One of the Co-Founders of Electrathon of Tampa Bay retires from our organization but will always be part of our family. Vic Nieves is already missed at our races as he was always there to support the students, enthusiasts and our family of Electrathon of Tampa Bay. We congratulate Vic on this next chapter in life. You are always welcome at any and all of our events.

The second race of the 2021-2022 race season was held at Plant City High School on Saturday October 9th. We thank Plant City HS Electrathon Team Sponsors David Kocher and Fernando Guillen along with their team and Administration for hosting the race.

As the teams arrived and set up was finished, you could feel the excitement building. A loud noise came from the pit area as teams were finishing up their last minute preparation on their cars. We found out that the Pro EV Team had a tire blow while being inflated causing the boom.

The drivers met with Race Steward Mike Frederick for instructions and flag recognition.

The Kinetic Industries team had another new car ready for the track with Caleb driving. All through both races, Caleb in car 019 kept a steady pace and did not appear to have any issues. Caleb did a great job driving and Kinetic Industries team had a great showing of their new car.

Nine cars lined up to start the first race of the day. Mulberry HS had to do a last second adjustment to their GoPro.

During the first race, Kinetic Industries car 919 blew a front tire and had to pit. Mulberry HS car 38 changed drivers at the half hour mark giving more students an opportunity to drive. Ten minutes left in the race, Pro EV car 039 spun out in turn three and faced all the cars heading into turn three.

When the checkered flag dropped ending the first race it was:
High School
1st Place Plant City car 210 with 91 laps
2nd Place Mulberry car 38 with 85 laps
3rd Place Plant City car 83 with 53 laps
Open
1st Place Titan car 242 with 87 laps
2nd Place Tiger Racing car 4 with 79 laps
3rd Place Kinetic Industries car 019 with 77 laps
4th Place Kinetic Industries car 919 with 42 laps
Advanced
1st Place Pro EV car 039 with 95 laps
2nd Place Fortuna car 444 with 44 laps

The University of South Florida team arrived with car 48 after the first race and got their new drivers to run a few practice laps before the second race lined up.

There were ten cars lined up for the second race. Just before the green flagged dropped, Kinetic Industries car 919 had to leave the line up due to a controller issue.

During the second race Mulberry car 38 had a chain issue in turn two. On lap 38 Pro EV car 039 blew the front tire on the straight away heading to turn one, got it changed and back into the race. Mulberry car 38 blew the right front tire, changed it and got back into the race. Kinetic Industries car 919 came out and had the chain come off in turn three, rough day for their team. They were able to get that resolved and got into the race for the last seven and a half minutes. Mulberry car 38 had to pit as their steering came loose for no reason at all. Todd and his crew fixed it and back into the race they went. The Titan team had battery issues causing them to stay to the inside while others passed them giving Tiger Racing a chance to catch up on overall laps. Just before the checkered flag dropped, Pro EV car 039 and Mulberry car 38 blew tires, both teams were able to make it around the track to complete their final lap.

At the end of the second race it was:
High School
1st Place Plant City car 210 with 64 laps
2nd Place Mulberry car 38 with 60 laps
3rd Place Plant City car 83 with 52 laps
Open
1st Place Tiger Racing car 4 with 85 laps
2nd Place Titan car 242 with 72 laps
3rd Place Kinetic Industries car 019 with 69 laps
Advanced
1st Place Pro EV car 039 with 84 laps
2nd Place University of South Florida car 48 with 47 laps
3rd Place Fortuna car 444 with 35 laps

The total from both races were combined to determine the winners overall in each class.
High School
1st Place Plant City car 210 with 155 laps and a best lap of 33.352 for the day
2nd Place Mulberry car 38 with 145 laps and a best lap of 35.136 for the day
3rd Place Plant City car 83 with 105 laps and a best lap of 38.842 for the day
Open
1st Place Tiger Racing car 4 with 164 laps and a best lap of 38.093 for the day
2nd Place Titan car 242 with 159 laps and a best lap of 38.476 for the day
3rd Place Kinetic Industries car 019 with 146 laps and a best lap of 40.724
4th Place Kinetic Industries car 919 with 42 laps and a best lap of 34.882 for the day
Advanced
1st Place Pro EV car 039 with 179 laps and a best lap of 31.061
2nd Place Fortuna car 444 with 79 laps and a best lap of 37.310 for the day
3rd Place University of South Florida Car 48 with 47 laps and a best lap of 35.721 for the day

Our next race will be held on November 6, 2021 on the track at Plant City High School. This race is our anual DASH RACE. All races will only be 20 minutes at the safest rate of speed for optimal performance of their car.

