We welcome a new high school team to the Electrathon Family. On Tuesday, January 30, 2018 Electrathon of Tampa Bay delivered a loaner car to our second high school in Polk County Florida. Team Sponsor James Heuslein and his students were excited to receive their loaner car. The team will be attending the USF Race to become familiar with our organization, race day schedule and meet with other teams. Their first race with their loaner car will be March 24, 2018 at St Pete College/Seminole Campus.
We received notice from Jesse in Ft Myers (I Will Mentorship Foundation) that the race they were planning for April 21, 2018 in Ft Myers has been cancelled due to the effects that the area received from Irma and the sponsor participation. They are planning to attend our USF Race and will be planning a race in 2019 in their area.
We received notice from the folks in Alabama that the race in the City of Jasper has been cancelled this year as they are working on many of the Jasper City streets. We will plan on going to the race in 2019 as the streets in the City of Jasper should be a fun race.
Electrathon of Tampa Bay will have a display and demonstration on Saturday, January 27, 2018 at this event 9 am to 4 pm. 
Thank You Chris and Richard from the HCC Team and Sai and John from the USF Team for attending this event.
The race day started out cool and windy and declined as the day continued. The sun finally decided to make an appearance just before the race day was over. The teams were slow to arrive and had their challenges due to the temperatures that affected battery conditions. Our host Chris Hart and his teams are almost finished with their new Electrathon car which should make its first race next month. A big Thanks goes to Chris and his group, we were provided on site food as they held a fundraiser selling hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and drinks. We welcomed the team from Seminole State College to their first race of this season. The track seemed to be in good condition this year but due to the wind we had debris show up on the track during both races.
In our first race that started at 10am we had eight cars lined up when the green flag dropped to start the race. Three other cars joined the race shortly after the start of the race. When the checkered flag dropped ending the first race the results were: High School Division – 1st Simmons Car 35, 2nd Simmons Car 53, 3rd Lennard Car 86, 4th Brandon Car 9, 5th Brandon Car 14, 6th Middleton Car 80, 7th Middleton Car 365, and 8th Plant Car 98. Open Division – 1st Tiger Car 4, 2nd Seminole State Car 314. Advanced Battery Division – 1st Pro EV Car 39.
Our second race had the green flag drop to start the race at 1pm, Brandon and Simmons Cars clashed in the last turn causing the Brandon Car to turn over stopping the race. Both drivers and cars were able to continue and finish the race. When the checkered flag dropped ending the second race the results were: High School Division – 1st Simmons Car 35, 2nd Simmons Car 53, 3rd Middleton Car 365, 4th Brandon Car 14, 5th Brandon Car 9, 6th Middleton Car 80, 7th Lennard Car 86, and 8th Plant Car 98. Open Division – 1st Tiger Car 4, 2nd Seminole State Car 314. Advanced Battery Division – 1st Pro EV Car 39. All of our teams did well considering the cool weather and winds that just would not stop.
When the race day was over, the final race results for the day were: High School Division – 1st Simmons Car 35 with 137 laps, 2nd Simmons Car 53 with130 laps, 3rd Lennard Car 86 with 106 laps, 4th Brandon Car 9 with 101 laps, 5th Brandon Car 14 with 98 laps, 6th Middleton Car 365 with 97 laps, 7th Middleton Car 80 with 90 laps, and 8th Plant Car 98 with 35 laps. Open Division – 1st Tiger Car 4 with 145 laps, 2nd Seminole State Car 314 with 36 laps. Advanced Battery Division – 1st Pro EV Car 39 with 149 laps.
Our next race will be on January 13, 2018 at Wharton High School, located at 20150 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, Tampa, Florida 33647. This race will be in conjunction with other STEM Activities. Bring the entire family to this free day of fun for all ages.
We have monitored the national and local weather forecast all week. Over the years we have found our local forecastors the most accurate. We planned to race up until the 6pm forecast was issued. With rain and thunderstorms throughout the night and then scattered showers throughout the day we cancelled our race. We took into consideration the possible effects of the rain on our teams electrical systems, motors and controllers, not to mention being wet and cold. We apologize for any inconvenince this may have caused.
