Category Archives: Uncategorized

April 15, 2017 STEM Event at MOSI

The Museum of Science & Industry is having a STEM Event (Kids Rock Science) on April 15, 2017. MOSI is located at 4801 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33617. The Event will be held between 10am and 2pm. ETO will have The University of South Florida Team car on display and flyers will be given to those attending the MOSI STEM Event to attract spectators and possibly new teams to our races.

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May 13, 2017 Florida Solar Energy Center

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2017 FSEC Race Course Final

RED – COURSE, BLUE – PITS, YELLOW – TAPE, WHITE – TOWER, GREEN – SCORING/REGISTRATION, BLACK – METAL RAILING

The last race of the ETO Season will be held on May 13, 2017 in Cocoa Florida in conjunction with The Energy Whiz Olympics. The address for The Florida Solar Energy Center is 1679 Clearlake Road Cocoa Florida 32922. We will be using the parking lot just SW of the area where the solar cooking competition is held behind Florida Solar Energy Centers main building.

TEAMS MUST PRE-REGISTER AT:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EnergyWhizElectrathon

 

 

Middleton High School Round Two

After the Fairgrounds race was canceled Middleton High School stepped up to host a second race on their home turf.  This time the track was much longer and more difficult.

The new layout was rougher than in the past and had some real tight turns causing more than one car to try some off road driving.

Middleton had their snack stand working and had pizza, drinks and snacks.  It was much appreciated by all the racers and spectators.

It worked out well for them as they took top honors in the High School Class both times.  Car 80 took the first race back in November and the 365 car took the top spot this time out.

After eight races and with only one remaining in the season Brandon and Middleton are in a dead heat.  The Brandon 14 car and the Middleton 365 car are tied with 430 points each.

Brandon started the day in the lead in the point’s standings but battery problems and a busted chain beset their #14 car and it finished in 4th place.  Middleton jumped in and helped with the chain or the 14 car would have had an even worse day.

Middleton took the top three spots with a steady performance by all three of their cars, with the 365 on top at the end of the day.

In the Open Class it was Tiger Racings #4 taking both races against a much improved HCC car.  The #4 car was one lap behind the top Experimental Battery car that was the top car for the day.

The USF car had a rough day with a busted wheel in the first race and more wheel problems in the second race but is making steady progress.

High School Class

1st Middleton 365, 2nd Middleton 133, 3rd Middleton 80, 4th Brandon 14, 5th Brandon 9

Open Class

1st Tiger Racing 4, 2nd HCC 13

Experimental Battery Class

1st Electrocutioners 72, 2nd Electrocutioners 8, 3rd Electrocutioners 90, 4th USF 132

There are several out of town races scheduled by other groups and for the last two months of the school year and we will have cars at all of them.

Our last race of the year will be at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa in May.  The track will be longer than last year’s.  We look forward to seeing teams from central Florida and the East Coast.

The High School Class will be decided at this race so we look for a hard fought race between the 14 and 365 cars for the top spot and bragging rights

April 8, 2017 Race Location Changed

Our Electrathon Race scheduled for The Florida State Fairgrounds in conjunction with the Gulf Coast MakerCon Event will not take place at the Fairgrounds on April 8, 2017. The Gulf Coast MakerCon Event was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We have secured Middleton High School NW parking lot for our race. The course will not be the same as our previous scheduled race. Always looking to improve our events.

Yellow – CourseMiddleton April 8 2017 done

Orange – Bus Parking

Blue – Pits

Red – Registration / Scoring

Gray – Tower

 

Barber Motor Sports Race – April 3, 2017

2017 Barber Motor SportsElectrathon of Tampa Bay will have High Screenshot_2017-03-26-08-04-46School and Open Division teams represent our group at this out of state race in Alabama. Our teams have been working on their cars so that they can compete and bring home an out of state trophy. ETO will hand out flyers to others teams at this race to attract interest in our website and races. This is a great opportunity for our High School and Open Division teams to show others what Electrathon of Tampa Bay is all about.

March 25, 2017 Brandon High School

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We arrived in the dark at Brandon High School to start our day of racing. Sponsor Mark Knowlton got all of us awake when he turned on the stadium lights to get the set up for our event completed on time. A big thank you goes out to everyone for all their assistance in setting up. Planning the event we missed one small detail, how was our Race Steward getting from the scoring area inside the fenced area onto the track. Mike did a lot of extra walking during the day (we will try to keep that in mind for our future events) thanks Mike for not being too upset. We missed our Executive Board Member (Vic) due to his love for competition shooting. The excitement throughout the pits and spectators was great. We hold one speed race each season to allow our teams to show their driving skills and cars safe limits.

