Western Technical College joins AB Motorsports as Official Career College of NHRA Top Fuel Team
BAYTOWN, Texas (April 22, 2022) – Western Technical College (WTC) has joined the AB Motorsports (ABM) roster of partners as the start-up team’s Official Career College. The venture will see 20 of WTC’s elite students join ABM as part of a merit-based internship program this season.
In addition to ABM, WTC is one of four presenting sponsors of the NHRA’s Youth and Education Services (YES) Program that hosts thousands of students at the race track for a career day at 14 of the 22 NHRA races on the 2022 NHRA Camping World Series schedule. Brown and the Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster also will visit Western Tech’s Plaza Circle campus location as part of the school’s annual Motorsports Day in October.
L-R: Antron Brown, Anthony Moralez, Adrian Ferguson, Gerardo Gomez, Justin Ashley - Adrian Ferguson receives pointers from three-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown as the Matco Tools team prepares their machine for Q1 at the NHRA SpringNationals on Friday afternoon
“It’s great to see Western Tech grads working on many of the professional NHRA teams in the sport. Students like Eric Sanchez, who worked as an NHRA mechanic when he was a Western Tech intern and went on to win multiple NHRA championships, is now an instructor at the school. That’s really what it’s all about, giving the kids opportunities and seeing them thrive.”
The first group of three Western Tech interns – Anthony Moralez, 51, Adrian Ferguson, 35, and Gerardo Gomez, 25 – joins AB Motorsports and Dustin Davis Motorsports/Justin Ashley Racing at this weekend’s SpringNationals event followed by the upcoming Charlotte race before traveling to Indianapolis with the teams to experience working at the their racing headquarters.
Part of the AB Motorsports/Western Tech internship program involves hands-on training during NHRA race weekends
“We’re very happy to be able to continue our phenomenal relationship with Antron Brown,” Jack Werner, Western Tech Director of Strategic Partners said. “Over the last nine years, Antron has been a true partner in education, as a mentor, role model and an inspiration to the dozens of students that have attended the Top Fuel Team Internship program.
“Western Technical College is very pleased to be able to provide our students with this once in a lifetime opportunity with AB Motorsports and Antron Brown,” Werner added. “The knowledge and skills that our students gain by being able to work side by side with the very best in the NHRA on a high-caliber team like AB Motorsports just can’t be duplicated anyplace else. We also appreciate Dustin Davis and Justin Ashley for hosting WTC students along with Antron’s team this season as part of their technical alliance.”
About Western Technical College
Founded in 1970, Western Technical College has been a family-owned and operated nationally accredited institution of higher education for four generations in El Paso, Texas. Western Tech’s mission is to provide quality training and education in a caring, professional environment that prepares new students and working adults with the skills they need to succeed and advance in their chosen careers.
About AB Motorsports
Established in 2019 and making its on-track debut in 2022, AB Motorsports is a single-car NHRA Top Fuel team owned and operated by three-time world champion Antron Brown. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Ind., the team competes on the 22-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series circuit thanks to the support of Matco Tools, Lucas Oil, Toyota, SiriusXM, Hangsterfer’s Metal Working Lubricants, and Summit Racing Equipment.Brown, who serves as both the owner and driver of the AB Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, is the only competitor in NHRA history to have won races in both the Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle categories. Brown is a 68-time NHRA national event winner and became the first Black driver to win a major U.S. auto racing championship when he captured the 2012 NHRA Top Fuel series title.
