Once again like our Lee County Florida race, the weather could not make up its mind what to do. During the week the rain chances kept changing. When we started arriving on Saturday, December 14th at Brandon High School it was pouring and the winds were kicking up. By 715 the rain let up and things started to look better for our Dash Race Day.

We decided that since the weather was showing more bands of rain, we would not bring out the electronics and scoring system. We reverted back to our old school ways when Ken Fiallos had a line of score keepers marking down each lap that a team made. It was much easier since we only had seven cars confirmed for the day’s event.

Our Dash Race day is held once during our nine month race season. This is the race where teams are permitted to safely drive as fast as their car and driver are comfortable with until their batteries die or the maximum time limit of twenty minutes.

We want to Thank Brandon High School Administration, Team Sponsor Timothy Ruman and his team for allowing us to be at their facilities for our Annual Dash Race. They did a great job getting things organized and made sure the event was successful.

Since we only had seven cars competing in today’s event, we all agreed to adjust the schedule for the day and have everyone on the track at the same time.

Teams lined up at 945 for the first race, our open class teams were challenged in the first race. HCC car 30 had a few last minute things to finish on their car that took longer than expected leaving them in the pits the entire first race. Team Titans car 242 came out strong in the first race but the batteries died after nine laps sending them to the pits until the next race.

High School Class – Mulberry car 38 did well with 34 laps in the twenty minute race followed by Brooks DeBartolo car 55 with 26 laps.

Advanced Battery Class – We had three teams in the advanced battery class; two of them leaving the open class lead acid batteries in the pits. That’s right; Silver Bullet car 94 had a great showing with lithium batteries with 39 laps and Tiger Racing car 4 using lithium had 40 laps. The fast runner in lithium batteries was Pro EV car 39 with 44 laps the first race.

While the teams charged up their batteries and made adjustments to their cars, our team sponsors and board members went at it on the track for twenty minutes. Mulberry High School sponsor Todd Thuma came in 1st Place with 38 laps, Race Steward/Board Member Mike Frederick completed 37 laps for 2nd Place and
HCC Sponsor Alex Ambrioso completed 30 laps for a 3rd Place finish

In the second team race the Advanced Battery Class was screaming around the track as they went past the scoring area. Pro EV car 39 completed 47 laps followed by Silver Bullet car 94 with 42 laps and Tiger Racing car 4 completed 39 laps. In the Open Class HCC car 30 dominated the track with 27 laps over the 1 lap that the Titans car 242 completed. In the High School class Mulberry car 38 completed 33 laps defeating Brooks DeBartolo and car issues with only 1 lap.

At the end of the day, the laps were counted for our overall winners for each class.
Mulberry HS came in 1st Place with 67 laps and Brooks DeBartolo came in 2nd with 27 laps.

Open Class – HCC car 30 completed 27 laps for a 1st Place finish and Titans car 242 finished in 2nd Place with 15 laps.

Advanced Battery Class Pro EV car 39 did a total of 91 laps for a 1st Place finish, Silver Bullet car 94 finished in 2nd Place with 81 laps and Tiger Racing car 4 finished in 3rd Place with 79 laps.

Our next race will be held at Wharton High School on January 18, 2020. Hope to see everyone there for our first race in 2020.

Electrathon of Tampa Bay / Electrathon of Florida will hold their next race event on December 14, 2019 at Brandon High School, located at 1101 Victoria Street, Brandon Florida 33510.

This event is one of our most exciting days for our teams and members. Our ETO Teams, Sponsors / Principals and Executive Board Members will DASH around the oval track at the safest and fastest rate of speed that their car can perform for 20 minutes. Once again, the key is “SAFEST”.

Our race steward, will black flag any driver/car that is not operating with safe driving techniques or any visual concerns with the car.

Reminder: any team that has students under the age of 18 years of age, must bring or have on file with ETO the parent / minor waiver forms for the student to participate at the event.

Race Schedule December 14, 2019 Race Only

BLUE – PITS
GREEN – TOWER
RED – SCORING/REGISTRATION
PURPLE – VEHICLE PARKING

Bring the entire family to this FREE, FUN FILLED DAY of Electrathon (STEM) Racing.

