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This is why a nonprofit brought 20 college students to Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

April 14, 2023

Amid the hustle and bustle at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach‘s Lifestyle Expo on Friday, April 14, was a group of about 20 college students in bright orange T-shirts.

They watched itently as pit crew members from the Arrow McLaren NTT IndyCar Series team spoke about their positions and how they got into motorsports careers.

But the group didn’t happen upon the pit crew by accident.

RELATED: For more Day 1 coverage, click here.

Rather, they were part of a program put on by Path to the Pits, a relatively new nonprofit that aims to train a more diverse roster of motorsports employees, who have historically skewed older, White and male.

Path to the Pits and McLaren Racing Engage — a new sect of that company aimed at diversifying talent in the industry — announced a new partnership in late March.

“We’re committed as an organization to grow accessibility and inclusivity in motorsport and the paddock, and to do so requires investment and creative solutions,” Kate O’Hara-Hatchley, McLaren Racing’s head of diversity, early careers and development, said in a March announcement. “Partnering with Path to the Pits helps us do both.”

The partnership essentially launched at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, with the college students — mostly men, with a smattering of women, but also predominantly people of color — getting an immersive experience. That experience includes touring the paddocks, networking and career guidance from Arrow McLaren’s professionals.

“It’s all about providing exposure to racing and the careers in motorsports for young people from underserved communities,” Vicky Martinez Muela, founder, president and CEO of Path to the Pits, said in a Friday interview. “We are really focused on increasing gender and racial representation in motorsports.”

The partnership also marks McLaren Racing Engage’s first partnership with a North American nonprofit, Martinez Muela said. This is the first time Path to the Pits has brought students to the Long Beach Grand Prix.

Students who are part of the nonprofit’s program will also attend the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May and the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in June.

“The access they have directly to the Arrow McLaren team members is unprecedented,” Martinez Muela said. “There’s nobody who has access like we do — where they really get a chance to ask questions and understand some of the career paths.”

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That exposure is among the most crucial aspects of the program, she added, noting that many people are often excluded from even experiencing a race in person because of financial limitations.

“A race experience is typically $500 for a weekend,” Martinez Muela said. “How many of our young people from underserved communities can afford a ticket to the race, food, transportation and parking?

“If you can’t see it,” Martinez Muela added, “you can’t be it.”

Orange County Register

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This is why a nonprofit brought 20 college students to Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

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