It was a busy day at Wharton HS with robots in the gym and the Electrathoners with their big boy toys on the drivers ed. range all competing at the same time.

The track was smooth and fast on the drivers ed. range as eleven teams prepared  for the races.  Weather was cold/cool early with lots of sun and light winds.

We were missing Brandon HS and the Electracutioners but were happy to see Cliff form ProEV back with us.

Cliff is the mad scientist of the Electrathon community.  His pit looked like an electronics lab with all the equipment he had plugged into his 39 car with the experimental batteries.  He did well in the first race after a slight delay at the start.  In the second race he had questions about his batteries and withdrew part way through  rather than risk damaging them.  Watch out for him at USF next month with his regeneration setup on the twisting course.

The home team, Wharton HS, had a good day taking 3rd in the first race and taking a 1st in the second race for third overall for the day with 200 laps..

The up and coming Foundation CHS team was back with a whole pit full of workers and two drivers.  They drove the 194 car to a 2nd and 3rd for the day with 205 laps and 2nd overall in HS Class

TBT with the 242 car took a 1st and 2nd for the day to finish on top with 220 laps in the HS class.

Middleton and Strawberry Crest rounded out the High School class in 4th and 5th respectively.  Strawberry Crest is still battling that battery problem.  Their car is a twin to the Wharton car so it they can get the battery problem sorted out they should be a contender.

In the Open Class HCC was going for a record for blowing out tires which left them down in the standings.

USF had a good day with no problems.  This should be a good warm up for the next race where they are the home team at the USF Engineering Expo on Feb 14th.

Rodney in the 4 car and the Robinson Silver Bullet Racing teams 13 and 94 cars battled it out over both races with scant parts of a second separating the three cars in the first race.

Rodney took the first race with a time of 1hr .06 sec. followed by the Silver Bullet 13 car at 1hr .21 sec and the Sliver Bullet 94 car at 1hr .22 sec.  All had 126 laps.

In the second race the 4 car took second with a time of 1hr .25 sec. and the 94 car took first with 1hr .07 sec. both with 128 laps.

After two hours of racing the time difference between the 4 car and the 94 car was 2 sec.  With Jim Robinson in the 94 car edging out Rodney in the 4 car.  2 sec. over two hours is hard to fathom.  Thats like two blinks of and eye.

Upgrading Your Car

The Robinson Racing built cars, the 13, 94 and 194 cars, are the class of the field.  Check out the State Coordinators Corner on the left hand bar of our home page.  The plans for a complete build are posted.  The frame is made out of EMT tubing.  The tube you put electrical wiring in.  It costs less than $3 per 10′ pipe at Home Depot.  Its strong and very light and it can be MIG welded.  a MIG welder and a tubing bender are the two main items to build one of those cars.

Updated Stats

Check the Stat Sheets heading for updated stats for all races this season.

ETO Parts and Equipment

ETO has just about exhausted our supply of spare parts and equipment.  We have quite a bit loaned out.  Except for a bunch of heavy duty tubes at $5.00 each.  We also have a new Five Point Harness that we will raffle off at the USF race.  Monies raised go right back into the ETO treasury, which is rather low, to help us put on the races.  Tickets are $10.00 each or 3 for $20.00

Vic Nieves