Charlie

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17MxR-k9GKKDvapjVdmcUlQUoLwRYKYky?usp=sharing

Electrathon of Tampa Bay held their first race in Lee County Florida on November 9, 2019 at Buckingham Field. The course was approximately 1.1 miles per lap.

On Friday, November 8, 2019 Jen (Lee Co Parks and Recreation), Tyler (I Will Mentorship Foundation) and three of their students along with Rusty, Jim and Charlie set up the course. We want to thank each of them for all of their hard work getting the course set up and ready to go for the races.

We want to thank everyone that the Parks and Recreation Department contacted for the use of the cones, bike rails, generators, and restrooms.

Saturday morning came and it was an overcast day with strong winds. As the final preparations were made for the event, teams checked in and got their cars ready to race.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Post (Deputy Orihuela) and six of the explorers were there to assist with parking and retrieving cars that broke down on the track. We thank them for their dedication and service to their community.

All week long the weather forecast showed a 10% chance for rain. Well it happened, the course was directly in the 10% area and it quickly turned into a 100% chance for rain. As the rain started around 9am, everyone sheltered in their vehicles and waited for it to clear up, checking in with each other during the breaks in the rain. Finally it cleared enough to plan for the first race to start at 1145am.

As the green flag dropped for the first race the drivers used caution to go around the track until they learned where the areas were that still had rain puddles. Archer Racing pulled off after three laps as the spray from his tires covered his canopy causing him to not feel safe enough to continue. Tiger Racing came out on the track after the green flag had dropped as he did not want to take the chance of water getting into his electrical system causing him to be out the rest of the day. USF car 48 completed only 5 laps when they had an issue that prevented them from getting back into the races.

At the end of the first race:
High Schools – Mulberry car 38 came in 1st with 20 laps and I Will Mentorship Foundation car 239 came in 2nd with 16 laps.
Open Class – Titan Racing car 242 came in 1st with 13 laps, barley beating Tiger Racing car 4 with 12 laps while Archer Racing car 321 completed 3 laps due to safety concerns.
Advanced Class – Pro EV car 39 came in 1st with 31 laps, USF car 132 had 8 laps and USF car 48 had 5 laps.

During the break, between races, Laura Heron with Homerun Concessions sold great food, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, sausages, chips, candies, and drinks. Thank you for being there and providing us with food and refreshments.

In the second race I Will Mentorship Foundation car 239 had their motor gear come off causing them to be out of the race after 1 lap. Pro EV set some great time records for this course with a 99.298 lap.

At the end of the second race
High Schools – Mulberry car 38 came in 1st with 17 laps and I Will Mentorship Foundation car 239 came in 2nd with 1 lap.
Open Class – Archer Racing car 321 came in 1st with 30 laps, Tiger Racing car 4 had 24 laps and Titans car 242 had 17 laps.
Advanced Class – Pro EV car 39 came in 1st with 34 laps and USF car 132 came in 2nd with 30 laps.

After the teams collected all of the materials from the track set up, loaded the loaned items onto a trailer for Jen with Parks and Recreation we held our awards ceremony.

Over the summer, Electrathon of Tampa Bay advertised and filed with the State of Florida Corporations for a fictitious name (aka DBA doing business as) Electrathon of Florida and were approved. This will be our last season as Electrathon of Tampa Bay as we will be promoting Electrathon Racing throughout Florida as Electrathon of Florida.

We had Ken Fiallos, Founder of Electrathon of Tampa Bay hand out the awards as this was our first trophies with our new corporate name, Electrathon of Florida.

High Schools – Mulberry car 38 1st Place overall with 37 laps (37+ miles), I Will Mentorship Foundation car 239 2nd Place overall with 17 laps (17+ miles)
Open Class – Tiger Racing car 4 1st Place overall with 36 laps (36+ miles), Archer Racing 2nd Place with 33 laps (33+ miles) and Titan Racing 3rd Place with 30 laps (30+ miles)
Advanced Class – Pro EV car 39 1st Place overall with 63 laps (63+ miles), USF car 132 2nd Place overall with 37 laps (37+ miles) and USF car 48 3rd Place with 5 laps (5+ miles).

Our next race will be held at Brandon High School on December 14, 2019.

