Race day started with most teams who used GPS to find the school having to try multiple entrances before finding the track. GPS sent you to a closed gate a ways from the track.

Todd and his crew from Mulberry put on a great race. Lots of help with set up and tear down. It is appreciated when the home team helps as much as Todd and his team did.

The home team took the High School class with a total of 183 laps in the #38 car driving a conservative race with new drivers. Their #83 car had a shaky start in the first race with a new driver. Late in the first race had a spin-out and landed into the infield when the steering had a problem. Skinned up sheet metal but the driver didn’t have a scratch.

In the Open Class we had a first on race day. HCC started both races on time. When they get another good set of batteries they will be a team to watch as they will be very competitive.

Funding is always an issue for all of our teams. Teams are always looking for sponsors or donations to assist in their costs to keep the car running all season.

Another first in the Open Class was the absence of Silver Bullet Racing/Jim Robinson. He went over to the dark side to the Advanced Battery Class. Give you more on that later.

Tiger Racing/Rodney Schreck took first with 173 laps with Titan Racing coming in 2nd and HCC took third. Titan Racing withdrew towards the end of the second race with electrical problems, turned out that there was a loose connection on the master kill switch.

Advanced Battery Class saw the duel between Pro EV and USF continue. USF showed up with a whole new crew and new drivers. They still took 1st place in both races. In the second race it was a VERY CLOSE finish with USF taking it by 9 seconds over Cliff in the Pro EV car. RYNO Racing/Ryan and his 365 car had a bad day. Ryan used a past team mate from Middleton High School, Josh Ridout as one of his drivers and Mulberry graduate Dillon Meeks as a second driver. The 365 car did well the first race but late in the second race the rear tire went flat (according to another teams driver) in one of the turns sending the 365 car into a spin out causing it to roll over into the infield on the far end of the track. The car was messed up but the driver did not have a scratch or injury. The front end of the car will need to be rebuilt to get the wheels going in the right direction. Ambur from Brooks DeBartolo offered to help with welding the car in those spots that needed TLC. It is great to see teams offer to help one another.

The new/old guy in Advanced Battery, Silver Bullet/Jim Robinson, took third with his new battery pack. Sai from USF replaced the three Electrocutioners Teams as our Advanced Battery guru and helped Jim with his battery pack.

By the way, where are the Electrocutioners, they dominated the advanced battery class for a number of years, we would love to see Andrew, Pony and Slam back on the track racing with us.

As Seen In The Pits Cliff with Pro EV had a bad cell in his battery pack the first race but had a spare cell and changed it out between races. The way these guys build their Lithium Ion batteries, you have to take the whole thing apart to work on them. Not something you want to do between races, but can be done.
Nick and the guys from USF were going to help Jim Robinson between races by reprogramming his motor controller computer. They did a fine job we think they left out a step as the car wouldn’t start the second race and had to visit the pits for another programming session. When it did get back onto the track in the second race it had a top speed of only 22mph.
HCC had an 8000w generator in the pits; it could have run half the school. USF used it to charge the batteries in their car as the 3500w generator that I had would not take the load to charge three Lithium Ion cars. Thank You HCC for being a great team that helps other teams.

The day was filled with teams offering to help one another in many different ways which is what makes Electrathon of Tampa Bay such a great family of racers.

It’s all about the Batteries in Electrathon Racing.
One of the Electrathon America rules state that the batteries must be secured in such a way that they will not come out or loose in the event of an accident or roll over. Teams will not be allowed to use the standard bungee cords. Batteries MUST be secured with some form of rigid device/clamps, cargo straps or DOT black rubber straps with the hooks on the ends.
We noticed some lateral, back and forth movement in the steering columns, this makes steering more difficult as steering inputs not as crisp as needed. Teams please check your car for these safety concerns.

Our next race will be an away race down in Ft Myers/Lee County Mosquito Control, on a one mile airstrip.

