4-H hits the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway

That changed when the familiar green clover appeared on the side of Luke Baldwin's No. 2 truck during a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 9.

Made possible through a partnership between Team Reaume and the 4-H programs in Harnett and Moore counties, the appearance coincided with National 4-H Week and brought more than 100 4-H youth and family members to the speedway to cheer on Baldwin.

But the partnership was about more than placing an emblem on a race truck. It began with an educational experience that introduced local 4-H members to the careers and science behind professional racing.

From STEM camp to NASCAR

Months before race day, 4-H Extension agents Jackie Helton and Kaley Lawing organized a joint STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Racing Camp that gave youth a closer look at NASCAR and the automotive industry.

Participants traveled to motorsports facilities where they learned about the technical skills, specialized equipment and career opportunities involved in racing. They also put some of what they learned into practice through activities involving advanced radio-controlled cars.

“Opportunities like this help them connect classroom concepts to real-world applications and see how STEM skills are used by professionals,” Lawing said. “It also gives them the chance to meet people working in these fields and begin imagining what their own futures could look like.”

Among the camp's destinations was Team Reaume, a NASCAR racing organization, where crew members welcomed the group and shared their experiences in professional motorsports. The visit gave youth a better understanding of the work involved in operating a NASCAR team.

For Helton's 4-H program in Harnett County and Lawing's in Moore County, this connection would be just the start of their collaboration with Team Reaume. The two agents explored ways of continuing the team's involvement with 4-H, eventually leading to plans to feature its nationally recognized emblem on one of Team Reaume's trucks during what is one of the highest-impact weeks of the year for 4-H.

“Having the 4-H clover featured on a NASCAR truck during National 4-H Week gave us an exciting way to connect the hands-on STEM learning happening in our counties with a highly visible industry,” Lawing said. “We want young people to see that the skills they develop through 4-H can open doors to careers and experiences they may not have considered before.”

Opening those doors is central to 4-H's mission of preparing our nation's youth to be Beyond Ready for college, careers and life.

Race day

When October 9 arrived, 4-H members and families gathered in a dedicated section of the grandstands at Charlotte Motor Speedway to cheer on Baldwin and the No. 2 truck during the Ecosave 200, a 134-lap NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Their enthusiasm was hard to miss.

“We could hear them when we were on the track before the race,” Helton said.

For a few 4-H’ers, along with two state officers, the experience also included a look behind the scenes. Pit passes allowed them to explore the garage and pit areas, where teams prepared for the race.

Among those with pit access was Matthew DeUnger, a Harnett County 4-H member who had participated in the original STEM Racing Camp months earlier. This time, he had the opportunity to see Team Reaume at work in the midst of a NASCAR race weekend.

“Me and Ryland Callicut, from Moore County, were able to see everything that happens during the pre-race time,” DeUnger said. “We hung out at Team Reaume’s hauler, where we learned so much about the other side of racing.”

Located in Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway has hosted NASCAR races since 1960. For the 4-H members in attendance, the sight of trucks racing around the speedway's 1.5-mile oval and through its turns banked at 24 degrees made for a memorable experience.

“We all enjoyed and watched the race on the edge of our seats,” DeUnger said.

With seven laps remaining, Layne Riggs passed Kaden Honeycutt to take the lead and ultimately claim the victory. Baldwin, meanwhile, gained 10 positions from his 32nd-place starting spot to finish 22nd.

“Seeing the excitement in their faces is what makes you come to work every day,” said Emily Carson, 4-H program assistant in Moore County, who helped coordinate and facilitate several of the STEM Racing Camp's activities and site visits. “Ryland told me that he never thought going to a week-long camp would lead him to meet racers on pit road.”

Off the track, Harnett County 4-H made a meal for Team Reaume as a way of showing appreciation for the team's involvement with the youth. The food was prepared by 4-H alumni Collin, Danielle, Ryan and Benjamin Helton, with Mountaire Farms in Siler City donating 80 pounds of chicken and N.C. Cooperative Extension's Cabarrus County Center providing kitchen space.

“The food turned out amazing,” Helton said. “We had enough to feed all three teams from Team Reaume racing that night, their families, and our 4-H team members in the pits.”

The menu included barbecue chicken, Salisbury steaks and homemade cookies, with a few touches paying tribute to the late NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his favorite film, Days of Thunder. Mello Yello was incorporated into the chicken marinade, while M&M's, a nod to Busch's longtime sponsor, were added to the cookies.

The gestures of appreciation went both ways. For participants in the original STEM Racing Camp, Team Reaume arranged for used lug nuts to be collected from its pit box as keepsakes. Much like taking home a baseball from a game, the lug nuts gave each participant a small but genuine piece of NASCAR action to call their own.

“I never would have thought I would’ve been able to go onto the pit before 4-H, and now I will never forget my first race,” DeUnger said.

Experiences like DeUnger's were what made the effort worthwhile for the 4-H professionals who helped bring 4-H to the track.

“This partnership demonstrates what can happen when Extension, community partners, and industry come together around a shared commitment to young people,” Lawing said. “Team Reaume welcomed our youth, invested their time and knowledge, and helped us create an experience that extended well beyond the race itself. We are grateful for their willingness to partner with 4-H and help make STEM learning more tangible and exciting for our youth.”

Beyond the finish line

From county fairs and classrooms to NASCAR racetracks, 4-H is constantly finding itself in environments that, at first glance, might seem worlds apart.

“Any time we have an opportunity to put the 4-H emblem in front of a crowd and introduce more people to what 4-H has to offer, we are excited!” said Shannon McCollum, interim state 4-H program leader, who also attended the race.

The audience even included those outside the grandstands, with the race's national broadcast on FOX averaging 838,000 television viewers.

But exposure was only one measure of the partnership's value. While a racetrack may seem like an unusual setting for 4-H, what brought it there was rooted in the same principle that guides its programs everywhere: learning by doing.

“It is another way we are helping young people build skills, explore their interests, and become Beyond Ready for their futures,” McCollum said. “The collaboration between these two counties and the racing team is a great example of how we can connect young people to real-world learning experiences.”

As 4-H works toward its goal of reaching 10 million young people by 2030, partnerships like this one help introduce more youth to 4-H and the opportunities it provides.

While that goal looks toward the future, the race also left behind a tangible piece of history.

Team Reaume saved the portion of Baldwin's No. 2 truck wrap featuring the 4-H graphics by transferring it onto plastic. The team then gave the preserved section as a gift, which now serves as an artifact documenting a unique moment in North Carolina 4-H's history — the day the 4-H clover took to the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.