says the exuberant Cornett-Ching

    Learning something new about nearly every aspect of the race car doesn't even begin to encompass what was taught at the Race 101 shop in Denver, NC last year. After a weekend of classes to actually retain any of the information, vigorously taking notes and re-reading was a must.

   Sarah is proud to be graduating with her fellow students this weekend and has no regrets about her experience at Race 101. She will take everything she has learned with her wherever she races next and she will be able to use it to advance for the rest of her life. Race 101 is an amazing program designed to help young racers in their areas of need and it certainly does just that.