NASCAR announces 2008 Diversity Internship class

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Seventeen students from across the country were selected to participate in the 2008 NASCAR Diversity Internship Program. The program, which began Monday, gives minority college students the opportunity to complete a 10-week, paid summer internship within the NASCAR industry.

"The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program has introduced dozens of students from diverse backgrounds to professional opportunities in NASCAR," said Marcus Jadotte, NASCAR's managing director of public affairs, who oversees the diversity department. Participation in the program has led to full-time positions in the industry for a number of past interns.

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The NASCAR Diversity Internship Program features internships offered by NASCAR offices, sponsors, licensees, teams, tracks and broadcast partners. In addition to NASCAR corporate offices in Daytona Beach, Charlotte, N.C., New York and Los Angeles, the following companies are participating in 2008: Brandsense Partners, Daytona International Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports, Images USA, International Speedway Corp. (ISC), JHE Production Group, Just Marketing International, Motorsports Authentics, Octagon, Roush Fenway Racing, SPEED (FOX Entertainment Group) and The Specialized Marketing Group.

The current intern class began their NASCAR experience with an orientation session during the Sprint All-Star Race weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. The group visited the NASCAR Speedpark in Concord Mills, the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, toured the Dale Earnhardt Inc. facilities, attended the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman and the Craftsman Truck Series race. In addition, the group met with NASCAR president Mike Helton.

More than 150 students have participated in the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program since its inception in 2000. These interns have gained experience working in marketing, engineering, public relations, licensing and various other areas. Each year, the internships are available to college juniors, seniors and graduate students across the country. To be eligible, students must be in good standing with their school and community and must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average.

In addition to the internship program, NASCAR awards diversity scholarships in tribute to NASCAR legend Wendell Scott, has an at-track diversity mentorship program and a college tour that visits historically black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions.

More information on the internship program is available at www.diversityinternships.com