BYU-Idaho’s Formula Racing Team entered a competition which took place in New Hampshire on the Motor Speedway.
The team unveiled its car, The Chassis, in October and ordered a battery to get the car moving. The battery didn’t arrive in time for the race, so the team only competed in static competitions.
Chuck Taylor oversees the team’s business and university relations needs and is the team’s driver. Taylor said though they were unable to race, they were able to learn how they could enhance their car in the future.
“We did compete, but we didn’t drive,” Taylor said. “We basically presented our designs and our decisions to the judges. We actually found a lot of good insights on The Chassis, things to improve on, things that were great. Our composites area was fantastic. We had some cool powertrain design choices, suspension design choices that the judges really liked.”
Samantha Moon, the team’s project manager, said the group has become like a second family for her. When working together for an upcoming competition, they gather for hours to prepare the car.
“I’ll be honest, it is mostly guys, there’s maybe three women,” Moon said, “but it’s a lot of fun. And last semester, because we were trying to get so much done in such a short amount of time, we were spending so much time together every single weekend.”
Caleb Nagel, the mechanical team lead, said part of the frequent collaboration is working to overcome team disagreements, but all the time together makes the team closer.
“I’m sure you’ve been on projects and had similar experiences where you start to get really close with your team and you guys are all focused so hard and intensely on that one goal,” Nagel said. “That brings you really close together.”
To listen to the full interview with members from BYU-Idaho’s Formula Race Team, go to BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.