The 2017-2018 season got underway with a great day of racing. With the aftermath of Irma it was not certain how many teams we would have for the season opener. At least 3 teams were not able to attend because of storm related issues. Some were still without power and all the school teams lost at least a week of preparation because of the storm. We still had 11 cars which was a good showing considering the last few weeks.

Some of the teams affected by the storm and not here were I Will Mentorship Foundation, Palm Bay Magnet, Silver Bullet Racing and the Electrocutioners for a total of 6 cars. Hope to see all of them back on the track soon.

We want to give a big shout out to the new team from Mulberry High in Polk County. They are using one of our loaner cars and had a good day on the track. They used multiple drivers to give more of their students a chance to drive.

Another big shout out goes to Simmons Career Center in Plant City. They were absent last year but returned with a vengeance with a new Advisor and a whole new team. They are racing two very fast cars by Jim Robinson of Silver Bullet Racing. They are using some old batteries but have a new order of Yellow Tops on the way. When they get them watch out. They took 3rd place in both races and a 2nd place Overall in the High School Division with the 53 car.

In the 1st race Mulberry High School in the 38 car set a blistering pace for the 1st half of the race before the battery bug got them. Cliff with Pro Ev in the 39 car was running away from the field with his Lithium batteries when he had a battery warning alarm sound causing him to pit. That allowed the other Lithium powered car from USF to take first place in the Advanced Battery Class.

Tiger racing with Rodney at the wheel cruised to a 1st place over the host HCC car in the first race when HCC had to make multiple pit stops.

In the High School class it was the Brandon High School 09 car running very fast and steady for a 1st Place finish with the 365 Duck car from Middleton coming in a strong 2nd. The Simmons 35 car had electrical wiring problems and had to withdraw early but made a strong second place finish in the second race.

In the 2nd race Pro Ev had his battery problems sorted out and finished 1st for an overall 2nd place for the day with USF taking the 1st place overall in the Advance Battery Class.

Tiger Racing continued his winning ways with a 1st place and a 1st place overall  in the Open Class.

In the High School Class the Brandon 09 car finished with another 1st place and a 1st place overall in the class.

You know the saying he is trying to drive the wheels off of that car. Well it happened today with the Middleton 365 car having a good race and looking at a possible 2nd place overall finish. Right up to the time the left front wheel fell apart. The 365 finished the race in the pits but still managed a 3rd place overall.

The Simmons 53 car  had two 3rd place finishes for the day and a 2nd place overall for the day. A great showing for their first race in over a year.

Observations From The Pits:

With all the uncertainties over the last few weeks its not surprising there were not more lapse in attention to the little details. A loose connection on an electrical circuit. A switch in the wrong setting. A battery not fully charged. Some teams need more or better battery chargers. When working with batteries a meter to test Volts and Amps is a must. Long sleeve shirts. Enough Ballast and no duct tape. Proper battery hold downs (NO Bungee Cords)

Other than the mild fall temps (NOT) it was a great first day of racing. Now there is a short turnaround till our second race of the season at USF. So charge those batteries change those tires, fix those wheels, tighten those bolts and lets do it again.

Open Class:  1st – Tiger Racing #4  206 laps, 2nd – HCC #30 165 laps

Advance Battery  1st – USF #132  211 laps, 2nd – Pro Ev # 39 199 laps

High School  1st – Brandon #09  205 laps, 2nd – Simmons #53  186 laps, 3rd – Middleton #365  186 laps, 4th – Brandon #14  172 laps, 5th – Middleton #80, 6th – Mulberry #38, 7th – Simmons #35

Vic

The ETO annual membership meeting was held at the Cracker Barrel on July 17, 2017.

Charles Harrison gave a breakdown of last year’s season which saw considerable growth for ETO.  We met a large number of our business plan goals and objectives. There was a lot of discussion about the upcoming season which will see even more growth and be very busy.

The new season that starts with our opening event at Hillsborough Community College/Brandon Campus in September will see even more growth.  Representatives from teams as far away as Fort Myers (I Will Mentoring Foundation) and Orlando (Electrocutioners) were present and teams in South Florida (Pro EV) sent in material that was read at the meeting.  We were honored to have the new Electrathon America Vice President, Don Morgan from Quitman Georgia, attend our meeting.

Don went over the changes in store for Electrathon America.  Electrathon America has a whole new slate of officers headed by President Kirk Swaney who has a lot of new ideas to move everyone forward.

New rules at the national level are in the works for car and driver safety.  They are substantial but will not be difficult or expensive to comply with.  The main one concerns the roll bar set up and how it is measured.  More info will be forwarded when the rules are adopted in their final form.

Locally we should see the return of Lennard and Wharton High School.  Plant High School has a car ready to go for the season opener.  Brandon High School is working on a 3rd car but lost their sponsor and needs a new one to step up and help them out.  Middleton High School has new drivers and a new 3rd car in the works.

