A team at BYU-Idaho has brought its talents together to create a formula racing car.
Chris Taylor, Chuck Taylor and Dave Turner are part of the BYU-Idaho Society of Automotive Engineers Formula Hybrid + Electric Team.
The team members all said they grew up with an interest in cars, which led them to join the team at BYU-Idaho.
“As a kid, my grandpa was big into cars, and he would go to track days and I would go with him. Through high school, I built drift cars with my friends, and we would go drifting at the track,” Chris Taylor said.
The members meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays every week at 6 p.m.
Different divisions in the team handle different responsibilities, which gives members the opportunity to gain “real-life work experience.”
These divisions include a business division, an electrical engineering division and a mechanical engineering division.
The team just built its very first formula car, which team members unveiled at the Austin Building on Friday.
Chuck Taylor said the process of creating the car has been fulfilling and helped him find what he wants to study.
“Racing is where you can take something, and you chase it to make it the best. You spend however long it takes to do that, and I find it highly rewarding,” he said.
The car’s body, or “chassis,” is assembled and, in a few months, the car will have a motor. While there is more information to come, the members are already talking about bringing the car to different races across the country to compete.
The team has expanded since it was created, but still needs more people.
Chuck Taylor said the team needs students from all majors to participate to help the team progress.
“There is not a single society nor club that I can think of that reaches out to so many different students. We need graphic designers. We need photographers. We need people in videography. We need businessmen. We need engineers. It doesn’t even matter what major you are,” he said.
The team has endeavors of competitively showcasing its car and other projects in the future.
For more details and updates on the team, visit their Instagram page.