On October 9, 2021, Electrathon of Tampa Bay/Florida; will hold the second race of the 2021 – 2022 season. The host will be Plant City High School located at 1 Raider Place, Plant City, Florida.

Health and safety guidelines will continue due to COVID. Masks are expected at this Plant City High School sponsored event.

Set up will begin on Friday around 530 p.m. so that safety barriers are in place for the track and course design completed. Final set up of the scoring system and registration area will start at 630 a.m. on Saturday morning.

All parent consent and minor waivers must be turned in at the registration booth when you sign in. Team Sponsors cannot sign these forms for participation.

All drivers will weigh in and must have their long sleeve shirt, long pants, helmet, shoes, gloves, eye protection and required ballast for weigh in so that they are a minimum of 180lbs. Ballasts will be checked when cars line up to race.

All Advanced Battery Division teams will be required to show manufacturer’s specs for the weight of the batteries to comply with Electrathon America and ETO rules for advanced batteries. If a team does not have their manufacturer’s specs sheet, the batteries will need to be weighed at the race.

Car inspections will be performed at each race, roll bars, brake test, and driver exit of vehicle will be key factors this year for the safety of all drivers.

Only team driver’ will be required to attend the Driver Meeting with the Race Steward for information on driving, flags and safety protocols.

The first race lineup is 9:45 A.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race at 10:00 A.M.

The second race lineup is 12:45 P.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race at 1:00 P.M.

Clean up and awards will follow.

Red – Track
Blue – Pits
Green – Registration

Electrathon of Tampa Bay/Florida held the first STEM Event of the 2021-2022 Race Season on September 11, 2021 at Hillsborough Community College (HCC) in Brandon Florida.

We thank Hillsborough Community College Administration and Electrathon Team for hosting our first race of the season, without you, we would not have had a great day of STEM competition.

When we arrived it was a fresh but overcast Florida morning filled with excitement and anticipation as this was the first race of the season.

Signs were posted at the registration area reminding everyone of the social distancing and mask guidelines.

Teams arrived and got to work on their final adjustments to their cars.
A total of eleven cars registered for our first race of the season. We missed our teams from Simmons, Brooks DeBartolo, Middleton, Lennard, Brandon, Parrish, Palm Bay, USF, Seminole State, Electrocutioners, Archer, and I will Mentorship. We hope to see you at our upcoming races.

We welcome our new team to the Electrathon of Tampa Bay/Florida family, Kinetic Industries, Kevin and Amanda.
To honor and remember the individuals of 9/11 we had a moment of silence and sang the National Anthem with the American Flag at half staff before our first race.

In the first race there was a lot of exciting things to keep you watching. Our new team Kinetic Industries car 919 blew multiple tires but Kevin kept his car under control, changed tires and got back into the race.

Tiger Racing and Mulberry bumped each other in turn three and both drivers recovered and continued racing. Mulberry blew a tire and got their replacement tire on in lightening speed. Pro EV and Mulberry bumped in turn one. Plant City car 83 blew a tire and had to hit the pits to get it replaced. Mulberry spun out in turn one and was pointing in the wrong direction, the driver got on the throttle and turned it around and back to racing. Mulberry’s rear tire was rubbing the frame and did not look like a tire at the end of the first race.

At the end of the first race it was
High School Class
1st Place Plant City 210 with 102 laps and best lap time of 30.200
2nd Place Mulberry 38 with 72 laps and best lap of 31.109.
3rd Place Plant City 83 with 32 laps and best lap of 32.125.