ETO has several loaner cars and we are working on getting new schools involved in Electrathon Racing.

Our local schedule and other out of town events will afford many opportunities for our teams to compete on a higher level and push that one hour envelope.

Sai and his guys from University of South Florida are working on their Lithium Powered car and have come up with some innovative ideas for battery management that will increase the reliability and safety of the batteries.  Sai has also come up with a very neat way to implement 2 way communications among the teams, officials and sponsors using our cell phones and an ear bud set up.  More info as the system is implemented.

Vic

In Electrathon Racing it is all about MAKING THAT HOUR 

In Electrathon Racing it is all about the BATTERIES

This information is for the teams that are using sealed lead acid batteries. The information has been around for a while and is presented as a reminder/refresher.

First off, not just any battery charger will do the job you need for your batteries. The charger needs to have an AGM/GEL cell Cycle. A charger meant for a regular liquid lead acid battery has only one cycle to charge a battery. The charger for an AGM/Gel will have multiple cycles to properly charge them. It will also extend the life of the battery.

Charge rates are also important. If you charge the battery at to high of an amp rate you can damage them. The Optima Battery web site has some real good information on battery maintenance. A 12 volt battery should be around 13 volts when fully charged and ready to race.

Testing your batteries is a lot more than just checking the Voltage. I have tested batteries for teams that read 12.6 and only had 400Amps. They would not have made half the race. Each team should have a DIGITAL BATTERY TESTER. This type of a tester will give Voltage, AMPS and also detect a Bad Cell. A battery with a bad cell WILL NOT charge properly and will leave you dead on the track.

Digital Battery Testers are available from most auto parts store and they can be expensive.  I have seen them on line for $50 – $80.

Another tool that can come in handy is an Infrared Tachometer. Do you want to know how fast a given gear ratio will move your car? You need to know the motor RPM.  The number of teeth on the motor gear, the gear on the drive wheel, the circumference of the drive wheel AND the motor shaft speed will give you the max possible speed for each gear set. You can tailor the gear ratio for the individual track. gokartracing.org has a calculator that you can input the information and get MPH for any combo of gears and wheels.

The proper battery charger, a Digital Battery Tester, an Infrared Tachometer.  These will help keep those batteries in top shape and your car on the track.

Remember it’s all about the batteries.

See you in September

Vic

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

A GREAT DAY FOR A RACE AND A SWIM

The day started off with great weather on the USF course. The weather forecast varied all week from 20-80% chance of rain LATE in the afternoon. Then the radar showed a BIG rain band out in the gulf and that late rain showed up at 1:30 and drowned the place.

We normally start the races at 10am and 1pm, with the radar looking real menacing we started the second race at 12:30. It turned out to be a good idea. The cars can run in the rain but its not a popular choice.  Mike Fredricks, our race steward, waved the checkered flag 1 minute early just as the clouds opened up.  We got the race in but had to take down the course in the rain. Trophy presentations were held under the canopy in the rain.

In the High School Class it was Brandons #14 against the three cars from Middleton. In this race it was Brandon #14 against Middleton #365 with Brandon taking 2nd in both races and Middleton taking 1st in both races.

In the last race it was Brandon #14 and Middleton #80 tied for season points. In this race it was #14 and Middleton #356 with Middleton taking first overall for the day to pull within 2 points of Brandon #14 and the season lead. There are 3 cars within 6 points of each other for the season.

In the Open Class we had Rodney, HCC and the #242 car.  The #242 car was at Tampa Bay Tech but Tech does not have a team this year so BRADY, some other Alumni and current students raced it in the Open Class. The #242 car was and is very fast and it was great to see it on the track again. Brady now has the car with plans to continue racing in the open class as the Titans.

Rodney in the #4 car took both races with HCC and the Titans car both having to withdraw with mechanical problems. They were not able to start the second race. The Titans car had a catastrophic blow out on a front wheel that blew the rim apart. In 10 years of racing we have seen many blow outs, flat tires and wheel collapses but never a rim coming apart like that. Almost half the rim sidewall was left on the track.

In the Experimental Battery Class it was close all day with Drew and Slam battling all day with Slam in the #90 car taking the day with 146 laps.

In the first race the #8 car had electrical problems and had to withdraw. Drew, Slam and USF were within 3 laps with Drew on top with 76 laps, USF with 74 and Slam with 73.

In the second race it was the #90 car and Slam with 73 laps and everyone else way behind. USF and ProEv both had problems and had to withdraw. Drew in the #72 car had problems with his car and it conked out several times and had to be pushed started to get going again. Pony in the #8 car had a wire come out of a connector and killed her throttle. Several members of other teams carried her car off the track and found the errant wire and soldered the pin and got it back on the track. The problems dropped her out of the season lead and put her 4 points behind Drew in the #72 car.

