Georgia Tech football player skipping senior season to go pro in NASCAR

Georgia Tech offensive tackle Eason Fromayan has had his fill of football, so he made what some might call an unconventional choice. After the Yellow Jackets play Kentucky in the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, next week, Fromayan will hang up his helmet and shoulder pads with one year of eligibility remaining and start training to earn a spot on a NASCAR pit crew. The transition feels natural to Fromayan, who has been an auto racing fan from childhood, rooting on Jeff Gordon (even dressing up like him for Halloween) and attending more races across the Southeast than he ever did football games.

Fromayan says there are a "whole lot of pictures of me wearing Jeff Gordon gear all around the house." As NASCAR pit crews have increasingly turned to athletes to fill their spots, the options have opened up for former football players. One NASCAR coach estimated former football players make up 35-40 percent of pit crews, and that number is growing. Fromayan compared the competition to earn a spot to recruiting and signing day, where racing teams hold combines and vie for the services of the best athletes available. Fromayan understands he might have to start in the minor leagues so he can get in some quality reps, but the goal is to land on a Sprint Cup team. There are plenty of role models to turn to, from former NC State tight end Asa Watson to former Wake Forest linebacker Dion Williams — the poster child for athletes-turned-crewmen. ESPN

AND To pursue his dream, Fromayan will likely attend a school or camp where he can learn the skills he'll need to be a part of a pit crew – Fromayan figures he'd work the jack or the fuel can – and then get tested by race teams in combine-type events. Quarterbacks and B-backs coach Bryan Cook and strength and conditioning coach John Sisk have helped with their connections into the world of pit-crew coaching. Atlanta Journal-Constitution