OCEANSIDE -- Students across the county will get a chance to work on the car El Camino High School students built last year for the reality television show "Drag Race High."

A transmission company in Santee bought the souped up 1972 Chevrolet this week from the Oceanside Unified School District. The owner, Gerald Levy plans to bring students into local auto shops to work on it for races that could happen as often as once a month, said Dean Kuhn, the owner of Certified Transmission in Oceanside who has teamed up with Levy.

Kuhn will house and maintain the car at his Oceanside shop. He was involved with building the car last year as part of the reality show, which aired on the Speed Channel. He said he wanted to continue to allow students to work with the car, after seeing their excitement.

"It really energized these young men," he said.

Any high school in San Diego County with an auto shop will have the opportunity to participate, Kuhn said. They won't rebuild the car, but will help crews maintain it and prepare for races, which could start this summer.

It's important to get teens interested in cars in order to ensure there will be skilled mechanics in the future, he said.

Levy, who owns Opportunity Transmission Inc., agreed to pay the school district $16,314 for the car. That money will be used for equipment and supplies for the schools automotive technology program.

The district never expected to hold onto the car for long, said Robyn Phillips, associate superintendent in charge of business services.

"We don't, as a district, operate race cars," she said.

Having the high-powered vehicle around campus would be a liability for the district, she said.

"Owning such things becomes such a huge temptation for students -- and adults -- to drive," she said.

The school board agreed to the sale Tuesday and Kuhn picked it up the next day.

The district offered the car for sale to six businesses, the school's automotive program booster club and district employees. It received four bids, ranging from $10,000 to $16,314.

Though the price was lower than the district had hoped for, the sale was a good deal for Oceanside Unified since most of the materials were either donated or paid for by the producers of the reality show, officials said.

The show brought some unwanted attention to the district earlier this year. In March, the district abruptly terminated its contract with Steven Jennings, the teacher who brought the cameras into his auto shop class, amid complaints from parents that he was a bad influence of the students.

Jennings was one of two auto-shop teachers featured on "Drag Race High" last season. The show pitted students from El Camino and Ramona high schools against each other to see who could build the fastest drag racer in three months. El Camino's car beat Ramona's by half a second in a quarter-mile race that served as the climax of the show.

The next race for the car will probably be a rematch between the two schools, which could happen this summer, Kuhn said.

"We're going to give Ramona a chance to regain the title," he said.

Call staff writer Stacy Brandt at 760-901-4009.