Our last local race of the season set two records with our largest fields and our longest course. With over a third mile course and 15 cars it made for an eventful weekend. The number and quality of the cars is getting better each race. New cars and teams are coming to the front and all the teams will have to work to keep up. The High School Class is now on a par with the Open Class for lap count and speed.

The course in front of the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds was a long rectangle with an S and a 135 and 45 degree turn on the far end. The teams managed to get thru there with only a few bumps and spins but there was a lot of grass torn up over the course of two races. Hope we don’t have to replace the grass.

The High School Class had its biggest field of the year with 9 cars and 6 teams. In the Experimental Battery Class all three of the Electrocutioners were there along with the return of Pro EV. The Open Class was missing the Robinson Racing Team since Jim Robinson sold both of his cars and did not finish a new car in time for this race, so it was left up to USF and Tiger Racing to battle it out.

In the Open Class Tiger Racing and USF traded 1st and 2nd place finishes and the same lap count. Tiger Racing came out on top by 16 seconds over the two hours of racing.

Rumor has it that Jim Robinson will be at the Florida Solar Energy Center race in May. Another rumor has new Open Class cars from the Orland area representing Seminole State College and U.C.F. Both Teams expected to be at the Florida Solar Energy Center race in May. Team members from these colleges were at the Fairgrounds race to check out how its done and are enthusiastic.

There was a little drama before the first race when the Middleton girl’s team had their car and driver there but tools were late arriving, so they had to really hustle to get the car set up for the race.

After the first race, the Brandon team had a problem with their drive wheel on one of their cars and was in danger of missing the start of the second race. ETO had a car on display inside the MakerCon exhibit that wound up missing the drive wheel for part of the day. Brandon somehow was able to start the second race on time with a perfectly good drive wheel.

The only trading paint, that I am aware of, happened in the first race when a high school car ran up on the back end of the Pro EV 39 car going into the turns. The Pro EV car has regenerative braking which helps recharge the batteries during the race. To do this the freewheel on the drive wheel is replaced with a fixed gear that turns the motor into a generator when the driver lets off of the throttle. It automatically slows the car and the trailing car was not expecting that. The 39 car was run into and two trailing cars had to take evasive action resulting in a spin and some torn up grass. The 39 car had to withdraw to check the rear end and drive system.

The Experimental Battery Class was on fire racking up over 30 more laps than the other classes. They are running Lithium Ion batteries which only weigh 15-18 lbs. Teams recharge their batteries between races so they only need one set as opposed to the HS and Open Class with lead acid batteries and 73 lbs.

In the second race the TBT team rolled the dice and tried a 48 volt battery pack. Most of the cars use a 24 volt battery pack. By going to 48 volts, the motor speed is doubled along with a much higher potential for speed. Good idea but the battery pack didn’t last and the team saw their lap count drop dramatically. The Middleton teams are having good success with 48 volts.

Wharton HS was back in action after missing some races and Lennard HS, the new kid on the block was back for their second race. Both teams put up some respectable lap counts and no problems.

In the Experimental Class Drew and Pony continue to cause confusion on who is driving which car by switching drivers from race to race in the 08 and 72 cars. Overall finish was 08 1st, 72 in 2nd, 90 in 3rd with Slam at the wheel and the 39 in 4th.

In the HS Class it was Simmons 35 in 1st, Middleton 80 in 2nd, Middleton Girls 133 in 3rd, Simmons 53 in 4th, Brandon 14 in 5th, Wharton 58 in 6th, Lennard 86 in 7th, TBT 242 in 8th, and Brandon 09 in 9th.

I want to give a shout out to the Florida State Fair Crew for their help with last minute issues to get the  course ready and safe.

A shout out also to Steve Lamson and his friend from Post FX Digital Studios from Orlando. They were busy all day getting interviews, video and stills of the races. Can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Our last race of the season is May 14th at the Florida Solar Energy Center over in Cocoa. Plans are being finalized and we look forward to another great race to end the season.

The end of year banquet and awards are coming up, we will pass on the info as soon as it is finalized.

Stats for 2015-2016 After 8 Races-1
Vic Nieves

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4pr8jtqkiti8a72/electrathon.mp4?dl=0

For the first time in Electrathon of Tampa Bay history teams went for speed over endurance but endurance did pop up in the first race. The races were held on the flat 1/4 running track at Middleton High School.

A normal race day has two one hour endurance races. This time around the teams went for speed over a pair of 20 min. races. One third the time of a regular race. With one third the time conventional wisdom would say you would not run out of battery power. Over two races a couple of teams did manage to run low on power.