Next race will be on the Track at Brandon High School on March 25th.  We will be doing another speed event. Two twenty minute races going for speed and distance. Between the races there will be an extra special event. Team sponsors and ETO officials will be taking to the track for a short race. If we can manage to get into the cars.

Finish Order:

High School: 1st  Middleton #365, 2nd Brandon #14, 3rd Middleton #80, 4th Middleton #133, 5th Brandon #9.

Open: 1st Tiger Racing #4, 2nd HCC #13, 3rd  Titans #242

Experimental Battery:  1st Electrocutioners #90, 2nd Electrocutioners #72, 3rd USF #132, 4th Electrocutioners #08, 5th ProEv #39

Visit the Photo Album for Wharton Race at: (Copy and paste link into Browser) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132647601@N06/albums/72157675532300803

What a day and what a race.  The course was one of the best we have been on in a while.  14 cars battled for 2 hours of racing and in the Experimental Battery Class the margin of victory was a whopping 1400ft.

Wharton High School did an outstanding job putting on the races and had their BBQ grill working overtime between the races.

In the High School Class we want to give a shout out to Palm Bay Magnet High School.  They are over on the east coast, south of Cocoa Beach.  They took a third place finish in the second race.  They are still working the bugs out of their car and will be a contender in the near future.

There were some close finishes in the High School class.  In the first race the Middleton High School #80 car and #365 finished 1st and 2nd with the #80 finishing 4 seconds ahead after 1 hour.  In the second race it was the Brandon #14 car beating out the Middleton #80 car by .47 seconds over the one hour.

The Open Class was a lonely place with only the #04 car of Tiger Racing running.  We missed the HCC and Robinson Racing cars this race.

In the Experimental Battery Class it was a tight race all day with Cliff from ProEv taking the day with a total of 159 laps over the Electrocutioners #08 & 72 cars with 158 each.  Cliff has always had a VERY fast car but in the past has been plagued by mechanical problems and wearing out the tires on his car.  Today it all came together and he ran two trouble free races, except for trading paint once during the race.

We were glad to see Slam make it back on the track to round out the three car Electrocutioners team.  Something about he had to work all those past race days.  His new #90 car, which was late starting the first race and was on a shakedown run.  It was very fast and was the best looking of the field.  If he doesn’t have to work next month watch out.

Can’t wait to see what Drew Jet has to show from his fancy drone he was using at the race.  He has the coolest toys.

We hope to see Strawberry Crest, Wharton, Jefferson, Plant, Foundation and our other Open Class cars for the BIG RACE at University of South Florida in February

OVERALL STATS:

OPEN CLASS:  1st Place #04 Tiger Racing 145 laps

EXPERIMENTAL BATTERY CLASS:  1st #39 ProEv with 159 laps,  2nd #08 with 158 laps,  3rd #72 with 158 laps,  4th #90 with 146 laps, 5th #132 with 41 laps.

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS:  1st #80 with 138 laps,  2nd #365 with 130 laps,  3rd #14 with 123 laps,  4th #101 with 97 laps,  5th #133 with 93 laps,  6th #09 with 67 laps,  7th #86 with 39 laps,  8th #30 with 33 laps.

Our biggest race of the year is coming up in Feb. at the U.S.F. Engineering Expo.  We will have a display area on February 17th where teams can show their cars, equipment and answer questions.  The race is on February 18th and has the most challenging course we race on all season.  Wheels and tires take a beating so now is the time to get everything in top shape.  Charge up those batteries and get those tires and wheels ready to go.

More info on U.S.F. Race will be up shortly

Vic

It was a great day for racing at Lennard High School with 14 cars from 10 teams in 3 divisions.

The schools name sake, Dr. Earl Lennard, former Hillsborough County School Superintendent dropped the green flag a 10 A.M. on a bright and sunny day.

The course was just short of a half mile around the drivers ed. range, a parking lot and as an added treat around the dumpsters.  The fastest lap of the day was just over 54 seconds by Drew in the 72 car.  He also turned in the top lap count of the day at 111 for both races.

Our ranks are growing.  USF was back with their Lithium Ion battery powered car.  They were here for testing and only ran the second race.  As fast as they were going the other cars in the Experimental Battery Class better look out when they are 100%.

Strawberry Crest was back and put in a good showing with a 3rd place finish in both races for 3rd overall.

The home team did a fantastic job getting the course ready for the races.  There were a lot of hay bales and tires to sling.  The Lennard 86 car was having a great day in the first race, right up to the point where their rear drive wheel had a slight problem when it lost its ball bearings.  Any time there is a problem with the drive wheel on any of these cars it makes for a real bad day.  Lennard missed 3rd place while sitting in the pits at the end of the race.

