BUTLER TWP — Richard Curry knows about race cars.

Now, he's giving his students a crash course, teaching them how to install a steering wheel instead of getting behind one.

Curry is in his third year of teaching at Butler County Vocational-Technical School. Part of his class this year involves taking a donated Dodge Sprint and transforming it into a stock car eligible for racing in the Young Guns division at Pittsburgh (Pa.) Motor Speedway.

"The project is fun. It's an incentive tool as well as a learning tool," Curry said.

Curry has been racing cars at area dirt tracks for 15 years. He has experience building race cars and racing engines as well.

All the work on the car will be done by students at the vo-tech school, including welding, painting and lettering.

"Our body shop will paint the car in school colors and our graphic arts department will letter it up," Curry said. "The kids are really into this. Those who do well in other classes get to work on the car longer."

The car will be auctioned at the end of the school year. Proceeds from the sale will be used toward building another race car next year.

Curry had hoped to begin this project last year, but he couldn't get a car donated. The Butler administration helped to complete the funding for this year's project.

About 20 students have been working on the car, which included the disassembling of numerous engine parts and the interior.

"I want to work on cars for a living and maybe race one," junior David Christley said. "I'm picking up a lot by doing this."

Curry said disassembling the car has been the most educational facet of the project.

"The kids are learning a lot about how a car functions by taking out parts," he said. "We're not just ripping stuff out. We're unbolting and removing parts. The hands-on experience is invaluable."

Vo-tech student Jay Swigart has done 90 percent of the welding on the car.

"I'm going to go to school for welding, so this is great experience for me," Swigart said.

Most of Curry's auto shop students hope to become employed in some capacity of the automotive field.

"I've been into cars since the first 'Fast and Furious' movie came out," junior Jake Beggs said. "The time and effort I'm putting into this is well worth it. I'm learning how to make a car safe while having fun at the same time."

Sophomore Travis Agherton said his father works as a mechanic "and I help him out when I can.

"I figured this would be a way to learn more about it," he said. "Cars, diesel, motorcycles — I want to learn a big variety of stuff."

Sophomore Zach Bayne plans to join the Army and learn how to be a mechanic.

"This project opened my eyes as to how detailed this work can be," Bayne said.

Much of the car's interior has been completed, but a roll cage kit is being assembled, the dash needs to be installed, as well as the fuel cell.

"We're getting close," Curry said. "It's been a worthwhile venture in that the kids can see the fruits of their labor every time they're in here."

The Young Guns racing division is for ages 13 to 19. A driver's license is not required to compete, though a parental consent form is needed.

"The father of one of our kids is interested in bidding on the car, so his son might be racing it some day," Curry said. "That would be an interesting end to all of this."