Open Class
1st Place Tiger 4 with 102 laps and best lap of 30.024.
2nd Place Silver Bullet 94 with 94 laps and best lap of 32.329.
3rd Place Titans 242 with 74 laps and best lap of 37.728.
4th Place HCC 30 with 58 laps and best lap of 43.882.
5th Place Kinetic Industries 919 with 35 laps and best lap of 32.716. Great best lap for a first time car and driver.

Advanced Class
1st Place Pro EV 39 with 118 laps and best lap of 26.010. This lap time was the best for the entire race day.
2nd Place Fortuna 444 with 83 laps and best lap of 30.965.
3rd Place Silver Bullet 13 with 76 laps and best lap of 35.115.

As the teams lined up for the second race, you could tell the drivers were having fun at this STEM Electrathon Event.

In the second race the teams continued with the excitement. Kinetic car 919 had his chain come off, Mulberry had a tire issue, Plant City car 83 came around turn four on two wheels and the driver recovered and kept on racing.

HCC Team had to pit for a chain issue, and Pro EV and Plant City 83 bumped each other. Pro EV spun out in turn one and had to take care of a small repair and back into the race he went.

At the end of the second race it was
High School
1st Place Plant City 210 with 97 laps and best lap of 29.707.
2nd Place Mulberry 38 with 62 laps and best lap of 34.637.
3rd Place Plant City 83 with 50 laps and best lap of 33.447.

Open Class
1st Place Tiger 4 with 101 laps and best lap of 31.817.
2nd Place Titans 242 with 99 laps and best lap of 33.086.
3rd Place Silver Bullet 94 with 80 laps and best lap of 32.545.
4th Place HCC 30 with 39 laps and best lap of 41.540.
5th Place Kinetic 919 with 17 laps and best lap of 34.021.

Advanced Class
1st Place Pro EV 39 with 98 laps and best lap of 27.494.
2nd Place Fortuna 444 with 89 laps and best lap of 30.539.
3rd Place Silver Bullet 13 with 80 laps and best lap of 32.346.

The overall totals for the race day were calculated and awards were presented to:

High School
1st Place Plant City 210 with 199 laps
2nd Place Mulberry 38 with 134 laps
3rd Place Plant City 83 with 82 laps

Open Class
1st Place Tiger Racing 4 with 203 Laps
2nd Place Silver Bullet 94 with 174 laps
3rd Place Titans 242 with 173 laps
4th Place HCC 30 with 97 laps
5th Place Kinetic 919 with 52 laps

Advanced Class
1st Place Pro EV 39 with 216 laps
2nd Place Fortuna 444 with 172 laps
3rd Place Silver Bullet 13 with 156 laps

Please join us for our next race at Plant City High School on October 9, 2021.

On September 11, 2021, Electrathon of Tampa Bay/Electrathon of Florida; will hold the first race of the 2021 – 2022 season. The host will be Hillsborough Community College located at 10451 Nancy Watkins Drive, Tampa, Florida 33619.

Health and safety guidelines will continue this year due to COVID. Masks are expected at this HCC Race Event to meet campus guidelines.

Set up will begin on Friday around 530 p.m. so that safety barriers are in place for the track and course design completed. Final set up of the scoring system and registration area will start at 630 a.m. on Saturday morning.

All parent consent and minor waivers must be turned in at the registration booth when you sign in. Team Sponsors cannot sign these forms for participation.

All drivers will weigh in and must have their long sleeve shirt, long pants, helmet, shoes, gloves, eye protection and required ballast for weigh in so that they are a minimum of 180lbs. Ballasts will be checked when cars line up to race.

All Advanced Battery Division teams will be required to show manufacturer’s specs for the weight of the batteries to comply with Electrathon America and ETO rules for advanced batteries. If a team does not have their manufacturer’s specs sheet, the batteries will need to be weighed at the race.

Car inspections will be performed at each race, roll bars, brake test, and driver exit of vehicle will be key factors this year for the safety of all drivers.

Only team driver’ will be required to attend the Driver Meeting with the Race Steward for information on driving, flags and safety protocols.

The first race lineup is 9:45 A.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race and race season at 10:00 A.M.

