Official's legacy lives on with memorial scholarship

Brienne Davis was a talented NASCAR official who could turn wrenches and inspect engines with proficiency alongside her male counterparts in the garage.

Although her untimely passing in an automobile accident last year cut short a promising career, her legacy lives on in the Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund -- a scholarship established in 2008 to encourage women to seek a career in the automotive industry. The annual scholarship provides an opportunity for a qualified female student who wishes to attend one of 12 Universal Technical Institute campuses across the U.S. including UTI's NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C.

Brienne Davis

Davis, herself a graduate of Universal Technical Institute, blazed a unique career path into the sport first working at Dale Earnhardt Inc. as an engine builder before joining NASCAR as an official and inspector in 2004. Davis is proof that with determination and persistence anything is possible in today's NASCAR and automotive fields for females.

There's never been a better time to encourage women to enter an automotive career field. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of automotive technicians will increase 14 percent by 2016 and most employers regard the successful completion of a vocational program as the best preparation for trainee positions. Qualified individuals can pursue careers in research and development, parts and accessories, as well as designers, manufacturer representatives, motorsports industry careers and team pit crew members to name a few.

The NASCAR community on Wednesday will once again gather for The Second Official Jail & Bail charity event supported by Best Buy and Insignia to benefit the Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund. The fundraiser, organized annually by NASCAR officials, will be held at Brickhouse Tavern in Davidson, N.C., from 6:30-10:30 p.m. The evening will feature a Jail & Bail portion with NASCAR drivers and personalities, food, beverage, and performances by local artists From A Seed and country music star, Curb Records artist Rodney Atkins.

NASCAR celebrities Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Juan Montoya, David Stremme, Rutledge Wood, Scott Speed, Brian Vickers, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, Reed Sorenson, A.J. Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Jason Leffler, Paulie Harraka, Aric Almirola and many more are taking time out of their schedules to have their day in court -- Judge John Darby presiding. Media personalities Matt Yocum, Wendy Venturini and Claire B. Lang also will be on hand to emcee and report on the event.

Vickers is eager to lend his support to be "locked up" to raise dollars for the scholarship fund.

"I always enjoy a good joke or prank that will make people laugh, so when we started promoting for this week's Jail & Bail it was no different," said Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Toyota. "A lot of people believe what they read on the Internet so I decided to post online that I had been arrested and needed to be bailed out on Oct. 14th. For fans who saw it on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter and didn't read the whole thing, the immediate reaction was 'oh my gosh!' It was funny, but when people finally figured it all out, they started acting on it.

"We've already raised several hundred dollars and probably still have some people convinced I'm really going to jail. It's all for a great scholarship and in memory of a great person that meant a lot to us in the NASCAR garage."

Last year, the NASCAR industry and its fans helped raise nearly $100,000 during the event to support the Brienne Davis Memorial Scholarship Fund. Kenna Primm of Greenwood, Ark., was selected as the first recipient of the scholarship and is currently attending classes at NASCAR Technical Institute.

"My father introduced me to NASCAR racing when I was little, and since then I've always wanted to be a part of the industry, and I think it's important to be knowledgeable about both NASCAR's business and technical aspects," Primm said. "Brienne Davis applied her skills and dedication to graduate at the top of her class at UTI and continued her success as part of NASCAR. I want to follow in her footsteps and encourage more females to work in automotive and NASCAR, just as she did."

• Tickets for the event are on sale now for $10 and at the gate the night of the event. To register for tickets or to learn more visit www.nascar.com/foundation.

• An online charity auction featuring the jail shirts worn and signed by each participating driver along with autographed NASCAR memorabilia will go live at noon ET Thursday and run through Oct. 22. For more information visit www.nascar.com/foundation.