Automotive Technology
The automotive industry is in Lavar Scott’s blood. It’s the primary reason he always knew he was going to enroll at the Salem County Career & Technical High School for the Automotive Technology program. That inevitably became a reality when Scott transferred to Salem Tech in September of 2018.
“My brother was here, my sister came after me,” Scott said. “We all wanted to do something with our hands, to learn a trade and help with the family business.”
The family business is Scott’s Auto, an auto repair shop located in Carneys Point, N.J. Scott worked there after school and on weekends, learning everything he could about how cars work and operate.
“My favorite classes at Vo-Tech were, of course, Automotive Technology and Physical Education,” he said. Mr. Roeske taught me so much in Auto Tech, I loved it. Learning how to take things apart and put them back together again was great. Also, Ms. Doran, my gym teacher, was and is supportive of all my plans and goals.”
However, automotive diagnostics and body repair are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Scott’s passion for motor vehicles. Making cars go fast is the real fire that burns inside the 20-year-old Salem Tech alumnus.
Scott is a professional race car driver who competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, a national-level circuit that serves as a pivotal proving ground for stock car drivers aspiring to reach one of NASCAR’s three national series. For the 2024 season, Lavar will pilot the No. 6 Chevrolet SS for Rev Racing where he is currently a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program–an initiative which has produced several top-flight drivers at the sports highest level including the likes of Bubba Wallace and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. Scott considers Kyle Larson a mentor, role model and a personal inspiration in the sport.
It turns out ‘speed’ is also the family business. Scott’s mother competed in regional drag racing events and his grandfather also raced cars competitively, so it was a surprise to no one that Lavar followed in his older brother’s footsteps and began racing quarter midget cars at the age of five at Airport Speedway in nearby New Castle, Delaware. From there, Scott started competing in dirt racing events at several regional tracks.
While a student at Salem Tech, Scott participated in the school’s Structured Learning Experience (SLE) program, where senior students leave the classroom to work at a company in their chosen field or program. Participants in the SLE program obtain invaluable hands-on learning experiences and in-person instruction from their workplace mentor, setting a foundation for future employment in their chosen industry. It was through this avenue that Scott spent most of his senior year of high school at Scott’s Auto and also started to pursue his racing career.
After graduating from Salem Tech in 2021, Scott started to drive competitively for Rev Racing in legends cars and late model stock cars at tracks such as North Carolina’s famed Hickory Motor Speedway. As a matter of fact, Hickory was the backdrop of Lavar’s first victory behind the wheel of a late model car in September of ‘21, just days after his 18th birthday. His early professional experience also included a pair of events in Mexico’s FB Bhon Mikel’s Truck Series where Lavar tacked another victory onto his racing resume.
Through it all, and perhaps on the precipice of a big breakthrough in his chosen craft–he finished fourth at the ARCA Daytona event in February 2023–Scott has managed to keep life and his career in perspective, thanks in large part to a solid foundation of support back home.
“I was always taught to be true to myself; to be kind and build relationships on respect; and to work together with my crew and fellow drivers,” he said. “But, my greatest support has always been my mother. She has not missed one of my races. She gets nervous, but she’s always there.”
When he’s not traveling the country in pursuit of another checkered flag, Lavar Scott resides in North Carolina.