In the second race Brandon High School took 1st and 2nd in the High School Class.  The #14 car edged out the #9 car on time with the same lap count.  Strawberry Crest beat the Middleton #365 car by 13 seconds for 3rd place over the one hour.

Brandon took 1st in both races for their 1st overall of the year.  Something about new batteries in old cars.  They are working on a new car to start replacing the 8 year old cars they are using.

In the Open Class, in the first race Tiger Racing and Robinson Racing were neck and neck the whole race with Robinson Racing edging out Tiger for a 1st.  In the second race it was Tiger Racing all the way when Robinson Racing had to withdraw with mechanical problems.

In the Experimental Battery Class we want to welcome back Team USF.  They should give the Electrocutioners and ProEv a run for it when the are fully operational.  They only ran the second race but were very fast.  ProEv had some chain problems in the first race but kept it together in the second for a close 1st place heat win.

OBSERVATIONS FROM THE PITS

Some teams need to work on their mirrors.  Way to much duct tape could cost you next race.  Check the rule book.  You can not continue racing if any safety device or ballast item fails during a race.  YOU MUST fix it or be DQ.   Our cars are electric/battery powered, everyone who works on them should know how to hook up a battery or electrical item properly and the wiring should be either red for positive and black for negative.  Positive = RED, Negative = Black.  One of the cars was having a problem getting their transmitter to register at the start of the race.  The transmitter was fried/killed/dead when it was hooked up when the ground side was connected to the positive side of the battery.  $50 plus transmitter fried.  This is the third or fourth one in two years.  All team should keep 9V batteries in their kit to use with the Red transmitters or if there is a problem with the wiring harness on the white ones.

We want to welcome Jefferson High School.  They are working on a car and had a team at the race to get a feel for how its done.  Word is Plant High School might have their car ready for the January Race at Wharton High School.

RACE RESULTS

High School  1st Brandon #14, 2nd Middleton #365, 3rd Strawberry Crest #30, 4th Brandon #9

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

Experimental Battery Class  1st Electrocutioners #72, 2nd Electrocutioners #8, 3rd Pro Ev #39, 4th USF #132

Vic

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: 1^st Place Middleton 80, 2^nd Place Lennard 86, 3^rd Place Middleton 365, 4^th Place Brandon 14, 5^th Place Middleton 133, 6^th Place Brandon 9

Open Class:  1^st Place Robinson Racing 94, 2^nd Place HCC 13

Experimental Battery Class:  1^st Place Electrocutioners 8, 2^nd Place Electrocutioners 72, 3^rd 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.

Vic

tbt-race

The second race of the season is in the books.

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

Open Class: Tiger Racing 4 – 1^st place, HCC 13 – 2^nd place

Experimental Battery Class: Electrocutioners 8 – 1^st place, Electrocutioners 72 – 2^nd 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.

See you in November

Vic Nieves

Visit the Photo Album for this event at these two links: (Copy and paste link into Browser) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132647601@N06/albums/72157668752352541 https://www.flickr.com/photos/132647601@N06/sets/72157668167965661

A total of 15 cars registered for the last race of the season at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa on May 14, 2016. The staff at the Florida Solar Energy Center assisted us in getting the track set up and allowed us to secure our ETO trailer on site the night before. A special thank you goes to Ken Fiallos for coming with Charles Harrison on Friday to set all of the stakes for our safety barriers.

The new Team from Palm Bay Magnet High School arrived and finished getting their car ready to race for the first time. University of Central Florida and Seminole State College had challenges with their new cars preventing the cars from making the race. The green flag for our first race dropped at 10 am with 13 cars ready to race. The Palm Bay Magnet High School Team met challenges as their car tested their team member’s ability to stay in the race. The team met the challenges and would not give up; great team work and determination to stay in the race. A new team and car coming to their first race always meet challenges with their car as a race is the test for the team to perform at a higher level in this sport. The first race went well, 1^st Place in HS – Simmons Car 35, 1^st Place in Open – Robinson and Son Car 94 matching their lap count to their car number, 1^st Place in Experimental Battery – Electrocutioners Car 8.

As the flagged dropped for the second race at 1 pm, all 13 cars were back on the track ready to race. Once again our new team from Palm Bay Magnet High School met challenges with their car, the great team and sponsor decided to call it a day. We know that they will be back for our new season and have the challenges conquered. The second race also went well, 1^st Place in HS – Middleton Car 80, 1^st Place in Open – Robinson and Son Car 94 once again matching their lap count to their car number, 1^st Place in Experimental Battery – Electrocutioners Car 8.

When the race day ended and our canopies came down it hit us that this race season was over and the time we spend every month with our ETO friends and families will be put on hold until the new race season begins in September.

Please have a safe and enjoyable summer.

Final  official stats for the year will be available at the end of the year banquet.  Stats for 2015-2016 After 9 Races. Final Stats