We held our 19th STEM Electrathon Event at University of South Florida in conjunction with their Engineering Expo on Saturday, February 11th.

We thank USF for including us in their Engineering Expo every year.

We thank Acme Barricades (Jaime Gonzalez) in Tampa for their generous donations of cones for this event.

We thank Minuteman Press (new owner Ken Hunt) in Brandon for their support in making up our flyers for our events and all our copy needs.

The pit area was busy as a beehive as the teams got the 17 cars ready for the first race.

The teams met with our Race Steward Mike Frederick for instructions, flag identification and safety guidelines. The track opened for 30 minutes so that drivers could run practice laps. The driver in the USF car was running practice laps when his throttle malfunctioned in one of the chicanes and caused the car to turn over causing damage to the front wheels. The driver was fine due to the great safety guidelines used in the design and building of these cars. Steve Archer, Electrathon America Vice President brought down his new car to see how it would perform on our road courses. As the teams lined up their cars for the first race, 16 of the 17 cars were ready to compete. The USF car 48 had issues that kept them out of the race.

The green flag dropped to start the first race and teams gave it their best.

The road course at USF was challenging for our teams. During the first race, a number of love taps were exchanged amongst the cars/drivers. Teams had issues with their cars but got back into the race quickly. Jane Deere car 942 started through the chicane by the scoring tower and one front wheel turned one way and the other went the opposite way, which ended their race day.
Provided by Cliff with Pro EV car 39
When the checkered flag dropped, ending the first race, the results were:
High School Class
1st Place Middleton 133 with 61 laps
2nd Place Middleton car 80 with 60 laps
3rd Place Plant City car 83 with 54 laps
4th Place Mulberry car 38 with 48 laps
5th Place Mulberry car 100 with 45 laps
6th Place Kirkland car 555 with 9 laps

Open Class
1st Place Tiger Racing car 4 with 68 laps
2nd Place Kinetic car 99 with 64 laps
3rd Place Kinetic car 19 with 63 laps
4th Place Archer car 654 with 61 laps
5th Place Ryno car 360 with 32 laps
6th Place Jane Deere car 942 with 30 laps

Advanced Class
1st Place Pro EV car 39 with 76 laps
2nd Place S & J car 128 with 62 laps
3rd Place S & J car 256 with 29 laps
4th Place Silver Bullet car 13 with 11 laps

Between races the teams made adjustments to their cars, changed tires and got some lunch. The USF Team was able to transfer parts from their 48 cars over to their car 132 frame and got it to the pits for inspection.We thank Aidan (Mulberry HS) and his parent(s) for the amazing birthday cupcakes. Happy 16th Birthday Aidan. Cupcakes were really good. When the lineup was called for the second race, 16 of the 17 cars lined up for the second race. The green flag dropped and the teams started the second race. The love taps between cars and drivers continued. It was pure racing fun at its best.

Provided by Cliff with Pro EV car 39
When the checkered flag dropped, ending the second race, the results were:
High School Class
1st Place Plant City car 83 with 60 laps
2nd Place Mulberry car 38 with 55 laps
3rd Place Middleton car 133 with 55 laps
4th Place Middleton car 80 with 52 laps
5th Place Mulberry car 100 with 47 laps
6th Place Kirkland car 555 with 39 laps

Open Class
1st Place Tiger Racing car 4 with 69 laps
2nd Place Archer car 654 with 67 laps
3rd Place Kinetic car 99 with 63 laps
4th Place Kinetic car 19 with 59 laps
5th Place Ryno car 360 with 18 laps

Advanced Class
1st Place Pro EV car 39 with 75 laps
2nd Place S & J car 128 with 61 laps
3rd Place S & J car 256 with 35 laps
4th Place Silver Bullet car 13 with 10 laps
USF car 132 completed 36 laps

We congratulate the S & J Racing car 128 for the fastest lap of the day, a 40.813 in the first race.To find our overall race results for the day we add the two race lap totals. Final results for the race day:

High School
1st Place Middleton car 133 with 116 laps2nd Place Plant City car 83 with 114 laps3rd Place Middleton car 80 with 112 laps4th Place Mulberry car 38 with 103 laps5th Place Mulberry car 100 with 92 laps6th Place Kirkland car 555 with 48 lapsOpen Class
1st Place Tiger Racing car 4 with 137 laps2nd Place Archer car 654 with 128 laps3rd Place Kinetic car 99 with 127 laps4th Place Kinetic car 19 with 122 laps5th Place Ryno car 360 with 50 lapsAdvanced Class
1st Place Pro EV car 39 with 151 laps2nd Place S & J car 128 with 123 laps3rd Place S & J car 256 with 64 laps4th Place Silver Bullet car 13 with 21 lapsUSF car 132 completed 36 laps for familiarizationOur next race (March 4th) will be held at Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation