Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet SS, and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) team engineers made a pit stop at Meeting Street Academy in Charleston, S.C. to speak to the fourth and fifth grade science classes about the role STEM subjects play in racing. Team partner Credit One Bank was also in attendance and donated $25,000 to the school.
“I loved meeting with the students of Meeting Street Academy,” said Larson. “Getting the chance to talk with kids about what I do is always something I enjoy, and they seemed pretty excited to hear about racing and fast cars. It was also fun to have some of our engineers on hand to explain how they build our cars. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to run up front and compete for wins, so it was great for them to tell the kids about the importance of technology in racing,” said Larson.
In addition to having Larson and the team engineers on hand, the students got an up close view of the No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet SS, complete with the school’s logo on the car. Larson and CGR engineers spoke to the students about the technology associated with racing, how math and science play a role in building race cars, and the importance of STEM topics in motorsports. Credit One Bank also presented a donation of $25,000 to enhance the school’s science and robotics curriculum. Larson completed his visit by taking photos and having lunch with the students.
“This incredible donation from Credit One Bank will allow us to expand our STEM curriculum in amazing ways. STEM is about so much more than learning science and computer programming—it really gives our scholars the opportunity to work together to solve complex problems,” said Dirk Bedford, principal of Meeting Street Academy, Charleston. “The expansion of the Lego Robotics team will allow for the kind of critical hands-on, minds-on experiential learning that teaches our scholars to think analytically and work logistically to find solutions.”
“Credit One Bank is proud to be associated with Meeting Street Academy. Our hope is that this donation will help instill a love of learning and technology in the students for years to come,” said Laura Faulkner, vice president of marketing communications, Credit One Bank. “By aligning our partnerships with Chip Ganassi Racing and NASCAR with Credit One Bank’s commitment to education and giving back, we created a special opportunity for all of us to come together and provide the kids of Meeting Street Academy a unique approach to learning.”