You don’t have to come from a big city or town to be successful or achieve your dreams.

That was the point Lehighton Area High School teacher and STEAM coordinator Guy Potts, wanted to drive home to his students on Friday as the class visited Pocono Raceway to meet with Indian alum Mike Bugarewicz, crew chief for Stewart-Haas Racing driver Clint Bowyer.

Bugarewicz, 37, and Lehighton Class of 2000 graduate, told students his road to success wasn’t always paved in gold and there were plenty of roadblocks he had to overcome.

“You have to keep fighting for what you believe in,” he said. “Just because you come from a small town doesn’t mean you can’t work hard. It doesn’t mean that the curves and forks in the road have to keep you down. “

In his fourth year as Bowyer’s crew chief, Bugarewicz has three Cup victories under his belt. He was a lead engineer on Kevin Harvick’s championship team in 2014. Long before that, however, he was an Indian athlete competing in football, wrestling and track and field, and a student in Potts’ earth science class.

“Even back then he knew he wanted to be in NASCAR,” Potts said. “He was always focused. Anything he did he was successful at. We need to show these kids there is a lot of opportunity out there job wise right in our backyard.”

Bugarewicz attended Penn State University, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. From there, he worked to create his own opportunities.

“I wanted a job in racing because I had been around it my whole life at Mahoning Speedway and other tracks,” he said. “I just went down to North Carolina and started knocking on doors and talking to anyone who would listen. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity with Roush Racing and I worked my butt off. If you fail at something, you learn from that experience and use that going forward. If your attitude is that you’re going to give up, you’re not going to get very far.”

Attending a small school like Lehighton, Bugarewicz told the students, has its advantages.

“At a larger school, sometimes you’re just a number and you’re not exposed to the things you are otherwise,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.”

This was the second year Lehighton students made the trip to meet Bugarewicz.

Lehighton sophomore Haley Fritz said she knew of the connection and suggested last year the class go to Pocono.

“It’s really awesome because NASCAR is one of my favorite sports and to have someone from our school so involved with it, it’s really a great opportunity,” Fritz said. “For us to get an opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes, that’s really exciting and not something that most students get a chance to do.”

Beyond meeting Bugarewicz, Lehighton students were able to see different professions at work during a race weekend.

“There are a lot of job possibilities here, and I think it was important for our students to see that,” Potts said. “You have engineering degrees, culinary degrees, all kinds of different degrees coming together here and a lot of opportunities professionally.”

Pocono hosted the third annual “Monster Energy NASCAR Free Friday” program. Fans could see all the action at the track by recycling any size Monster Energy can at the Main Gate.

Lehighton did its part by bringing 150 cans for 30 students.

“Pocono is the largest sporting complex on the planet that has 100 percent renewable energy,” Potts said. “They have a 25-acre solar farm. Monster has this great recycling initiative. It’s cool to recycle and be a part of an initiative like this and have a fun day.”

With Cup qualifying set for today and the Pocono 400 slated for Sunday, Bugarewicz is hoping to get a big win in front of his hometown crowd.

“I love coming back home,” he said. “I still call it home and I always will. We’re looking for a great performance.”