UPDATE: We conducted another on site visit to complete the design of the track and the safety barriers. The straight away is 667 feet long and 25 feet wide, the 180 degree turns / portion will be 40 feet or more in width. Our safety barriers will consist of cones, hay bales and tires. Set up will begin on Friday afternoon and be completed early Saturday morning.
The fourth race of our season is rapidly approaching along with the holidays. ETO wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Our next race will be held at Lennard High School, 2342 Shell Point Road East, Ruskin Florida 33570. The track is approximately four tenths of a mile (approx. 2112 feet) and should challenge our teams and drivers.
Red – Course
Yellow – Safety Barrier
Blue – Pits
Black – Safety Divider – Tires / Cones / Hay Bales
Thank you, Middleton High School Electrathon Team, Faculty, Administration and Bus Drivers from around the County for a great race venue.
After a two year hiatus we were back on the BIG Parking Lot at Middleton. Weather was great and the track was fast.
A new record was set for total overall laps. The Old Record was 112 laps set the last time we were on this track in 2013 by the Electrocutioners in the 08 car. That was also before Lithium Ion batteries. The New Record is now 118 laps also set by the Electrocutioners car 08. The record was set this time with the new batteries and a new driver. Pony tore the track up with the next closest car 11 laps down.
The High School record for total overall laps was safe. Brandon High School car 09 set that record in 2013 with 102 laps.
Lennard High School was back in action taking 2nd overall in the High School Class. They are working on a second car and bought one of our spare frames. We look forward to seeing what they come up with. Lennard is hosting our next race on December 10th and the course looks like a good one with 11 turns and over 2000′ in length.
Robinson Racing was back for the first time this season with a brand new car and an out of state ringer for a driver. They did very well breaking the new car taking 1st in the Open Class.
Our condolences go to Rodney (Tiger Racing) on the loss of his father. We regret that our race was scheduled on the same day of his father’s service. In all of the years that ETO has been racing, this was the first race that Rodney was not able to attend. Sorry for your loss.
Cliff from Pro EV was back with us and took a 1st place in the 1st race beating the Electrocutioners car 08 in the Experimental Battery Class on time differential on the last lap. The tire gremlin got him in the second race for a 3rd place finish.
In the High School Class there was a lot of tight racing all day. Brandon had controller problems with the 9 car and the 14 car lost laps due to chain problems. Lennard High School ran strong in both races taking a 2nd in the first race and a 1st in the second race finishing 2nd overall in High School.
The Middleton Tigers ran strong with the 80 car taking 1st overall in High School. The 365 car, the Duck Car, took 3rd. The 133 car had battery problems in the second race and finished the race but down in the lap count. All three of their cars ran well in both races. After two hours of racing the top three cars were separated by four laps. All the Middleton cars are running at least 36v using smaller batteries but at higher motor RPM.
There were some glitches in our scoring system with several cars having transmitter problems. We were able to keep track using hand scoring. We have added more transmitters and now have some set aside with 9v batteries as emergency spares to be installed mid race using every racers standby DUCT TAPE. We did that on the 133 car in the second race with no loss of laps.
24v, 36v, 48v, 60v, more lighter batteries, fewer heavy batteries, aerodynamics, Lithium Ion, AGM, gear ratios, driver discipline and computer programming are just some of the factor that go into a successful race car/team. Look around the pits the next race and see who is doing what.
High School Class: 1st Place Middleton 80, 2nd Place Lennard 86, 3rd Place Middleton 365, 4th Place Brandon 14, 5th Place Middleton 133, 6th Place Brandon 9
Open Class: 1st Place Robinson Racing 94, 2nd Place HCC 13
Experimental Battery Class: 1st Place Electrocutioners 8, 2nd Place Electrocutioners 72, 3rd Place Pro EV 39
Everyone have a great Thanksgiving and looking forward to seeing everyone at the December Parade in Longwood and at Lennard for the next race.
Electrathon and Junior Solar Sprint Racing Teams, our next race of the season will be held at Middleton High School, located at 4801 North 22nd Street, Tampa Florida 33610. The race day schedule will be the same as last season.
The usual suspects were present for the races. We want welcome back the team from HCC for their first race since early last season and Tampa Bay Tech High School for hosting the race.
The conditions were good with cool temperatures and plenty of sunshine. The course was smooth and fast, with some cars hitting speeds in the mid 30s on the long straights.
In the experimental battery class the 08 and 72 cars battled it out during both races with Pony in the 08 beating Drew in the 72 when his batteries went down early in both races. The 72 car is new this season and Drew is working out the bugs.
In the first race the big excitement was the HCC car, with a new driver, blowing a tire on the drive wheel causing a Red Flag on the track when it went sideways and stalled. The driver did what most people do when driving. Hitting the brakes when a tire blows is never a good idea. The car got sideways and traded paint with the 08 car which escaped unharmed. The HCC car tore up the front end of the nose cone and had to withdraw as the damage caused the driver’s feet to have no protection.