In the first race of the High School Class the Middleton 80 car with their big gears installed jumped out to a very fast start and a commanding lead. They ran out of power late in the race and finished second to the Middleton Girls Team in the 133 car by one lap. But they also turned in the fastest lap of the day for the High School Class at 26.684 sec. over 1/4 mile for 33.72 mph. The fastest lap of the day was in the Experimental Battery Class by the Electrocutioners in the 90 car at 25.644 sec. for 37.908 mph.

If the Middleton girls could get some new/better batteries I think they could take the boys team on a regular basis. The car is fast enough.

Race day saw some new cars and new faces competing. Simmons Career Center showed up with their second car and a new driver. We want to welcome Lennard High School and their 86 car. For their first ever race day they posted very respectable lap totals. In the spirit of sportsmanship Simmons loaned Lennard a set of batteries for the second race since Lennard only has one set of batteries. As a new team they are still assembling the gear for their team.

In the open class Rodney in the 04 battled USF in the 132 car both races to come out on top.  They were together in the first race till a few min. to go then the 04 took off for a one lap win with 34 total.  In the second race the 04 car picked it up quite a bit and put in 39 laps.

In the Experimental Battery Class it was Drew and Pony and then Pony and Drew trading wins and cars in the two races. In the first race it was Drew in the 90 with 45 laps and Pony in the 72 with 45 laps with Drew by 3 sec. for 1st.

In the second race it was Pony in the 90 car with 45 laps and Drew in the 72 car with 44.

Both races went off without a hitch and the closest we came to an OOOPS was late in the first race when Pony in the 72 car got into the grass coming off of the last turn. She was able to recover with no problem but after race when she was in the pits one of her tires blew out. She literally drove the wheels off of her car.

The High School class is improving and getting bigger all the time. The cars are getting better and the drivers are getting more experienced. There was not a lot of difference between the Open and High School Class with the High School getting closer to the Open Class in overall performance.

Our next race in at the Florida State Fairground. We will NOT be using last years course. We will have a course picked out next week.

Open Class   1st  Tiger Racing 04 car 73 laps, 2nd  USF 132 car 68 laps

Ex. Battery   1st  Electrocutioners 90 car 90 laps, 2nd Electrocutioners 72 car  89 laps

High School  1st Middleton 80 car 74 laps, 2nd Tampa Bay Tech 242, 3rd Middleton 133 car, 4th Simmons 53 car, 5th Simmons 35 car, 6th Brandon 14 car, 7th Lennard 86 car, 8th Brandon 09 car

Stats for 2015-2016 After 7 Races-1

It was a great day for racing, Sunny, Clear Skies, Cool Temps and a great USF course. This is the 8th time we have raced at USF and it has always been a great event on our most challenging course. Its a great test of teams and equipment.

As the cars lined up for the start of the first race and were checking their transponders for the automatic scoring system, a HITCH struck the 80 car from Middleton High School. As they were pushing the car under the scoring bridge to check the transponder they noticed that one of the front wheels was going straight and the other was in a hard right turn. A catastrophic steering system failure. The team had to carry the car back to the pits to work on it.

The race started on time with the Electrocutioners in the #8 and #90 cars and the Tiger Racing #4 car jumping out to an early lead and stayed there. The #8 car which is one of the faster cars had problems with charging the Lithium Ion batteries and ran low of battery power and had to withdraw late in the race and was not able to start the second race. The 90 car was the class of the field taking both class races and First Overall with 150 laps.

Simmons Career Center showed up with a new car. The #35 car was built by Robinson Racing and was one of the faster cars during the day. They were the first in the High School division first race by one lap over the TBT 242 car. In the second race they got bumped with 10 min, to go and had to pit. That allowed the TBT 242 car to pick up laps and finish first overall in the High School Class by three laps.

Wharton High in the 58 car had a drive wheel eat up the bearings and had to withdraw in the first race.  They were turning some fast laps when it happened.

Now back to the HITCH/disaster with the Middleton 80 car. They pulled off a feat never seen before in an Electrathon race. They first repaired the steering system with the welder they just happened to bring with them. When the repair didn’t work they  fabricated a complete new steering system and had it ready to go for the second race where they put in some fast laps.

We had some Electrathon Alumni stop by.  We want to give a shout out to Ken Nay, a retired instructor from Plant City and his number one driver and builder Zack also from Plant City.  They stopped by to say hello and just like when they were running their cars back in the day they jumped in and helped Middleton with their car.

We have a race scheduled at the Florida Solar Energy Center later this year and representatives from the center came over to check out the Expo and our race. They had many favorable comments on our race, the teams, the pits and the enthusiasm and cooperation exhibited by all.