See you there

Vic

Electrathon of Tampa Bay has posted over the years in two areas of our website, the tentative schedule for our season of events. On occasion there are issues with insurance, double booking of a venue or unforeseen circumstances that may force our organization to make a change as soon as we are aware of the situation. Any changes that are made to the posted, tentative schedule are discussed among the Executive Board Members and decisions are made with the best interest of the entire organization in mind. We regret that these changes have to be made from time to time and know that they could affect a team(s) ability to perform at their best. Electrathon of Tampa Bay will continue to do our best to secure locations for our events so that we do not have these types of situations occur.

Hope to see everyone at the upcoming regular race at Mulberry High School on October 12, 2019.

We will be at Mulberry High School in Polk County Florida on March 7, 2020. The school is located at 1 Panther Place, Mulberry Florida 33860.

This is a short turn around from our race at USF but it will be easier than USF and easier on equipment since it will be on their 1/4 mile track. This is a great opportunity to test out new gear ratios. train new drivers, and work on tactics.

TEAMS MUST SUPPLY THEIR OWN POWER FOR CHARGING BATTERIES BETWEEN RACES. PIT AREA DOES NOT HAVE A POWER SOURCE

Reminders:
All minors must have a parent consent / waiver of liability form on file with ETO or bring one to this race to participate.

Everyone must sign in at the registration area to receive their wristband that authorizes them to be in the pit area.

All advanced battery teams will present a copy of the manufacturers spec sheet for the batteries that they are using and the spec sheet should include the weight of the batteries. If a team has a manufacturers spec sheet for the batteries they are using and the weight of the batteries are not listed, the batteries will be weighed at the registration area before the race. If a team does not have on file or present a copy of their manufacturers spec sheet for the batteries they are using as mentioned above, the team will not be allowed to race.

All team drivers will weigh in at the registration area with driving equipment, if the driver is less than 180lbs, ballast must be with the driver to weigh again to put the driver at or over 180lbs.

Red – Track
Yellow – Safety Barrier
Green Area – Pits
Purple – parking / overflow
Blue Line – Tower / Registration

Vic

The first race of the season at the Hillsborough Community College, Brandon Campus saw clear skies, moderate temps and a very fast track with a nice seal coat to make it very smooth.
A special thank you to Alex Ambrioso and the entire HCC Administration and Electrathon Team for being a great host for our first race of the season.


A High School team from Palm Bay Magnet, over on the other coast, made their debut with a Blue Sky car and took a 1st place finish in the 1st race and a 2nd Place in the second race. A first for a new team. In the second race Palm Bay had continuing problems with the chain drive and spent many laps on the side of the track. Great first race appearance for this new and upcoming team.
The Mulberry team had a brake problem in the first race which left the door open for the new guys. In the second race they were back to their energizer bunny routine and racked up over 100 laps.
The Brooks team started the race in the pits working on their car and got a late start. They did better in the second race.

In the Open Class it was the AARP crew battling it out with Tiger Racing, Jim Robinson and Silver Bullet Racing, Rodney Schreck battling it out with Silver Bullet racking up 209 laps to 204 laps for Tiger Racing. The HCC home team started the first race in the pits but finished the day with a respectable showing in the second race. The HCC team has been challenged with student changes and older car parts, we believe they have a great new team and will be a team to keep an eye on as the season continues. Titan Racing had a total rebuild of their #242 car and were working on minor adjustments so that they are ready for the next race. Titans are another team that is up and coming with a new driver Victoria Hobbs.

In the Advanced Battery class University of South Florida and ProEv picked up where they left off last season. VERY FAST and racking up large lap counts.
Cliff with ProEv had a good day but came up short to the USF team which set a track record of 127 laps in the 1st race and 253 laps for the day.

From The Pits A shout out to the HCC team for their help with the new guys. The Palm Bay team had problems with their batteries and the HCC team was able to help them out so they were able to race the second race.

Our South Florida and East Coast Teams, Tiger Racing, ProEv, Robinson Racing, Electrocutioners, and Palm Bay Magnet came thru the hurricane threats in good shape. One of our Electrocutioners missed the race for the lame excuse that he was getting married on Sunday. What was the problem, we raced on Saturday. Congrats to Steve Lamson aka Slam and his new wife (he now has a pit crew).

