Thursday at Lowe's Motor Speedway Michael Waltrip announced a new initiative between Michael Waltrip Racing and Toyota to bring more diversity to NASCAR by offering, "a one year apprenticeship to a deserving diversity graduate of Toyota's Technician Training and Education Network (T-Ten) program."

The selected individual will earn a technical apprenticeship with Michael Waltrip Racing, located in Cornelius, N.C. "This unique program is another way Toyota has made NASCAR a better place since entering the sport," Waltrip explained. "Diversity is an important initiative for everyone involved in NASCAR and I am honored that Toyota wanted to partner with Michael Waltrip Racing."

The T-Ten program is a partnership between Toyota and 56 community college and technical programs that places students in Toyota and Lexus dealerships. Bringing an apprentice to the Michael Waltrip Racing shop for a year was the idea of Waltrip. "So many talented technicians want to be involved with a NASCAR team and this is an unprecedented way to open the door," Waltrip said. "I can't wait to meet the winner and put his or her skills to work on my race cars."

"When Toyota came into the sport that added another step towards diversification world-wide," Waltrip told HardcoreRaceFans.com. "More and more people wanted to know what was happening in NASCAR now that Toyota was there. We developed more fans immediately. Every day that goes by, people become more and more aware that this sport is worldly its not just something we do down in the south."