Charlie

The next race will be held on November 9, 2019 in Lee County Florida/Ft Myers at the Lee County Mosquito Control/Buckingham Field located at 15191 Homestead Road, Lehigh Acres, Florida 33971. The entrance to the event will only be through Park Road Gate. This track is just over one mile long on an airstrip. Teams will remain in the pits when their car has an issue on the track and a pick up vehicle and trailer will bring the car into the pits for repairs. A trailer has been obtained, we still need a small vehicle/driver to pick up the car(s) and return to the pit area.

We need volunteers to assist with partial set up on Friday, November 8, 2019, between 3pm and 6pm and then final set up (tower, canopies, etc.) on Saturday, November 9, 2019, starting at 6am. The I Will Mentorship Foundation is our hosting/sponsoring team for this race. The Foundation is located just a few miles away from the track. There will be portable restrooms, a food vendor, volunteers from local organizations assisting to make this event a success.

We are working on getting some assistance with power (generator) for the pit area, teams should still bring their own power source in case this does not work out.

Hotel information was posted on our website on August 28, 2019 with little response. We can not guarantee the rates are still available at this time.

We hope to see teams from North Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana at this race event.

Charlie

Race day started with most teams who used GPS to find the school having to try multiple entrances before finding the track. GPS sent you to a closed gate a ways from the track.

Todd and his crew from Mulberry put on a great race. Lots of help with set up and tear down. It is appreciated when the home team helps as much as Todd and his team did.

The home team took the High School class with a total of 183 laps in the #38 car driving a conservative race with new drivers. Their #83 car had a shaky start in the first race with a new driver. Late in the first race had a spin-out and landed into the infield when the steering had a problem. Skinned up sheet metal but the driver didn’t have a scratch.

In the Open Class we had a first on race day. HCC started both races on time. When they get another good set of batteries they will be a team to watch as they will be very competitive.

Funding is always an issue for all of our teams. Teams are always looking for sponsors or donations to assist in their costs to keep the car running all season.

Another first in the Open Class was the absence of Silver Bullet Racing/Jim Robinson. He went over to the dark side to the Advanced Battery Class. Give you more on that later.

Tiger Racing/Rodney Schreck took first with 173 laps with Titan Racing coming in 2nd and HCC took third. Titan Racing withdrew towards the end of the second race with electrical problems, turned out that there was a loose connection on the master kill switch.

Advanced Battery Class saw the duel between Pro EV and USF continue. USF showed up with a whole new crew and new drivers. They still took 1st place in both races. In the second race it was a VERY CLOSE finish with USF taking it by 9 seconds over Cliff in the Pro EV car. RYNO Racing/Ryan and his 365 car had a bad day. Ryan used a past team mate from Middleton High School, Josh Ridout as one of his drivers and Mulberry graduate Dillon Meeks as a second driver. The 365 car did well the first race but late in the second race the rear tire went flat (according to another teams driver) in one of the turns sending the 365 car into a spin out causing it to roll over into the infield on the far end of the track. The car was messed up but the driver did not have a scratch or injury. The front end of the car will need to be rebuilt to get the wheels going in the right direction. Ambur from Brooks DeBartolo offered to help with welding the car in those spots that needed TLC. It is great to see teams offer to help one another.

The new/old guy in Advanced Battery, Silver Bullet/Jim Robinson, took third with his new battery pack. Sai from USF replaced the three Electrocutioners Teams as our Advanced Battery guru and helped Jim with his battery pack.

By the way, where are the Electrocutioners, they dominated the advanced battery class for a number of years, we would love to see Andrew, Pony and Slam back on the track racing with us.

As Seen In The Pits Cliff with Pro EV had a bad cell in his battery pack the first race but had a spare cell and changed it out between races. The way these guys build their Lithium Ion batteries, you have to take the whole thing apart to work on them. Not something you want to do between races, but can be done.
Nick and the guys from USF were going to help Jim Robinson between races by reprogramming his motor controller computer. They did a fine job we think they left out a step as the car wouldn’t start the second race and had to visit the pits for another programming session. When it did get back onto the track in the second race it had a top speed of only 22mph.
HCC had an 8000w generator in the pits; it could have run half the school. USF used it to charge the batteries in their car as the 3500w generator that I had would not take the load to charge three Lithium Ion cars. Thank You HCC for being a great team that helps other teams.

The day was filled with teams offering to help one another in many different ways which is what makes Electrathon of Tampa Bay such a great family of racers.