Our President, Charlie Harrison missed his first race officiating with some excuse about having to have a stint put in one of his arteries. His wife Debbie filled in and did a great job.

Coming out of retirement for this race was Ken Fiallos, our past President and Founder, who ran the scoring and stats, Charlies job. Charlie will be back for the next race.

Speaking of the next race. We were scheduled to be at Daytona International Speedway in October for a multi day display. That has been postponed to sometime in the future. Mulberry High School has stepped up and offered to host a race in that time slot. As of Monday September 23, 2019 approval has been obtained for a race on October 12, 2019 at Mulberry HS. This was due to a very dedicated Sponsor, Todd Thuma that has been an outstanding addition to the Electrathon of Tampa Bay Family. Originally, the Daytona Event was scheduled to have no race fees charged to teams nor season points awarded. The Mulberry Race that is replacing the Daytona Event WILL be a race with entry fee and WILL have season points awarded.

Order of Finish for the day when both races are combined:
High School Class:
1st Place – Mulberry HS

2nd Place – Palm Bay Magnet

3rd Place Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate

Open Class:
1st Place – Robinson Racing aka Silver Bullet Racing

2nd Place – Tiger Racing

3rd Place – HCC

4th Place Titan Racing

Advanced Battery Class:
1st Place – USF, with new track record

2nd Place – ProEv

Vic

Good morning Charles

The Four Points Sheraton is being sold. Here are the hotels for the November race at Buckingham Airfield.

I have added the Holiday Inn at the Forum to our website, they lowered their rate to $99 for a QQ room. They are undergoing renovations and hope to have their full breakfast up and running by Halloween, but this is not guaranteed. Until their renovations are finished, they have cold items (cereal, yogurt, breads, etc.).

I have also added the Best Western Inn & Suites. Their rate is $79 for a QQ room with breakfast.

Link is now operational again. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Thank you,
Melanie

The hotel has set aside QQ rooms and a few King only rooms. Teams will need to provide a copy of their state of Florida tax exempt certificate. Parent rooms will pay 11.5% tax.

Electrathon Race, November 9, 2019, at Buckingham Airfield:

HOTEL HOTLINE: Please call Lee County Sports Housing at 1-239-541-1800, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern, or submit a reservation request online at:

https://leecountysportshousing.org/event/1405

Reservation requests need to be made before September 26, 2019. On that date, any unclaimed rooms will be released into general inventory and we can no longer guarantee availability or rate.

Thank you for letting Lee County Sports Organizing Committee help you with lodging for your event. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Thank you,
Melanie
Lee County Sports Organizing Committee

On September 21, 2019, Electrathon of Tampa Bay will hold the first race of the 2019 – 2020 season. The host will be Hillsborough Community College located at 10451 Nancy Watkins Drive, Tampa, Florida 33619.

Set up will begin on Friday around 6 p.m. so that safety barriers are in place for the track and course design completed. Final set up of the scoring system and registration area will start at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning.

ALL team members will be required to attend the meeting in the main building at 8 a.m. so that a quiz can be administered and reviewed.

All parent consent and minor waivers must be turned in at the registration booth when you sign in. Team Sponsors cannot sign these forms for participation.

All drivers will weigh in and must have their long sleeve shirt, long pants, helmet, shoes, gloves, eye protection and required ballast for weigh in so that they are a minimum of 180lbs.

All Advanced Battery Division teams will be required to show manufacturer’s specs for the weight of the batteries to comply with Electrathon America and ETO rules for advanced batteries. If a team does not have their manufacturer’s specs sheet, the batteries will need to be weighed at the race.

All Advanced Battery Division teams will have installed in their Electrathon car, a kWh meter. At the end every race, an inspection of the kWh meter will be done by the ETO Inspection Team to verify the number of kWh used during the race to comply with Electrathon America and ETO rules. Any team’s car meter that is not functioning or reads more than 1 kWh (1,000 watts) the team will be disqualified for that race.