Our first 20 minute speed race of the day was our College, Open and Experimental Battery Divisions. The Electrocutioners car #8 was driven by Middleton’s Sponsor Kyle Thompson as Pony was not able to make it to this race (missed you Pony). We missed University of Central Florida, Seminole State College and the Titans, hope to see you soon at upcoming races. Throughout the race it was Cliff in the Pro EV car 39 and Steve and Andrew in the Electrocutioners cars 72 and 90. They were the ones to keep an eye on. Cliff with the fastest lap (24.608) on the quarter mile track for the Experimental Division ran into chain issues and had to leave the race early. In our Open/College Division the fastest lap (27.395) was completed by Rodney of Tiger Racing in Car 4. USF #132 ran strong but took it easy as they are still doing the final touches on their new car. At the end of the race all of the cars were still running strong.

Experimental Division – 1st Place Electrocutioners #90, 2nd Place Electrocutioners #72, 3rd Place USF #132

College and Open Division – 1st Place Tiger Racing #4, 2nd Place Robinson #94, 3rd Place HCC #13

Our second 20 minute speed race was our High School Division. We only had two high schools with a total of five cars. Our teams from Lennard, Strawberry Crest, Wharton, Simmons, Plant and Palm Bay Magnet were missed as the race would have been our largest ever. Throughout the race it was one lap that divided all of the cars. Brandon #9 and Middleton’s #80 started having their batteries go down towards the end of the race. Brandon #14 with the fastest lap (26.857) on the quarter mile track.

1st Place Brandon #14, 2nd Place Middleton #365, 3rd Place Middleton #133

Our third race was a 15 minute speed race for our Team Sponsors and our Executive Board Members. We had a total of seven cars, thank you Electrocutioners, Robinson Racing, Middleton HS, and USF for the use of your cars for our drivers. We had an oldie return to the track (the original King High School box car) after the dust and dirt was cleaned off of it. The cars ran on a variety of batteries (lithium ion, two yellow top, or 48 volt – 4 batteries). Our Race Steward, Mike had the fastest lap (27.115) in the Robinson car #94. This race will become an annual event each season in conjunction with our annual speed race.

1st Place Sponsor Mark Knowlton of Brandon HS in Electrocutioners #72 (32 laps)

2nd Place Race Steward Mike Fredericks in Robinson #94 (31 laps, time 15.05)

3rd Place Sponsor Kyle Thompson of Middleton HS in Electrocutioners #90 (31 laps, time 15.26)

4th Place Executive Board Intern Nicodemus Brothers in Electrocutioners #8 (29 laps)

5th Place Sponsor Robin Rutzke of Middleton HS in Middleton’s #80 (27 laps)

6th Place Executive Board Member Charles Harrison in original King HS car #60 (21 laps)

Brandon High School had the grill fired up for lunch and their team fundraiser. They provided awesome hamburgers, cheeseburgers and in my opinion the best tasting hot dogs. Fredi tried her first boiled peanut and had to have Tom buy more.

As the afternoon races grew closer the sun became hotter and the wind began to give us a slight breeze.

The fourth 20 minute race of the day was our High School Divisions second race of the day. Once again the Brandon team and the Middleton team raced competitively. The Brandon car #14 obtained damage during an incident on the course and was not able to finish the race (investigation pending). Middleton #365 and Brandon’s #14 had the fastest laps, Middleton with 26.041 and Brandon with 29.026.

Current race results pending investigation outcome:

1st Place Middleton #365, 2nd Place Brandon #14, 3rd Place Middleton #80

The fifth and final 20 minute race of the day was our College, Open and Experimental Battery Divisions. The Electrocutioners car #8 was once again driven by Middleton’s Sponsor Kyle Thompson. Pro EV #39 had issues with their car and had to leave the race track for the day. Our wishes go out to Pro EV teammate James, on his eye. The Robinson #94 car left the race after 7 laps. Once again the cars had plenty of battery to complete the race as strong as they started. The fastest lap (24.308) for the Experimental Divisions race was completed once again by Cliff in Pro EV car 39. In the Open/College Division, once again Rodney in Tiger Racing #4 had the fastest lap of 27.607.

Experimental Division

1st Place Electrocutioners #90, 2nd Place Electrocutioners #72, 3rd Place Electrocutioners #8

College and Open Division

1st Place Tiger Racing #4, 2nd Place HCC #13, 3rd Place Robinson #94

ETO‘s next race will be at Middleton High School on April 8, 2017.