The second race lineup is 12:45 P.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race at 1:00 P.M.

Clean up and awards will follow. Hope everyone has their cars ready to go and remember to do all of your safety checks and be knowledgeable and understand the Electrathon America Rules and Guidelines for the car, driver(s) and teams.Yellow – Barrier, Green – Pits, Red – Course, Black – Scoring Tower

On Sunday, July 25th teams were ready for the final race day at Buckingham Field. Today’s race day consisted of two, one hour races. The course was changed and included a center insert which made the course approximately 1.4 miles long.

We thank the Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Explorers for their support and assistance again this year. The LCSO provided Explorers all three days for our event, they were an asset at the entry gate directing those arriving to their designated areas. The Explorers were fantastic with the tear down of the venue at the end of the third day.

As teams lined up for the green flag we had to change the classes as we obtained advanced team Pro EV car 39 and lost open team Tiger car 4 (due to his pit malfunction on Saturday). This gave us two cars in high school, one in open (Archer 321) and three in advanced. Our open car had to run in the advanced class for the day giving us four in the advanced class.

As the green flag dropped and cars took off, you could tell the teams were going to push their cars to optimal performance. Pro EV provided us with video of their last lap in race 1, Thank you Cliff and James.

Fortuna car experienced a transponder issue believed to be heat or battery related causing three laps not to register.

When the checkered flag dropped it was:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 16 laps and best lap of 214.557
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with 12 laps and best lap of 178.624

Advanced
1st Place Pro EV 39 with 24 laps and best lap of 140.515
2nd Place Archer 321 (open car) with 21 laps and best lap of 168.151
3rd Place Archer 0 with 19 laps and best lap of 165.568
4th Place Fortuna 444 with 18 laps and best lap of 168.748

Between races teams made some adjustments to their cars, charged batteries and drank fluids to stay hydrated.

The last race of the three day rally brought challenges to some teams. Fortuna 444 was not able to race due to battery issues. When asked about it at the end of the race, Mike was speechless. Archer 0 broke a sprocket. The Mulberry 242 returned to the pits after the race with a blown front tire and another showing its threads. Pro EV 39 blew a tire and caused them to spin out, thank you for the video from the race.

At the end of the second race , it was:
High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 17 laps and best lap of 172.918
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with13 laps and best lap of 221.889

Advanced
1st Place Pro EV 39 with 20 laps and best lap of 144.772
2nd Place Archer 321 with 19 laps and best lap of 163.745
3rd Place Archer 0 with 16 laps and best lap of 158.552

The overall totals for the race day were calculated and awards were presented to:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 33 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with 13 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy

Advanced
1st Place Pro EV 39 with 44 laps received $100 and a trophy
2nd Place Archer 321 with 40 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy
3rd Place Archer 0 with 35 laps received two Bosch baseball caps and a trophy
4th Place Fortuna 444 with 18 laps received two Bosch baseball Caps

We presented Lee County Parks and Recreation a trophy of appreciation for their continued STEM Electrathon Racing support.

We thank all of the teams, parents, spectators that came out to our first three day event in Lee County,

On Saturday, July 24th teams were ready for another race day at Buckingham Field. Today’s race day consisted of two, one hour races. The course today is the same as the dash race held on Friday, approximately 1.1 miles.

Teams made some adjustments to their cars before the race.

As teams lined up for the green flag we had two cars in each class (high school, open, advanced).

The race went very well:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 20 laps and best lap of 161.588
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with 17 laps and best lap of 167.278

Open
1st Place Archer 321 with 29 laps and best lap of 124.510
2nd Place Tiger 4 with 23 laps and best lap of 144.360

Advanced
1st Place Archer 0 with 25 laps and best lap of 123.775
2nd Place Fortuna 444 with 22 laps and best lap of 116.256

Teams worked on their cars between the races making adjustments to improve their performance in the next race. Most teams were already getting their dose of vitamin D from the sun, even through the sun screen. We encouraged everyone to consume water to stay hydrated.

Tiger Racing had a system malfunction while working on their car and it took off out of the pit area with driver attached to its side. Driver is okay but received some road rash, bruises and sore muscles.

Teams lined up for the second race of the day. The race went well:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 22 laps and best lap of 157.977
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with 13 laps and best lap of 157.328

Open
1st Place Archer 321 with 31 laps and best lap of 115.565
2nd Place Tiger 4 with 23 laps and best lap of 132.538

Advanced
1st Place Archer 0 with 26 laps and best lap of 115.063
2nd Place Fortuna 444 with 17 laps and best lap of 105.434

The overall totals for the race day were calculated and awards were presented to:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 42 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with 30 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy

Open
1st Place Archer 321 with 60 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Tiger 4 with 46 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy

Advanced
1st Place Archer 0 with 51 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Fortune 444 with 38 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy

Teams met later that evening at Beef O Brady’s for food, fun and relaxation

On Thursday, July 22nd, teams began to arrive for the three days of STEM Electrathon Racing at Buckingham Field in Lehigh Acres, Florida.

Most of us stayed at the Quality Inn & Suites 1320 Business Way in Lehigh Acres, thank you for the great rates and service.

On Friday, July 23rd we arrived at the track around 9am to begin the venue set-up.

We send a huge THANK YOU to Lee County Mosquito Control for allowing us to use their facilities and Lee County Parks and Recreation for all of their support in planning our event.

Thank you Nic and his crew from Lee County Parks and Recreation for having all the items delivered for our event. Nic’s crew along with ETO, Mike, Trish, Jim, Ambur and Charlie got the track ready as some teams were arriving early to charge up batteries and do last minute adjustments to their cars.

Setting up the track took the steam out of all of us.

The drivers meeting went well and the track was opened for teams to test their cars for 30 minutes. Archer Racing took their new car out to see how it would do, first time on the track, and it was ready to race.

As the teams lined up for the first of two, 20 minute dash races it was first come for lineup position. The track was approximately 1.1 miles long.

We had two cars in each class (high school, open, advanced) lined up when the green flag was dropped. When the 20 minute Dash ended it was:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 38 with 8 laps and best lap of 144.833
2nd Place Mulberry 242 with 6 laps and best lap of 172.418

Open
1st Place Archer 321 with 12 laps and best lap of 98.922
2nd Place Tiger 4 with 11 laps and best lap of 101.254

Advanced
1st Place Fortuna 444 with 11 laps and best lap of 104.517
2nd Place Archer 0 with 9 laps and best lap of 119.800

Teams made adjustments to their cars, drank more fluids and charged batteries.

All six cars lined up for the second race, as the green flag dropped, teams took their line on the track and put the power to their motors. Mulberry 38 blew the chain on its first lap and it was done for the day.

When the race ended it was:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 242 with 7 laps and best lap of 155.600
2nd Place Mulberry 38 no laps due to popped chain

Open
1st Place Archer 321 with 13 laps and best lap of 93.910
2nd Place Tiger 4 with 11 laps and best lap of 101.578

Advanced
1st Place Fortuna 444 with 11 laps and best lap of 102.344
2nd Place Archer 0 with 10 laps and best lap of 117.203

The overall totals for the race day were calculated and awards were presented to:

High School
1st Place Mulberry 242 with 13 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Mulberry 38 with 8 laps received a Bosch charger and trophy

Open
1st Place Archer 321 with 25 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Tiger 4 with 22 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy

Advanced
1st Place Fortuna 444 with 22 laps received $50 and a trophy
2nd Place Archer 0 with 10 laps received a Bosch charger and a trophy

Teams went back to their hotels and then we all met at Rib City for some food, fun and relaxation.

On Friday, July 23rd, for our special sponsor race, all team cars are eligible to race no matter the type of batteries (any registered driver) as long as entry fee for special race is paid and we have three cars in a class (High School Class, Open Class, Advanced Class). This will allow those attending to participate in all the races on Friday. Awards will be same for each class.
See prior post for full details on special race.

REMINDER
Teams only have until July 3rd to get the group hotel rates for our Buckingham Field STEM Electrathon three day event.

See race and hotel information on our website or earlier posts here.