High School Division:  1st TBT, 2nd Simmons, 3rd Brandon 14, 4th Brandon 09, 5th Middleton, 6th Wharton

Open Class Division: 1st Tiger Racing, 2nd USF, 3rd Robinson Racing

Experimental Battery Division: 1st Electrocutioners 90, 2nd Electrocutioners 08

Next race is on the track at Middleton High School on March 12th.  Hope to see everyone there.

Vic Nieves

Race Stats for Simmons and Year to Date

The new guys on the block put on a good show at the race on their home track.  We want to thank the staff of Simmons for their help and support.  The food booth was a popular place on race day.  The track was tight and rough with lots of turns but teams were turning lap at 30-35 sec. intervals.

In the High School class there were lots of ups and downs during the two races.  Simmons won the first race with 107 lap with the Middleton 80 car second with 96 laps.  The Middleton 133 car, the girls team, with new batteries came in 3rd with 93 laps, after they lost laps when the ballast fell out of the car and had to be reinstalled.  TBT was 4th with 85 laps after loosing laps with a blown tire.

In the second race Simmons broke a chain and lost a lot of laps before they could get it running again.  TBT had problems in the second race with more blown tires and wheel problems.  That left the two Middleton cars battling for the lead.   The girls team in the 133 car kept up a fast and steady pace and won the second race by 4 laps over the Middleton boys in the 80 car.

The Middleton girls team beat out the Middleton boys team by 1 lap after 2 hours of racing to take the overall 1st place in the High School Class.  Both cars ran steady and fast races.

In the Open Class in the first race it was Tiger Racing against the field.  After 1 hour of racing and 119 laps it was  Robinson Racings 13 car by .233 sec. over Tiger Racing  with Robinsons 94 car 3rd with 116 laps and USF 4th with 82 laps.  After the races were over Robinson Racings 13 car had holes rubbed in the nose cone and Jim Jr. had scuff marks on his shoes.  That was how rough the course was.

In the second race Robinson Racing had the 94 car withdraw early in the race and the 13 car blew a tire late in the race to drop to third and USF improved to 2nd place with 122 laps just 2 laps behind Tiger Racing in the 4 car with 124 laps.

In the Experimental Battery Class there was a lot going on with the Electrocutioners and ProEV battling hard over both races.  The surprise of the day was the Electrocutioners new 72 car.  Drew came up with an actual Go-Kart  running on Lithium Ion batteries.

In the 1st race the 72 car racked up 111 laps for a strong 3rd in its first ever race.  The Electrocutioners 08 car battled the ProEv 39 car for a one lap win.  Towards the end of the 1st race the 08 car, with 128 laps,  and the ProEv 39 car, with 127 laps got together on the front straight and the 39 car lost its canopy and messed up a tire.

In the second race the 72 car was going like a bat and put in 126 laps for a 1st place.  Cliff in the 39 car had problems with his canopy, too much duct tape holding it together.  Then he had problems with his rear drive wheel and other stuff and had to withdraw.

Pony driving the Electrocutioners 08 car held off Drew in the 72 car for 1st place overall in the EX Battery class by 1 lap.

Girl Power came on strong with Overall 1st place finishes in the High School and EX Battery classes.

Blown tires, locked up drive wheels, busted chains, mirrors, loose ballast, to much duct tape and other gremlins caused much consternation in the ranks, standings and order of finish.

The next race is in Jan. at Wharton HS.  That will be the last tune up before our biggest race of the year at the USF ENGINEERING EXPO.  We should see some new out of town cars with upward of 20 cars total and a large crowd of spectators over the two days.

I would like to wish every one a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and great end of the year.  Have a great time and be safe.  See you all rested and ready to go for the second half of the Electrathon Of Tampa Bay season.

Vic

Thank Fredi for getting this together.

The first cool race day of the year is in the books.

12 cars took the green flag for both races on the 1/4 mile track with some of the closest finishes ever in the series.

Racing on a 1/4 mile track allowed the teams to really see how the cars would do in a true time trial setting. Aerodynamics, gear ratios, battery life/conservation, steady speed and steering all come into play.  Much more so than on a road course where the cars are constantly slowing down and speeding up.  In the High School class the winner was driving a car with the aerodynamics of a brick and was 26 laps behind the Open Class winner and 32 laps behind the EX battery winner.  All but the EX battery winner were using the same type batteries.  AERODYNAMICS was a BIG factor.

In the 1st race of the High School Class, the Simmons #60 car and the Middleton #80 car had the same lap count with 80 laps on the 1/4 mile track.  Simmons took 1st by mere seconds.  In the second race Simmons beat Middleton again, this time by 2 laps.  TBT was late starting the race when they had a brake lock up on the way to the start line otherwise they would have been in the mix for 1st.

