STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
BUILT FOR SPEED
The roar of engines captured Stephen Coleman’ s attention at age five, launching a passion that has driven him from go-kart racing to the pinnacle of American motorsports. As a rising junior, the Cost Honors College student landed a coveted role as assistant engineer for Alpha Prime Racing’ s three-car NASCAR Xfinity Series team.
Landing the position required remarkable persistence.“ I sent more than 500 emails to race teams, industry professionals and NASCAR headquarters before securing the internship,” Coleman says. The determination paid off with an experience that exceeded expectations.
“ There was no set day-today,” he explains.“ One day I was tearing down and rebuilding cars, assisting crew chiefs with setups, working in the simulator with drivers or designing and fabricating parts. On race days, I set up pit equipment, made adjustments between sessions, caught tires and fuel cans and handled mid-race repairs.”
A career highlight came during driver Lavar Scott’ s NASCAR Xfinity debut at Dover, where the team posted the third-fastest practice time among 40 cars.“ We beat some of the biggest names in NASCAR,” Coleman recalls.
Coleman’ s competitive spirit on the track is matched by his academic drive.“ Stephen is a highly motivated and intellectually curious student,” said Dr. Lisa Sutherland, executive director of the Honors College and interim dean of the Davis College of Business & Technology.“ He doesn’ t just lean into opportunities provided to him, he makes opportunities for himself.”
Coleman’ s internship experience now fuels his engineering aspirations.“ I want to become an innovative motorsport engineer who helps elevate the performance of every team I join,” Coleman says.“ This internship affirmed that motorsports is where I want to be. It’ s competitive, it’ s demanding and I love it.”
STEPHEN COLEMAN
JUNIOR
WAV E MAGAZINE | Spring 2026 37