When Tri-County Early College High School honors physics students built a car to race in the Appalachian State N.C. Gravity Games, it was a safe bet it wouldn’t look like something cobbled together by the Little Rascals.
Even though many parts for the vehicle were scrounged or donated, a team of four top Early College students, plus a number of willing friends, crafted an entry that would make a NASCAR design team proud. From its Tour-de-France style bicycle racing wheels to its ultra-thin and ultra-light welded tubular frame, from its aircraft quality fabric skin to its Ricaro-style raving seat, the car was built for speed. There was even a nod to the age of these student builders in the steering wheel — a salvaged X-Box controller.
To be on the team, students had to have straight As in physics class and have no incomplete projects. Making the team were physics students Wade Covinton, Tim Duggan, Hannah Miller and Grant Taylor. Helpers included Andy Allen, Austin Rustauski and others.
The Gravity Games rules were simple. If you decided to compete in the non-engineered division, you had a choice of three or four approved car kits you could build, all variations on the decades-old soap box derby cars that your dad, and his dad, used to make.
If you chose to enter the engineered division, your imagination was the only limit to how your car would look within height and weight requirements. Since the course was a hill and gravity the only power allowed, the rules frowned on using alternative propulsion sources such as mules, dogs or hamsters — and specifically prohibited the use of nuclear fission — but the rest was up to the entrant.
The Tri-County team spent more than 200 hours planning, assembling materials and building their design from scratch. Numerous test runs showed the vehicle had great promise. Alas, on one of those test runs, the last one, team member Grant Taylor discovered a serious flaw in the steering system.
“The car started veering to the left,” said Taylor, “so I tried to correct for it but it kept going off course and was heading for some trees. I tried to force it, and both wheels just flopped all the way to the right. The leading wheel collapsed, and the car rolled about 2 1/2 times.”
Taylor was bruised by the crash but not seriously hurt. The car, on the other hand, sustained major damage to the wheels, front axles and frame. With only one day left before the competition, that was all she wrote.
The next mornnig at a gathering of the Early College student body that had been planned for weeks, the design team dragged and dropped the wreckage in front of their peers and teachers, explaining in detail both the process and the less-than-hoped-for result.
Every one of the design team expressed joy and satisfaction at having worked on the car, regardless of the outcome. Covington said he already was thinking of improvements to the design, while Miller was amazed by how much she learned.
Ben Owens, physics teacher and faculty advisor, said, “Obviously I’m disappointed that we can’t compete, but I couldn’t be prouder of these students and what they accomplished.”
Jeff Taylor, Grant’s father, said a friend of the family who competes at Tri-County Raceway said it best: “When the man heard what happened, he told us, ‘Hey, that’s racing. You crash, you fix it, and you come back next week.'”
Article by Scott Wallace reprinted from The Cherokee Scout