Corrected March 25 Race Schedule

Okay Folks, Maybe I can Finally get it Right, My Apologies for the Confusion, Posted the Wrong Schedule

HERE IT IS, THE ACTUAL SCHEDULE FOR THE RACE ON THE 25TH

 ATTENTION:

We have heard from our open and experimental class in reference to the race day schedule. At our last race it was established that our open and experimental battery class would start the race day. This will allow our high school teams to watch our open and experimental drivers to pick up on driving techniques and how to maneuver the course, possibly beating the fastest lap and most laps of our open and experimental teams for the day. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ISSUED TO THE DIVISIONS

845 a.m. to 915 a.m. – The course will be open to all teams for practice laps (ONLY PRACTICE LAP TIME)

925 a.m. – Drivers meeting with race steward at scoring tower

945 a.m. – Line up for the Open and Experimental Divisions first 20 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 10 a.m. race ends at 1020 a.m.

1025 a.m. – Line up for the High School and College Divisions first 20minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 1040 a.m. race ends at 1100 a.m.

1130 a.m. – Line up for our Sponsor and Board Members 15 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 1145a.m. race ends at 12/noon.

1245 p.m. – Line up for the High School and College Divisions second 20 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 1 p.m. race ends at 120 p.m.

125 p.m. – Line up for the Open and Experimental Divisions second 20 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 140 p.m. race ends at 2 p.m.

Awards ceremony will be held after the event clean up

Hotel Information for May 13, 2017 Race in Cocoa Florida

This is the first information for the hotels at the Energy Whiz Olympics in Cocoa the weekend of May 13th. I would suggest reserving NOW if you know you are going – you can always cancel closer to the date of the race if need be, but the rooms go FAST!!

This is always so much fun to end the season with and the more the merrier!!! We will go down on Friday before the event to do the setup and get checked in, and then stay until Sunday, which gives us lots of time for racing and then relaxing! Share this email with others who may be interested.

Hotel: For those who require accommodations Friday night (WE STAY SATURDAY NIGHT; TOO), a block of rooms is available at the Cocoa Beach Days Inn. The Days Inn shares the property with the Best Western which is right on the water (so the Days Inn has easy beach access with no road to cross) and both are next to the Cocoa Beach Pier. Rooms are $84.95 for up to four persons per room, with breakfast included. To obtain this rate, call (321)783-7621 extension 366, and ask for the “Energy Whiz” block of rooms in order to obtain this discounted rate. Rooms must be reserved before April 12th. More information for the hotel can be obtained at  www.daysinncocoabeach.com

If you have any questions about the event, please contact Penny at 321-638-1018 (email penny@fsec.ucf.edu). We are also happy to answer any technical or design questions that you and your students may have….please don’t hesitate to contact us with these types of ‘problems’!

We look forward to seeing you May 13th!!

~Your Energy Whiz Olympics team

West Central Florida Energy Whiz Expo March 25, 2017

Brandon HS 2017Red – Sign In/Scoring

Blue – Pits, DO NOT DRIVE OR PARK ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD 

Purple – Vehicle Parking

Green -Tower

Track is the course

 

Capture

The West Central Florida Energy Whiz Expo will have events at McLane Middle School. The Expo will have Junior Solar Sprint, Solar Cook Off, and Critter Comfort Cottage competitions.

Our Electrathon races will be held at Brandon High School. The campus is located at 1101 Victoria Street, Brandon Florida 33510. This will be our only speed event of the race season. The track at Brandon High School has been resurfaced recently, this will be a factor for our teams and drivers.

REMINDER: ALL DRIVERS TO INCLUDE SPONSORS AND BOARD MEMBERS MUST HAVE ON LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS, PANTS, AND HELMETS – *** PIT LOCATION PENDING ***

845 a.m. to 915 a.m. – The course will be open to all teams for practice laps (ONLY PRACTICE LAP TIME)

925 a.m. – Drivers meeting with race steward at scoring tower

945 a.m. – Line up for the High School Divisions first 20minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 10 a.m. race ends at 1020 a.m.

1025 a.m. – Line up for the Open and Experimental Divisions first 20 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 1040 a.m. race ends at 11 a.m.

1130 a.m. – Line up for our Sponsor and Board Members 15 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 1145a.m. race ends at 12/noon.

1245 p.m. – Line up for the High School Divisions second 20 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 1 p.m. race ends at 120 p.m.

125 p.m. – Line up for the Open and Experimental Divisions second 20 minute speed race. The green flag will drop to begin the race at 140 p.m. race ends at 2 p.m.

Awards ceremony will be held after the event clean up

These races will be challenging for our drivers and exciting to watch as a spectator.

Come out for a free day of fun for the entire family