DATE: July 31, 2007

CONTACT: Sam Konduros, 864-232-1910; 864-313-2277
skonduros@skstrategies.com

CONTACT: Brian Van Dercook, DEI Communications, (704) 662-8958
bvandercook@dei-zone.com

WRITER: Sandra Woodward, 864-656-1220
sandra@clemson.edu

Clemson University, Dale Earnhardt Inc. form motorsports innovation partnership

CLEMSON — Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) Tuesday became Clemson University’s first Motorsports Innovation Partner, providing the company preferred access to faculty, students, facilities and equipment related to motorsports and automotive research.

DEI Chief Executive Officer Teresa Earnhardt and Clemson University President James F. Barker signed a memorandum of understanding to create the formal research and higher education partnership.

Initially, the unique partnership will be driven by proprietary motorsports engineering research projects involving Clemson University faculty, researchers and graduate students, along with the funding of student scholarships and internship opportunities. 

The Dale Earnhardt Foundation will fund an annual undergraduate scholarship honoring the memory of Dale Earnhardt Sr. for students interested in motorsports and automotive engineering. Clemson officials have selected William Howard Bostic III of Sissonville, West Virginia, as the first recipient of the Dale Earnhardt Motorsports Scholarship. Bostic is a rising senior majoring in mechanical engineering. (See related story.)

The Dale Earnhardt Foundation will provide $13,000 annually for a total minimum pledge of $39,000 to establish a three-year undergraduate scholarship for a student in the College of Engineering and Science. In addition, students selected to receive the scholarship will be eligible for internships with DEI.

Teresa Earnhardt said the relationship with Clemson is in keeping with the missions of both DEI and the Dale Earnhardt Foundation to foster education and to assure that the company and the motorsports industry will benefit from highly motivated, technically competent leaders and employees in the future.

“The work to create the relationship that formally begins today started more than a year and a half ago,” said Earnhardt.  “That investment in time and effort has produced a partnership with unlimited potential.

"In Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research, we have the resources of a world-class institution with the capability and commitment to help us develop technical innovations that will continue the winning tradition of Dale Earnhardt Inc.”

She said, “I have no doubt that the work of Clemson University and Dale Earnhardt Inc. will produce remarkable results and years from now will be considered the model for how a racing organization and a research university can collaborate for the sake of progress.

“The partnership also provides a great match for the mission of The Dale Earnhardt Foundation.  The Dale Earnhardt Motorsports Scholarship will support the education of deserving students and it will be these motivated, talented individuals who will continue the legend.”

Clemson is recognized as a leader in motorsports and automotive engineering education. Its undergraduate program in mechanical engineering offers students real-world experiences through a competitive curriculum augmented by a cooperative education and internship program. Students also can compete in two automotive design projects: SAE Mini-Baja and Formula SAE through the Society of Automotive Engineers. The Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center at the CU-ICAR campus in Greenville, S.C., offers the nation’s only master’s and doctoral graduate degree programs in automotive engineering and unique research and testing resources.

Barker emphasized the value to the university and its students in partnering with one of the motorsports industry’s leading organizations.

"This partnership with DEI supports the academic focus of Clemson University to be a leader in automotive and motorsports education," he said. “This is also a great opportunity for Clemson to learn from a key leader in the motorsports industry. It is critical that we foster relationships with the companies that will employ the engineers of the future. Our students and faculty will gain immeasurable benefits from association with this world-class motorsports organization.

“We welcome Dale Earnhardt Inc. to the Clemson family and expect this to be just the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship,” Barker added.