Teams will be required to attend the Driver Meeting with the Race Steward for information on driving, flags and safety protocols.

The first race lineup is 9:45 A.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race and race season at 10:00 A.M.

The second race lineup is 12:45 P.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race at 1:00 P.M.

Clean up and awards will follow. Hope everyone has their cars ready to go and remember to do all of your safety checks and be knowledgeable and understand the Electrathon America Rules and Guidelines for the car, driver(s) and teams.

Yellow – Barrier, Green – Pits, Red – Course, Black – Scoring Tower

Charlie

On September 12, 2019, we will hold our All Team Board Meeting at the Cracker Barrel by Lazy Days RV in Seffner Florida. Arrive at 6 p.m. for dinner, the meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. Every team should send a representative (sponsor, team captain, etc.) to this meeting to obtain the student waivers that parents and students must sign giving consent to participate at our events. These forms will be completed and turned in at the registration table at the first race to participate in our events. Team sponsors can not sign for the parent(s) or student.

At the meeting we will discuss what has taken place over the summer break and ask teams how they are preparing for this years race season.

Please text Charlie to let him know if your team will or will not be at the meeting and how many members are attending for seating purposes.

Thanks

Hello Racers!

With the Great American Celebration of Speed at Daytona approaching we need to start getting a count of what teams will be going. Below is a link to fill out for your team.

https://forms.gle/2W4i9Nq8RVGKKu7w9

This event will be 3 days long, October 11-13 where Electrathon will hold time trials, each team will be given 3 attempts each day to set the fastest time on Daytona’s 1 mile infield track where the fastest lap time wins. Electrathon of Tampa Bay will also have a booth set up to teach visitors all about Electrathon.

Ryan, Todd, Jim

We have had a break in our normal routine, there were changes in our organization, our team sponsors, some of us had health issues, and we all experienced the loss when Fredi and Tom moved to Indiana, but it is time to pick up the pieces and get ready for the 2019 – 2020 Race Season. This year we will have events at Hillsborough Community College, Daytona International Speedway, Lee County Mosquito Control (a runway – check your email for hotel information to reserve your rooms), University of South Florida, University of Central Florida (Energy Whiz Olympics) to name a few. Our 2019 – 2020 Race Schedule is posted on our website, a few races are pending final approval.

Over the summer we had our very first Electrathon Build Training with Instructor Jim Robinson (Co-Instructor Rodney Schreck) in Titusville thanks to one of our sponsors providing the funding to make it happen. In two days, the jig for building a car was constructed and a frame was formed, welded to include battery boxes, rear wheel mounting sprocket and front wheel steering and wheel assembly. The first class trained (Ambur, Charles, Kevin, Todd, Victoria, William) provided feedback for future trainings. We are hoping to have other sponsors of ours donate the funds for additional training in the future.

We want to thank Polk County Public Schools, Jessica Hall (Senior Analyst, Media Productions), Heaven Keller and her team that attended our races last year to make the documentary on Electrathon of Tampa Bay/Mulberry High School Team and Sponsor Todd Thuma. Please go to either one of our Electrathon of Tampa Bay Facebook Pages to see the documentary and share with everyone.

Our Executive Board will be meeting this week and our ALL TEAMS MEETING (Sponsor/Captain, etc.) will be in September and notices will be sent to all teams after the Executive Board Meeting.

Keep checking our website for updates.

Charlie

On May 4, 2019 in Cocoa Florida another year of Electrathon Racing was completed. After our last race of the season in Cocoa Florida we held our end of the year awards ceremony.

2018 – 2019 Executive Board Member of the Year – Fredi Beck
This award went to a very special lady that has been with Electrathon of Tampa Bay for a number of years. Fredi has been the right hand for Ken Fiallos and Charles Harrison until she recently moved to Indiana after retiring from Hillsborough County Public Schools. Fredi is still our ETO Treasurer and Publicist from far away until we find those folks that can take over her duties. Fredi we love and miss you.