Charlie
On December 9, 2017 Electrathon of Tampa Bay will hold our fourth race of the 2017 – 2018 Race Season at Lennard High School located at 2342 Shell Point Road in Ruskin Florida 33570. Last year host and Lennard Electrathon Team Sponsor Jim Reve had Dr. Earl J. Lennard (school named after) at the race to drop the green flag for the first race. The race this year will be held on the football fields track which means its a simple oval track. We are hoping to see our Titans, I Will Mentorship, Brooks DeBartolo and Lennard Teams at this race.
Red – Track
Blue – Pits
Yellow – Caution Tape
White – Scoring / Registration
Green – Tower
On December 2, 2017 Electrathon of Tampa Bay will have a number of teams representing us at the Longwood Christmas Parade. We will meet at Andrew and Pony’s home and then head to the parade staging area. After the parade we will have a get together at their home. Thank You Andrew and Pony for inviting us to your home. For more information, contact Fredi or Charlie.
Charlie
2016 Parade Picture
We had a great day at the Longwood Parade on December 2, 2017. We had a total of 11 cars representing ETO. A special thank you to Pony and Andrew for their hospitality in hosting us before the parade and having a great cookout after the parade at their home.
On Thursday, November 8, 2017 Fredi and Charlie took a loaner car to Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa Florida. The team is raring to go and plan to be at the race in December.
Our third race of the 2017 – 2018 put another great day of racing in the books. We had 14 cars ready when the green flag for the first race dropped.
We want to welcome Plant High School to the Electrathon family as they joined us for their first race. The team worked well together and came in with a 4th place in the first race and a 5th place in the second race for a 5th place overall in the High School Class. Their speed was slow compared to the other teams but the car and driver combo worked very well. They are going to work on gear ratios for the December race. When they get the right gear ratios watch out.
It was good to see Drew and Pony from the Electrocutioners back at our races. Drew in the 72 car took over where he left off last season by taking both races in the Advanced Battery Class. Pony didn’t drive as she was the teams pit crew. University of South Florida and Pro EV had mechanical issues and finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Jim Robinson of the Silver Bullet Team car 94 made his return in the Open Class by taking 1st overall. Tiger Racing car 4 and Hillsborough Community College car 30 were both plagued with mechanical issues.
In the High School Class there were 8 starters with Simmons cars 35 and 53 continuing their winning ways with a 1st and 2nd overall. Middleton High School cars 80 and 365 (the home team) took 3rd and 4th. The Mulberry High School team had the drive wheel fail during the second race to ruin their day. We don’t expect that to slow this new Mulberry team down as they are coming along in a strong fashion. Brandon High School cars 9 and 14 had multiple problems with both cars and finished in 6th and 8th. Team Sponsor Mark Knowlton continues with his team to drive forward at the races until their new car is completed and makes its debut at a race.
Our next race will be on the 1/4 mile track at Lennard High School on December 9, 2017. We should see the new team from I Will Mentorship Foundation from Ft. Myers at our next race. Another new team, from Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School, had members at this race to get a feel for what to expect and are making final preparations to join us in December.
We will be in the Longwood Christmas Parade on December 2, 2017, followed by a get together with Drew and Pony.
We want to give a shout out to Nicodemus Brothers for stepping up and taking Jim Truitt’s place as our Inspector in the pits. Jim was out of town due to a death in his family; our thoughts are with his family during this time of loss.
We should have a larger field and some exciting racing in December. Hope to see EVERY TEAM there.
Advance Battery Class – 1st Place Electrocutioners car 72, 2nd Place University of South Florida car 132, 3rd Place Pro EV car 039
Open Class – 1st Place Silver Bullet Racing car 94, 2nd Place Hillsborough Community College car 30, 3rd Place Tiger Racing car 4
High School Class – 1st Place Simmons car 35, 2nd Place Simmons car 53, 3rd Place Middleton car 80, 4th Place Middleton car 365, 5th Place Plant car 98, 6th Place car Brandon car 14, 7th Place Mulberry car 38, 8th Place Brandon car 9
