Welders Compete at Daytona 500 for Spot on U.S. Team

Three of America’s best young welders will compete at the Daytona 500 Speedweek for a spot on the SkillsUSA WorldTeam that will represent the United States during the WorldSkills competition in Germany.

Three young welders advanced from the AWS/SkillsUSA U.S. Invitational Weld Trials held at FABTECH 2012 in Las Vegas, NV, and will now compete at the SkillsUSA WorldTeam Weld Finals in February.

The finalist will represent the U.S. in welding. The final trial competition will be held as part of Speedweek at the 2013 Daytona 500. The three finalists are Alex Pazkowski, Washtenaw Community College, Michigan; Andrew Cardin, Blackstone Valley Technical High School, Massachusetts; and Tanner Tipsword, Eastern Wyoming College, Wyoming.

SkillsUSA (Leesburg, VA), the organization that represents the United States in the WorldSkills Competition, will send 20 career and technical education students to Leipzig, Germany, in July 2013 to compete in the 42^nd biennial international event. The students will test their skills against more than 1,000 students representing 52 countries/regions from around the world competing in 45 official skill competitions and one demonstration contest.

The welding trials to select the final member of the WorldTeam will be hosted by Larsen Motorsports at the Daytona International Speedway on the manufacturer’s midway outside of Turn 4 and will be open to the public. The competition will last four days and will test multiple welding processes.

The welding requirements are so precise that a number of the welds will require X-ray reviews and hydrostatic pressure tests up to 1,000 lb per sq in to verify the integrity and quality of the welds. The welding finalist will be announced on Saturday, February 23. He will also receive a $40,000 scholarship from the American Welding Society (Miami, FL) Foundation.

Chris Larsen, the owner of Larsen Motorsports, said, “This is a big deal! These competitors represent the absolute best America has, and at their age, they are extraordinary welders. All of us at Larsen Motorsports are very proud to be involved in helping these students elevate their career paths and spreading the message for SkillsUSA and the need to advance career and technical education (CTE).”

“I was first introduced to SkillsUSA through our sponsor, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s Aviation Maintenance Science Department,” said Elaine Larsen, the co-founder of Larsen Motorsports. “Embry Riddle asked us to attend the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Kansas City, MO. When I saw the students that compete there, it gave me new hope for future generations of America.”

Tim Lawrence, the executive director of SkillsUSA, said, “Thanks to Larsen Motorsports for this amazing opportunity to showcase some of the best technical talent by youth anywhere in the world at the Daytona 500 Speedweek. This is an important and dynamic event that’s a win-win for welding, CTE, SkillsUSA and AWS.”