2018 – 2019 Business Sponsor of the Year – Lowes in Valrico Florida Manager Jennifer Tyzenhaus

Special Student Recognition Gifts – each student received a blue tooth speaker
Dillon, a student at Mulberry HS has been with his team ever since it started a few years ago. He is dedicated to his team and sponsor, always willing to do what it takes to get the car ready for the next race or out of the pits and back in the race, always thinking about what the team can do for the next race to perform better.

Nadar and Julie, students at Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate HS went beyond anything ever seen at an Electrathon Race. Their driver was having a difficult time driving their team car due to her shoes kept getting in the way of operating the foot pedals. These student took off their shoes and gave them to their team driver so she could drive the car in a safe manner. Not in attendance

Eryk, a student at Brooks DeBartolo always steps up to assist the Simmons Career Center team as a pit crew member or a driver. Not in attendance

2018 – 2019 High School Team Sponsor of the Year – Todd Thuma from Mulberry High School
Todd gives all he has to everything he does at his school for his students. He supports them, guides them, corrects them and leads them. Todd has a huge heart and is dedicated to his profession and students. Todd entertains everyone at the races with his hand gestures to go faster, go slower or just perfect speed. He even gets red faced at time and dances for all of us to watch as he motions to his drivers on their cars progress.

2018 – 2019 High School Team Captain of the Year – Ambur from Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate HS
. This Team Captain is dedicated to her school, team and sponsor. She gets the team members motivated and involved in preparing their car for the races and attending the races. She is self motivated, full of energy and determined to do well

2018 – 2019 They Broke Mine Award USF Aditya Chelikani (Sai)
At the first race of the season the original USF car had an accident while being driven by another USF student. At the Brandon HS race their new car had an accident while being driven by a guest VIP. Both cars were repaired and still run in all of our races.

We gave each of our 2018 – 2019 Season Points Winners in each class a blue tooth speaker. High School Class – Mulberry Car 38 with a total of 359 season points Advanced Battery Class – USF Car 48 Aditya Chelikani (Sai) with a total of 326 season points Open Class – Tiger Racing Car 4 Rodney Schreck with a total of 308 season points Everyone had to wait to open them all at once.

2018 – 2019 Mentor of the Year – Jim Robinson of Silver Bullet/Robinson Racing Jim Robinson is an amazing individual, he has accomplished so many things, to name jut a few, he is a husband, father, grandfather, teacher, designer, builder, welder, electrician, mechanic and most of all, a mentor to all of us. Jim helps to solve car issues at races, fix the oops, assists when a team needs a part that he has (an extra) in his toolbox. Recently one of our teams had an accident with their car, Jim had the team come to his home (aka Jim Robinson Hospital) on a Sunday morning to conduct surgery on the broken car. By nightfall the car was out of surgery and looked great. The car went that week to Chambers Alabama and Barber Motorsport races, taking first place in class and in overall at all the races. A week later the car went to Five Flags Speedway and again took first in class and first overall. Thanks Doc, great job. Jim is always available to give others advise/assistance, and always gives Charlie sound advice without the bologna. Jim Robinson cars are known around the US. In Florida we have put them to the test and they continue to amaze us in every aspect. Jim is the State of Florida Representative for Electrathon America. He has this one saying “I am getting to old for this stuff”, but Jim continues to be there for all of us with love and support. It is an honor to have Jim Robinson as one of our Electrathon Family Members.

2018 – 2019 Most Laps during the Season
Advanced Battery Class – USF Car 48 Aditya Chelikani (Sai) with 1,135 laps driven this season High School Class – Mulberry Car 38 with 1,002 laps driven this season Open Class – Tiger Racing Car 4 Rodney Schreck with 946 laps driven this season

2018 – 2019 Fastest Lap – based on the race with the most teams/cars attending. This year it was the Hillsborough Community College Race in September 2018 Advanced Battery Class – USF Car 48 Aditya Chelikani (Sai) with a lap time of 24.840 High School Class – Mulberry Car 38 with a lap time of 32.573 Open Class – Tiger Racing Car 4 Rodney Schreck with a lap time of 34.297

From our Electrathon Family to your Family, Have a Safe and Wonderful Summer