Thread: Electrathon - A Different Kind of "Hotrod"

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Friday and Saturday (4/11 & 12/25) Chris (my wife) and I made the journey to Homestead-Miami Speedway so I could participate in the Florida Power & Light sponsored Electrathon event. It was run in conjunction with the FIA Formula-E world championship race. We were originally supposed to run a 1-hour race on Friday afternoon and another on Saturday morning. The FPL people were absolutely wonderful, the Speedway staff were very congenial and helpful, and the Formula-E people were really nice. The FIA folks were another story... I don't think they really wanted us there. They kept changing the schedule and delaying our race schedule. There were educational activities for the high school kids (Electrathon's main reason for existence), but also a lot of down time - "hurry up and wait" times. We could have run our race at any time during the day, but FIA wouldn't let us near the track until after the Formula-E cars had their practice session... at 4:00 in the afternoon. We finally were told to stage our cars at 5:00. Then we sat for another 30 minutes while they did yet another track inspection. The pace car took the wrong road out of the pit area, so we were creeping along; just as we came out of the road course nearing the front stretch, my rear tire popped! I went into the pits where a group of teachers and other mentors were waiting. They had me get out of my car and they went to work changing my rear inner tube. They rolled my car up on its left side, removed the rear wheel, changed the inner tube, and reinflated the tire. As the other 23 cars were completing their second pace lap and taking the green flag, the pit crew was already putting my rear wheel back in the car. I jumped in, got re-strapped in, and took off. The pit crew had done the impossible - I was less than a half-lap behind! (2.2 mile road course takes approx 4 minutes per lap) I was flogging Ol' Purple for all she was worth. The only faster car on the track was Cliff Rassweiler's Lithium powered car. My first trip down the front stretch was 43 mph, the second time around I got 46. Then the yellow lights came on and we had to slow down... DARN! Next lap around we got the red flag and were routed into the pits. There were four cars broke down, scattered around the track. The real problem was that one of the new rookie drivers, sitting in his car, TOOK HIS HELMET OFF!! Dumbass! The FIA folks said we were done for the day. Our race had lasted 22 minutes.

Saturday was better. We were supposed to race at 8:30 AM; then we were told our race was shortened to 30 minutes. We took the green at about 9:30 with an unheard-of single file start right out of the pits... weird. Cliff's Lithium powered car broke its throttle on the first turn and he pulled off the track. I blew past Rodney Schreck and never saw him again. I got 43 mph on my first lap main stretch and 46 on the next three. Then more yellow lights on some of the infield sections and the last lap was a full-course yellow. We did run the full 30 minutes, at least. When the laps were totaled from both races, Rodney Schreck got first and the "Shock and Awe" team from Pensacola got second. I got third place. My trip to the pits on Friday had cost me a lap because the transponder doesn't record laps in the pit area! If not for that I would have won Open Class.

The first pic below is my car on display in the Electrathon paddock. FPL had set up a sort of "tent city". Every team had an assigned tent space so we were out of the sun and the one little rain shower we had on Friday. The second pic is one out of a series of stop-action shots Chris took of me at speed during Saturday morning's race. I was doing 46 mph when she shot this. The last pic is my car, Ol' Purple< with the trophy I got for 3rd place.