https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f7jrixox2ien2iv/AADifUVMxycRc7zyNVxbOXGCa?dl=0
The last local race of the season went off without a hitch. A few blown tires and spinouts and car issues notwithstanding.
Our normal format is two races of one hour each. Battery management is a big player in how you finish since you cannot do anything with the batteries once the race starts. The race this time was based on a series of 20 minute races going for speed. It’s hard to kill a set of batteries in 20 minutes so it’s wide open racing from the get go.
The Brandon 1/4 mile track was ideal for this event. Teams went full throttle with a few slight turns for 20 minutes. Mark Knowlton and his team was a great host for this event as the track was one of our cleanest race venues, we had lighting for race day setup and they did a fundraiser selling hot dog, chips and sodas so teams did not have to leave the campus and fight the Brandon traffic. Brandon High School Principal Jennifer Sparano came out to the race to support her team and Electrathon Racing for a short period of time as she had several events going on throughout the campus she had to oversee.
In the Open/Advanced Battery Class it was University of South Florida (Aditya Chelikani) taking both races and setting a track single lap record with a time of 24.7 seconds for a speed of 36+mph and a lap count of 84 laps at the end of the day. Silver Bullet Racing (Jim Robinson) was back on the track with a brand new car design taking 2nd with 83 laps and Tiger Racing (Rodney Schreck) taking the 3rd spot with 81 laps. The second race Silver Bullet and Tiger Racing fought it out for the second place finish coming down to the race time to make the determination. Silver Bullet had 20.13.575 race time and Tiger Racing had 20.13.952 race time. Titan Racing with Brady Weber at the wheel and making only their 3rd start of the year took 4th with 80 laps. This was a very close race for our advanced and open battery folks. Titan Racing had a blow out in the first race (just by chance close to his pit area) and finished the race in the pits. Otherwise they would have been contending for the top spot. When Titan Racing blew the tire it scared some of the spectators who had never heard one of our high pressure tires blow. No noise when a tire goes flat but when they blow, at 80-100 PSI, it sounds just like a gun shot. Several flat tires during the day but only one blow out.
Jim Robinson AKA Silver Bullet Racing AKA Robinson and Son Racing have been building Electrathon Cars for a LOOOOOONG time. He has outdone himself with his latest design. It has enclosed wheels, wide front end, VERY aerodynamic, a full suspension and a great color combination that if flashy. It will give other teams a run for its money. If Jim used lithium batteries it would not need rear view mirrors.
In the High School Class the Brandon #9 car (Dustin) took the first race with 40 laps and in the second had the fastest time in class with 27.9 seconds. The #9 cars luck ran out late in the second race when a tire went flat and it finished the race on the sidelines. It still managed a 2nd place overall with 65 laps.
Lennard High School ran strong in both races and took a 2nd place in the first race and a 1st place in the second race. This gave them 1st place overall in class with 75 laps. Their best lap of the day was 28.2 seconds.
The Simmons 53 car took 3rd with 61 laps and a best lap time of 36.0.
Brooks DeBartolo showed up with a team trailer that was bigger than a tiny house (we think they are planning ahead and will fill the trailer with a number of cars and become very competitive) They ran into vehicle issues in the first race allowing them to only complete 3 laps in the first race. During the sponsor’s race they experienced a flat causing the car to do a scary zig zag in the turn and had to withdraw when the throttle control went out and they were not able to start the second race in their class.
The Sponsors Race was held between the regular races. This race is where team sponsors and race officials take their life in their hands when they get into the cars and race for 20 min.
The USF 132 car with Titan Sponsor Mike Kaufman driving took 1st place with 42 laps and the fastest lap for the race with a time of 25.4 seconds. The Lennard 86 car with Sponsor Jim Reeve driving took 2nd place with 39 laps. The Silver Bullet Racing 94 car with Mike Frederick (Race Steward) driving took 3rd place with 34 laps (20.03 race time). Simmons 353 car with Sponsor William Knight driving took 4th place with 34 laps (20.23 race time). Simmons 53 car with Cleto Chazares (Principal) driving took 5th place with 34 laps (20.32 race time). Brooks DeBartolo 55 car with Sponsor Chris Hochman driving took 6th place.
Our Electrathon teams are gearing up to represent ETO at the Five Flags Speedway Race in Pensacola on April 28th followed by Barber Motorsports Race in Leeds Alabama on April 30th. Good Luck Teams
We end the race season next month at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa. We expect to have another big field and a great race to end the season. Season Awards will be presented at the end of the races. Hope to see everyone there.