Northern Tool + Equipment & Sons of Speed Racing


Creating the best field trip ever!

Story and photos by Marilyn Stemp

When I was in high school, if I could get out of a half-day of classes for a field trip to anywhere, I’d say sure. If that field trip was to a motorcycle track day? Who’d think twice before saying hell, yeah!? About 50 Volusia County, Florida, high school students got that opportunity during Daytona bike week and the experience was impactful for everyone present.

If you remember shop class, you’re one of the lucky ones. It’s hard to pinpoint the time when hands-on knowledge took a back seat to college degrees then eventually disappeared almost completely from secondary education – but it happened. Fortunately, craftmanship and the industrial arts have lately become newly respected, leading many young people to consider them as worthy and satisfying career paths.

A giant step in that direction is an initiative by Northern Tool + Equipment called Tools for the Trades™, the program that brought those students to New Smyrna Speedway on March 1 to join riders and racers at Billy Lane’s Sons of Speed Races. Begun in 2021, Tools for the Trades is about supporting curiosity and passion for the skilled trades to drive interest, expand opportunities in learning and offer career direction.

Said Northern Tool Representative Darcy Betlach, “Northern Tool supports this program for one major reason. Our 140 stores across the United States serve people in the trades – all day, every day – and we hear from our customers how hard it is to find help, that younger people are not coming up the ranks. So we thought, maybe there’s something we can do to help.

“We have now gifted over 30 public high schools with professional grade tools and equipment to stock their shop classes. We continue to add schools to the program and equip them, so students learn what it’s like to work with the right tools and see how a paycheck could come out of working in the trades.”

If track day is an indication, it’s proving a worthy effort. The impact of Tools for the Trades was apparent as the Career & Technical Education (CTE) students who attended engaged with sponsors and racers at Sons of Speed. Their program, Pine Ridge Advanced Manufacturing Academy at Pine Ridge High School in Deltona, FL, is within 20-25 miles of a Northern Tool retail store, one of the program requirements. Now in 23 states, there’s not yet a formal application process but Betlach says 11 more schools have been selected for the upcoming school year. Underserved schools are emphasized.

Brothers Ryan and Wade Kotula, whose father started Northern Tool in Burnsville, MN, are passionate about keeping the trades alive. They initially supported the effort personally and it has recently become part of the Northern Tool Foundation, a 501(c)(3), allowing interested partners to make financial donations to fund elements such as materials and eventually scholarships. Target Corporation is one example; they purchased and provided sets of PPE for the students who attended track day, in support of furthering education in the trades.

Educator Javier Vega, director at Pine Ridge Advanced Manufacturing Academy, said Northern reached out to them a year ago. “We have been lucky enough to get tools from Northern and they are used every day” he said. “Training these kids to take on these jobs needs to happen. They are looking to learn and do better in life. We were once like them.”

Custom Builder Billy Lane, founder of the Sons of Speed, echoed this sentiment. “It’s inspiring to have these kids here. I was in their shoes once and maybe they can see that, like me, they can do something they love. It just makes sense to be working with Northern Tool, preparing the next generation for the trades.”

While most of the students are male, seeing young women in the group is compelling – and growing across CTE programs. One female student was appropriately confident about her place in the class. “My mom and aunts have worked in construction and they tell me, ‘In the field or in the office, you know what you know so don’t be afraid to say it.’ I plan to work in agricultural mechanics and welding, and I can’t wait!”
I eavesdropped on Detroit Randy Hayward, a Sons of Speed racer who also has educator credentials. He spontaneously spoke to small groups of students on track day, telling them to, “Find your passion, find a mentor, do something you love and you’ll earn good money.” Sage advice!

Follow this and other Tools for the Trades events at the links below, including the Rat Rod Build-off as Billy Lane and Richard Petty work with student teams to build go carts that will be raced at the Florida Sons of Speed races in October.

LINKS:
https://www.northerntool.com/tools-for-the-trades
https://www.daytonabikeweek.com/billy-lanes-sons-of-speed
https://www.youtube.com/@BillyLaneChoppers