In the second race Simmons and TBT went at it with both cars finishing with 83 laps each.  Simmons took 1st again this time by 32 sec.

In the Open Class USF, driving their new car for the second race, missed 3rd place by 5 sec. to Rodney in the Tiger Racing #4 car.

In the first Open Class race, 1st and 2nd had a 2 sec. gap.  The Robinson Racing #13 and #94 cars drafted each other  for most of the race with the dad, in the 94 car, beating son in the #13.

In the second race the Robinson Racing #13 car took 1st again when the #94 car withdrew with it second blown tire of the race.  Tiger Racing took 3rd when he had to slow down towards the end of the race in order to preserve a tire that was looking like it wanted to come apart.  At the end of the race the tire looked like it was holding on by a thread or two.  That left the door open for USF to come in 2d in the race and second overall in the Open Class.  USF ran a strong, smooth and uneventful race which is just how it should go but rarely does.

In the Experimental Battery Class (EX) Cliff from ProEV #39 car out of Miami was unopposed and had a track high 195 laps for the day.  I think he scared off the other EX Battery Class cars.  There was a rumor that the other drivers had to work.  Work should never get in the way of racing.  Ha….

High School results for two races

1st Simmons #60 163 laps,  2nd Middleton #80 161 laps, 3rd  TBT # 242 156 laps, 4th Brandon #9 149 laps, 5th Wharton #58 138 laps, 6th Brandon #14 129 laps, 7th Middleton #133 125 laps.

Open Class results for two races

1st Robinson Racing #13 189 laps, 2nd USF #132 183 laps, 3rd Tiger Racing #4 181 laps, 4th Robinson Racing #94 127 laps

Thanks to the Middleton team for putting on a great race and for the food and goodies provided.  It made for a great day of racing.

In the pits during the day teams were seen helping each other and loaning batteries and wheels etc.  True sportsmanship on display for this race and every race.

Hope to see everyone and more at Simmons Career Center, 1202 Grant St in Plant City on December 12, 2015.

Vic Nieves

One of the goals of Electrathon Racing is How Far Can You Go in One Hour on One Set Of Batteries.
On the 1/4 mile track is where you can find out. Aerodynamics come into play here more than on a road course. Gear ratios are the other big factor. Too high and you can kill the batteries. Too low and you cant keep up. The wear and tear on the cars is less but tires need to be 100%
ATTENTION TO DETAIL.. one problem or one oh …. and you are out of it. Make sure your mirrors are set up so you can see the car coming up on your 6.. You MUST be able to see cars coming up on BOTH sides. Min. of 8 sq. in. If you can see both sides with one mirror. Two are better.
The weather for this Sat is looking good. Not too hot and no rain.

See you Saturday.

Vic

Some observations while doing pre race inspections and between races in the pits.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL. ESPECIALLY THE LITTLE THINGS can be the difference between 1st and 5th or a DNF.

A bad connector on one of the batteries on the TBT car caused a very high resistance in the 1st race.  When you check voltage on the battery in the car go from battery post to battery post. Note the voltage, then check from the wing nut connector to wing nut connector and note the voltage. The readings should be Almost Identical.  If not fix it.

Proper wire size, connector size, insulation and a loose connection caused the HCC car to blow the controller. The cable ends going to the controller were/are way to big and not insulated. One came loose and shorted out the controller. That was the end of the day for HCC. The cable end should be JUST big enough to go over the copper conductor. Soldering them is even better. Check with any auto parts store and get HEAT SHRINK TUBING for your connectors. That way even if they come loose they should not short anything out. The right size connectors and proper insulation are way cheaper than a new controller or other pieces of equipment. Teams that have done these things have almost no electrical problems.

I know every team has a copy of the Electrathon America Handbook handy for all those questions on batteries, wiring, car design and safety. Every one should be up on everything it contains. If you don’t have a copy go to electrathonamerica.org and download a copy.

Check paragraphs 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 11.2, 11.7, 11.8, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.12, 16.2, 16.3, 21.1, 26.3, 28.2 and page 24 has a generic wiring diagram for an Electrathon car.

On car design: On the wheel spacing, wider is better. If you can’t make the wheel spacing wider then camber adjustment can help. A low driver position is better than a more upright position. Low center of gravity is VERY Important. Weight distribution is critical. (Is that ballast going to come loose or move during the race or if you get in the grass or in a crash or when rubbing paint with another car?) If all of these items are correct the car is very stable and not prone to tipping, spinning out or going upside down. So take a close look at your car and keep the shiny side up.

