DeLAND, Fla. – A DeLand man is helping kids stay busy after school through race car driving.
At 17, Madison Olmsted doesn't mind getting grease and dirt on her hands.
"I want to set an example for younger women to get into male-dominated roles, like, you know, like race car driving," Olmsted said.
Tad Olmsted said he hopes to instill good work ethic in younger generations through the lessons he teaches them while working on race cars.
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"I know industrial arts has kinda disappeared in schools, so you know, where are the generations gonna learn to work on anything, change a tire, change their own oil, fabricate something? Where are they gonna learn to turn wrenches? Where are they gonna learn how to use a welder?" Olmsted asked.
Olmsted said he realizes how much learning such lessons at a young age impacted him later in life, which is why he wants younger generations to have the opportunity to learn them, too.
"I owe that to my family's work ethic, but also turning wrenches on a race car, as silly as that sounds, I excelled in all my aviation academy because I knew what I was doing with a wrench, with a screwdriver, and I took that with me and still carry that with me today, so that's what I want to give back," Olmsted said.
He made a career in aviation while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, a passion Olmsted still enjoys while teaching kids in his community about the race car industry and hard work.
"We take the bodies off, we look at all the connections and we rebuild anything that needs to be rebuilt," Olmsted said. "We weld stuff. We fabricate stuff. With racing and dirt track racing, it's a lot of fun to go along with it."
They drive 3/4-scale race cars that are built with motorcycle engines. Olmsted's 11-year-old son has learned everything from how to drive one to how to change a tire.
"They may not know anything, and that's fine. We'll show them everything they need to know -- safely, methodically," Olmsted said.
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Olmsted believes the children are learning skills that will go a long way, and he hopes that by teaching them, he's having an impact on the children's futures.
"I wanted to give the youth my passion and love for racing and aviation and give back to them with my kids and other kids around the community, to help them get passionate about something, learn how to fabricate, weld, tools, wrenches, how to do stuff that they can take that with them and maybe excel in what they want to do," Olmsted said.
To learn more about the program, visit Flying Hillbilly Racing's Facebook page.