Andy Pilgrim, who has competed as a race car driver for more than 30 years, has joined the NCM Motorsports Park staff.

As a decorated race car driver, Andy Pilgrim seems the perfect fit for the high-performance, mega-horsepower world of the NCM Motorsports Park.

But the former four-time International Motor Sports Association champion is shifting gears a bit as he joins the motorsports park staff. Pilgrim, who started his new job at the NCM in Bowling Green last week, is less concerned these days with thrill rides than with keeping our highways safe.

Now, he believes he has found the perfect launching pad for his mission to keep our roads clear of the sort of crashes that are common at NASCAR speedways.

“We can utilize the (NCM) racetrack for doing traffic safety work,” said Pilgrim, a Corvette Racing Team member for five years who was inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame in 2012. “We can make it a multi-faceted entity and be known for traffic safety.”

Pilgrim’s passion for keeping paint swapping and bump drafting on the racetrack and off our highways is nothing new for him.

After two of his childhood friends were killed in automobile accidents, Pilgrim recalled: “That opened my eyes and made me think.”

The England native still pursued his love for the adrenaline rush of racing, but he has used his success on the track to spread his message about safe driving. These days, that message takes aim at curbing smartphone use by drivers.

“I’ve been using the term ‘distracted driving’ since the 1990s,” said Pilgrim, who still races competitively at age 61. “In the mid-’90s I decided I would see what I could do to give back.”

Pilgrim started his crusade at a high school in Florida, speaking to students about the perils of distracted driving. That led to him forming a nonprofit called the Traffic Safety Education Foundation that he has used to produce videos about safe driving.

Pointing to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics that show both highway crashes and deaths rising steadily since 2011, Pilgrim said now is the time for his message to be heard and heeded.

It’s a message that’s aimed at both young drivers and their parents.

“I need parents to understand that their children are going to drive the same way you do, with the same inattention,” Pilgrim said. “They learn it from about 4 years old. If they grow up seeing you putting the phone in the glovebox when you drive, they are likely to do the same.”

Pilgrim’s emphasis on safety is a good fit, NCM Motorsports Park General Manager Mitch Wright said.

“We’re pretty excited to have Andy,” Wright said. “He’s the consummate professional, and his driver safety stuff impacts a lot of people.”

Wright said the motorsports park is already doing some safety programming and even uses Pilgrim’s videos. With Pilgrim on board, Wright expects to take that training further.

Not that the racing champion will be focusing exclusively on trying to prevent distracted driving. Wright envisions Pilgrim doing some private coaching in the high-performance driving arena and speaking to car clubs and at different events at the museum.

Wright said Pilgrim could also play a role in the refresher training provided at the motorsports park for local law enforcement.