The above items will help you keep the little things from jumping up and biting you in the butt once the green flag drops.

Vic Nieves

Bright, Sunny and HOT, HOT, HOT all day. Who left the sauna door open?

The first race of the new season saw a dozen cars take the green flag at 10:00 A.M. Teams in the High School and Open Classes starting the year were Brandon H.S. with 2 cars, Tampa Bay Tech (TBT) with 1, Middleton H.S. Girls team (The boys couldn’t get their car back together in time) Simmons Career Center (Their first race) HCC, USF, Robinson Racing (with one car) and Rodney with Tiger Racing.

In the experimental battery class was Cliff from ProEV in the 39 car and the Electrocutioners with Drew in the 72 car and Miss Electrocutioner Pony Gradert in the 8 car. Drew and Cliff battled hard in both races with Drew taking both races by one or two laps for a record total of 220 for both races. All the experimental battery cars had flawless races. In past races they have had problems making the tires last the whole race.

The HCC team gets kudos for sponsoring such a excellent race and providing drinks and snacks. They did have a problem with their motor controller, their second in two days, when the magic smoke escaped from it. Seems there was a problem with a loose battery connection to the controller causing sparks and other unneeded problems. Not having another controller handy, they were done for the day shortly after the start of the race.

There were other problems with loose or bad connections during the day. The gremlin bit the TBT team when one of the battery cable clamps was bad and caused battery problems during the first race causing a 5th place finish. In the second race they got it fixed and finished 1st.

Middleton finished a strong second in the first race but had the connector gremlin bite them in the second race causing them to lose a lot of battery power.

Simmons Career Center in their first race ever had a good outing in the first race with 80 laps before the batteries went down. The electrical gremlin caused problems for the second race. We look forward to seeing them at future races and are excited about them hosting a race in December.

Brandon set a record for busted wheels and busted forks with the 9 car having one wheel go bad and then another collapsing. The 14 car had a weld break on the steering fork and had to withdraw early in the second race. Both cars had successful demonstrations of the roll cages with some paint scratches the only visible signs. We are excited to see them back on the track this year.

Rodney was testing some new motors and verified that the first one was not up to the task. There was that burnt electrical wiring smell on the front straight as he went by late in the race. In the second race he used another motor and his lap count was way up without that burnt wiring smell.

Hope to see Wharton, Strawberry Crest, Foundation, Middleton (boys team), Killer Watts, the 3rd Electrocutioner and the 2nd Robinson cars racing at the October 17th race. We will be making the stat sheet bigger.

Check the schedule for future races. One note for the Middleton race, We will be on the 1/4 mile running track so get your drafting gear ready.

High School Class
1st Brandon Car 9, 146 laps
2nd Tampa Bay Tech Car 242, 135 laps
3rd Brandon Car 14, 107 laps
4th Middleton Car 133, 83 laps
5th Simmons Car 60, 80 laps

Open Class
1st Robinson and Son Car 94, 215 laps
2nd Tiger Racing Car 4, 114 laps
3rd USF Car 132, 110 laps
4th HCC Car 30, 2 laps

Experimental Battery Class
1st  Electrocutioner Car 72, 220 laps
2nd  Pro EV Car 39, 218 laps
3rd  Electrocutioner Car 8, 165 laps

Vic Nieves, Communications Director

The course at the HCC Brandon Campus is a familiar one.  It is the first parking lot you come to, the one by the ball field.  Teams will be in the infield of the track.  ALL others will be in the grass to the west side of the track or in the paved parking lot just to the east of the track.  We are going to cut down on the numbers of vehicles and people in the pits this year.

Teams should arrive early.  Since this is the first race of the season we will be doing an extensive inspection of the cars and drivers.  It will include drivers bailing out and brakes and steering.

Teams should go online to Electrathonamerica to download the Driver and Car Inspection forms and fill them out beforehand to save a lot of time

The track is a 1200′ plus rectangle and one of the smoothest we run on all year.  Just watch out for the water hazard on the north side of the track.

At the start of a new season there are a few questions floating around.

Who will take Bradys place as the lead driver for TBT?  Will Brandon be back as strong as they have been in the past?  Who will be the lead driver for Brandon?  Will the girls from Middleton be as strong as they were at the end of last year?  Who will be the new driver for Foundation Academy?  Will we see Strawberry Crest come back?  How will Wharton do this year?  Whats with the Electrocutioners getting a third car number?  How will the HCC team do on their home track?  Will Rodney be able to repeat?  I hear he has been making modifications to his car.   Will the experimental battery class get bigger this year?

..

Bring your friends and come on out to the races.  No hearing protection required.

Vic Nieves