The Sporting News – Seth Livingstone
“Gordon is not only driving a Penn State-themed, blue-and-white Chevrolet in Sunday’s Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400, his team is helping to host more than 100 Penn State students —primarily business and engineering majors — at the track. “It’s amazing. We had a chance to go over to Penn State and visit with the students and the faculty and the group of engineers that are doing so much to be the future of companies like Axalta and the future of racing,” said Gordon, who is competing in his final full Sprint Cup season. Axalta (formerly DuPont) is a Philadelphia-based manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings. The Penn State program at Pocono, which includes a garage tour and panel discussion with Axalta, NASCAR, Pocono Raceway and Hendrick Motorsports executives, is designed to drive awareness of and support STEM (science, technology, education and math) and business education. “Supporting STEM and future business leaders is vital to our future,” Gordon said. “I depend on the mechanical engineers on my team to make sure that my car in in top form for every race. Everything in my car is linked to engineering — drag and drafting, friction and heat, grip, sound, turning and load transfer. That’s why linking STEM education to the technology behind successful racing is so important.'”(more)