“I was a big NASCAR fan growing up. My family owned a service station there in the Freedman Community. We were car people. I still am."
However, Horton’s path to racing began on a different track.
“I was a two-mile runner in high school. I was pretty good. I finished 8th in state.”
In 1983, Horton graduated from North Carolina A&T State University, earning not only his degree in Health and Physical Education/Sports Medicine but also valuable mentorship.
“I had a mentor by the name of Tom Bynum, who was very instrumental in my development and my growth.”
Horton, affectionately known as "Coach Phil," then became a graduate assistant football Athletic Trainer at Michigan State University.
“I got a chance to work with a defensive coordinator by the name of Nick Saban. I went on to become head football trainer at the University of Memphis and then to the Milwaukee Bucks."
In 1990, Horton continued his career as the head football Athletic Trainer at Memphis State University, today known as the University of Memphis. He later became the assistant Athletic Trainer and strength coach for the NBA Milwaukee Bucks from 1991 to 1996.
Shortly after leaving the Bucks, Horton returned to North Carolina and his private athletic training practice, where he began his work in NASCAR as a personal trainer for former driver Ernie Irvin. His clientele soon expanded to include pit crew athletes, eight other NASCAR drivers, and 12 race teams over seven years.
As a pit crew coach, Horton introduced his innovative approach of developing athletes, rather than traditional mechanics, to work on cars during races. He then trained aspiring pit crew members through NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. Horton is currently the pit crew coach for the Drive for Diversity Crew Member Development program presented by Sprint, as well as the strength and conditioning coach for Rev Racing.
“It’s honestly a dream come true for me. You think of football players, basketball players, wrestlers, baseball players. They view us as soft and I disagree.”
Despite the unusual career choice, France always aimed for NASCAR.
“I would tell friends all the time in high school, 'Yeah, I’m going to become a tire changer one day. I’m going to go pit a race car,' and they were like 'What?'”
Now living his dream as a tire changer for Team Penske, France remarked,
“I definitely was adamant about becoming a pit crew member, but I still had to do the work.”
Reflecting on his impact, Horton said,
“To have been a part of it and to have actually made a contribution to the sport, I couldn’t have imagined such a thing.”
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