Ohio Technical College’s High Performance & Racing student Shawn Robinson was one of two HP students selected to work alongside Kalitta racing professionals at the NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park June 23-25th. He’s back after his “amazing” experience and more determined than ever this is his career path. Robinson credits his participation with Hot Rodders of Tomorrow while in high school back in Waynesboro, PA, along with his OTC training, as contributing to his successful weekend in professional drag racing. “I wasn’t just washing parts, I was right there alongside the team doing whatever they asked, It was awesome!” Robinson admits the chemistry and trust from the Kalitta SealMaster team were something that doesn’t happen every day, “From the moment I showed up they welcomed me as an equal and gave me job after job without questioning my ability to do it. It was fantastic!” He worked 12-14 hour days and says, “It was great to be in a setting where each crew member had a separate job, they knew what to do, yet everyone was working towards a common goal.” Robinson laughs and says, ”Mr. McBride always tells us this career is like ‘getting paid to play in the sandbox’. The time flew by and I didn’t consider it work.” Robinson was given the honor of a team invite to the Monday after time track runs, which is huge. “Usually you aren’t asked to go to these as there is a lot of classified information that the teams keep close. When a loss can be just inches from the finish line, every advantage is sacred.”