Belmont Abbey College Student Jordan Anderson Teams Up with Classmates

No matter what area you pass through, local residents can tell you about that one special landmark that has become the pride and symbol of their town. The small town of Belmont, North Carolina has always looked towards the elegant structure that stands at 100 Belmont-Mount Holly Road: the 135-year-old Belmont Abbey Basilica. The twin spires, stained-glass windows and red brick structure are guarded by a statue of St. Benedict, who peacefully watches the cars pass as they merge onto the 85 Interstate.

A few years ago, Belmont Abbey College, which is home to the Basilica, started a new program that may give old St. Benedict a new perspective on what it means to watch the cars pass. The college now offers a four-year business degree in Business Management, with a concentration in Motorsports Management.

The program gives students the opportunity to get into auto racing by learning from industry professionals, who have dealt with the business side of motorsports for many years. Many of the students are already interning with high-profile racing organizations in order to build their motorsports résumés.

A trio of students from the Motorsports Management Program have teamed together to promote the career of an aspiring 20-year-old driver named Jordan Anderson, a South Carolinian who dreams of breaking into NASCAR. Anderson recruited two of his friends as interns for his race team in January.

Chase Heikkila from Cincinnati, Ohio and Chase Forbes from Sunnyvale, California are more than ecstatic to jump-start Anderson’s rise into stardom, and all the while, they are receiving college credit to do so. The three students are turning to their teachers for help, and they are quickly finding that they are in the right place.

“Every single aspect of what Belmont Abbey offers within its Motorsports Program is unique,” says Anderson. “What the college does through the four year process is hold the position as your spotter. They are there to help you learn how to take advantage of the opportunities ahead and how to be successful, along with giving you the tools you need as well.”

The Motorsports Management Program has allowed kids like Anderson, Heikkila and Forbes to get into an industry that is otherwise difficult to enter. The three students have no family history of racing, yet they are slowly making a splash on the racing scene.

Anderson knows what it is like to navigate the hostile waters of the racing business. “As a first generation driver I understand how difficult it can be to break into the racing world and learn the workings of the sport. I believe that the hands-on experience gained from internships is greatly beneficial and will help the interns further their careers.”

Stock car racing is becoming a sport that is literally driven by the next generation. Young driving talent, like Anderson, is defining what the sport will look like in the next few years. Beneath the radar of the media, students in the Belmont Abbey College Motorsports Management program are looking to make themselves known in the business of racing.

“The guy behind the steering wheel is a big part of having success in motorsports, but we’re learning that it’s the businesspeople behind the driver that make the wheels really go where they need to go,” says Forbes, one of Anderson’s interns. “Belmont Abbey students are truly the young guns of the sport.”