World Class Wednesday: Shane Fox: Teaching and Inspiring in the Classroom

Earning the title of Automotive Service Excellence World Class Technician is no small accomplishment. To be recognized as World Class, these individuals have obtained ASE certification in 22 specialty areas: A1-A8 (automotive), T1-T8 (medium/heavy truck), B2-B5 (collision repair), and L1-L2 (advanced).  

Not only is achieving certification in these areas impressive, but as of 2025, only 2,000 technicians have achieved World Class status.  

In this Q&A, Motor Age sat down with Shane Fox — an ASE World Class technician and Automotive Instructor at Iredell-Statesville Schools in Statesville, North Carolina — to learn more about his journey in the automotive industry and how gaining World-Class status has helped advance his career.

Motor Age: Please introduce yourself and tell us about your experience in the automotive industry. 

Shane Fox: I got into automotive when I was in high school. I graduated in 1992 and landed my first technician job at the Dodge dealership in Statesville, North Carolina. I worked there from 1992 until 1998. In 1999, I went to work at the Jeep dealership in Statesville and was there until 2002.

In 2003, my high school auto mechanics teacher talked me into teaching Auto Mechanics at Iredell-Statesville Schools, and I’ve been doing that ever since.

I completed my testing in 2024 for ASE World Class, and I officially received the certification in February 2025.

Motor Age: What's the most memorable repair you've ever completed?   

Fox: One of the neatest things I repaired was with one of my students. We took a 90 4g Wrangler — started out with a four cylinder — and put a 318 V8 engine in and out of a Grand Cherokee. We wired it all up — the factory fuel injection — and everything.

Motor Age: Tell us one thing about you that we can't guess from your certifications.  

Fox: Well, I've been racing motorcycles since 1990. I was a pro-flat track racer. I carried a professional license for 20 seasons from 1999 through 2018. I am still currently racing, but I am in the Over 50 Class now.

Motor Age: What automotive technology trend are you most excited about/ most concerned about?     

Fox: The hybrid stuff is neat, but all this stuff coming out with ADAS, as well as self-driving cars, is concerning. I'm old school. I still like to have my hand on the wheel, and I just worry a little about all the people that are getting comfortable out there on the road with ADAS.

I’m also concerned about the next level that it's going to go to. I'm sure there's a lot of fail-safes for it, but what if something happens and it shuts everything down suddenly? How many wrecks will occur because of the new technology?

Motor Age: How has ASE certification helped advance your career?  

Fox: I've been ASE certified since I was 19 years old. Back then, to do warranty work, you couldn't do it if you were not certified in that area. So that was the incentive to get me to go ahead and get my Master Technician status way back then. I think ASE certification puts an extra feather in your hat. It doesn't necessarily mean you can fix the car, but you do at least know the theory behind the stuff.