NORFOLK, Va. – Former Norfolk State University football players Sandy Chapman, Torian Henderson and Gerard Johnson have been selected to attend this year's national pit crew combine as part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity (D4D) Crew Member Development Program.

NSU was one of eight universities to host a regional combine in April, designed to recruit minority men and women to serve as tire changers, carriers and jackmen in professional motorsports. Johnson, Chapman and Henderson are among 17 athletes who have been selected to attend this week's national combine at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. There, they were evaluated based on a series of fitness, agility and pit crew drills. They will also attend some of the weekend's races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

From there, a total of 10 participants will be notified later this summer of their acceptance into the development program operated by Rev Racing, with the goal of gaining future employment on pit crews of NASCAR National Series race teams. Last year, NSU also sent three former student-athletes to the national combine, with Lamar Neal and Brehanna Daniels earning spots in the development program. Neal is currently a tire carrier for Richard Childress Racing, while Daniels works as a tire changer as an independent contractor.