A BIG SHOUT OUT to recognize the Middleton Team for jumping in to help the HCC two person team fix the car. When they were done the car looked fine but could not pass the safety inspection. The Middleton Team exhibited a good example of sportsmanship, one of the many such acts at our Electrathon Races. Before the races and during the break between the first and second races, teams were working on their cars and helping other teams with their car(s). One of the teams gave another team a new tire and inner tubes to help get them up and running.
During the second race that attention to detail monster showed up twice. The 133 car from Middleton, which was going real well and racking up the laps, lost power and had to pit. That Attention to Detail got them. A cable on one of the batteries came off. A lose bolt caused the problem and the pit crew was slow repairing the problem. The car lost multiple laps and missed out on 2nd place in that race by seconds. Then there was the 365 car from Middleton. The one that sported a green and yellow paint job that looks like a yellow beaked Oregon Duck. It spent the first part of the second race drafting the 133 car until the car took an unplanned pit, stopping up against the Brandon High School team trailer breaking its beak. The 365 car had a minor problem with the steering. The steering wheel weld to the steering shaft broke. Welds are the one thing that a safety inspection might not find, especially if the weld is not a smooth clean weld.
Thoughts from the Pits: Electrathon America Design and Safety rules allow a partial frame when the car has a full body over the frame. With the HCC and the Duck car both receiving front end damage and with no injury to the drivers the cars could not continue. The cars conformed to the safety rules and everything worked out.
ALL TEAMS should take a close look at their cars with the thought, would it be a good idea to ADD an additional piece to the frame. Look at the area where the driver’s feet rest. Then ask WHAT IF. Is there a frame component that protects the driver’s feet in the event of a front end crash, even with a full body over the frame?
Idea for the pit crews: How many different size nuts and bolt are there on the car? The fewer sizes the fewer tools needed to make an adjustment, service or repair. You can have a small GO BAG with what you need to make a QUICK Repair/Pit Stop. Think Batteries, Steering, Wheels/Tires.
Results:
High School Class: Middleton 80 – 1st place, Middleton 133 – 2nd place, Brandon 14 – 3rd place, Brandon 9 – 4th place, Middleton 365 – 5th place
Open Class: Tiger Racing 4 – 1st place, HCC 13 – 2nd place
We want to welcome Plant High School, from South Tampa, to the Electrathon of Tampa Bay Family. They picked up one of our loaner cars and will be working feverishly to get it ready to race. Hope to see them on the track in December at Lennard High School.
The next race is on the Famous Middleton High School course the first Saturday in November. We will be on the BIG parking lot. It is a long course with all the turns and long straights.
Steve Lamson, one third of the Electrocutioners Team who has raced with ETO for the last 8 years, delivered two donated Electrathon race cars to us on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. ETO is deeply honored by this generosity and will put the cars to great use towards growing our program!
Electrathon of Tampa Bay sends our condolences during this time of loss to the family and friends of Rodney Schreck (Tiger Racing). Rodney’s father passed away Sunday, October 16, 2016.
Electrathon of Tampa Bay sends our condolences during this time of loss to the family and friends of long time supporter of ETO Doug Andrews (lifetime friend of Ken Fiallos). Doug passed away Tuesday, October 18, 2016.
Welcome Electrathon and Junior Solar Sprint Racing Teams, our next race of the season will be held at Tampa Bay Tech High School, located at 6410 Orient Road, Tampa Florida 33610. The race day schedule will be the same as last season.
As Hurricane Matthew approaches the State of Florida’s East Coast, Electrathon of Tampa Bay reaches out to our Teams/Supporters from Southeast Florida, Tiger Racing and Pro EV, from Central Florida, East Coast, The University of Central Florida, Palm Bay Magnet HS, Seminole State College, The Florida Solar Energy Center, Robinson and Son Racing and The Electrocutioners. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your families. We hope that you are safe from the effects of this hurricane. Once this hurricane has passed, please reach out any of the Executive Board to let us know that you are okay.
UPDATE 10/7/2016
We have heard from Tiger Racing, The Electrocutioners, Robinson and Son, Pro EV, University of Central Florida, and The Florida Solar Energy Center. They have all made it through the hurricane Matthew. It was wonderful to hear from our teams. We have not heard from Palm Bay Magnet HS or Seminole State College. Hope that they will reach out to us sometime today to let us know they are okay.
This afternoon we heard from Palm Bay Magnet High School and they are okay.
Rob Nolen, Manager of Lowes in Valrico for your continued support of ETO by arranging for us to use a generator for our races that do not have access to an electrical outlet to run our scoring system.