It’s all about the Batteries in Electrathon Racing.
One of the Electrathon America rules state that the batteries must be secured in such a way that they will not come out or loose in the event of an accident or roll over. Teams will not be allowed to use the standard bungee cords. Batteries MUST be secured with some form of rigid device/clamps, cargo straps or DOT black rubber straps with the hooks on the ends.
We noticed some lateral, back and forth movement in the steering columns, this makes steering more difficult as steering inputs not as crisp as needed. Teams please check your car for these safety concerns.

Our next race will be an away race down in Ft Myers/Lee County Mosquito Control, on a one mile airstrip.

See you there

Vic

Electrathon of Tampa Bay has posted over the years in two areas of our website, the tentative schedule for our season of events. On occasion there are issues with insurance, double booking of a venue or unforeseen circumstances that may force our organization to make a change as soon as we are aware of the situation. Any changes that are made to the posted, tentative schedule are discussed among the Executive Board Members and decisions are made with the best interest of the entire organization in mind. We regret that these changes have to be made from time to time and know that they could affect a team(s) ability to perform at their best. Electrathon of Tampa Bay will continue to do our best to secure locations for our events so that we do not have these types of situations occur.

Hope to see everyone at the upcoming regular race at Mulberry High School on October 12, 2019.

We will be at Mulberry High School in Polk County Florida on March 7, 2020. The school is located at 1 Panther Place, Mulberry Florida 33860.

This is a short turn around from our race at USF but it will be easier than USF and easier on equipment since it will be on their 1/4 mile track. This is a great opportunity to test out new gear ratios. train new drivers, and work on tactics.

TEAMS MUST SUPPLY THEIR OWN POWER FOR CHARGING BATTERIES BETWEEN RACES. PIT AREA DOES NOT HAVE A POWER SOURCE

Reminders:
All minors must have a parent consent / waiver of liability form on file with ETO or bring one to this race to participate.

Everyone must sign in at the registration area to receive their wristband that authorizes them to be in the pit area.

All advanced battery teams will present a copy of the manufacturers spec sheet for the batteries that they are using and the spec sheet should include the weight of the batteries. If a team has a manufacturers spec sheet for the batteries they are using and the weight of the batteries are not listed, the batteries will be weighed at the registration area before the race. If a team does not have on file or present a copy of their manufacturers spec sheet for the batteries they are using as mentioned above, the team will not be allowed to race.

All team drivers will weigh in at the registration area with driving equipment, if the driver is less than 180lbs, ballast must be with the driver to weigh again to put the driver at or over 180lbs.

Red – Track
Yellow – Safety Barrier
Green Area – Pits
Purple – parking / overflow
Blue Line – Tower / Registration

Vic

The first race of the season at the Hillsborough Community College, Brandon Campus saw clear skies, moderate temps and a very fast track with a nice seal coat to make it very smooth.
A special thank you to Alex Ambrioso and the entire HCC Administration and Electrathon Team for being a great host for our first race of the season.


A High School team from Palm Bay Magnet, over on the other coast, made their debut with a Blue Sky car and took a 1st place finish in the 1st race and a 2nd Place in the second race. A first for a new team. In the second race Palm Bay had continuing problems with the chain drive and spent many laps on the side of the track. Great first race appearance for this new and upcoming team.
The Mulberry team had a brake problem in the first race which left the door open for the new guys. In the second race they were back to their energizer bunny routine and racked up over 100 laps.
The Brooks team started the race in the pits working on their car and got a late start. They did better in the second race.

In the Open Class it was the AARP crew battling it out with Tiger Racing, Jim Robinson and Silver Bullet Racing, Rodney Schreck battling it out with Silver Bullet racking up 209 laps to 204 laps for Tiger Racing. The HCC home team started the first race in the pits but finished the day with a respectable showing in the second race. The HCC team has been challenged with student changes and older car parts, we believe they have a great new team and will be a team to keep an eye on as the season continues. Titan Racing had a total rebuild of their #242 car and were working on minor adjustments so that they are ready for the next race. Titans are another team that is up and coming with a new driver Victoria Hobbs.

In the Advanced Battery class University of South Florida and ProEv picked up where they left off last season. VERY FAST and racking up large lap counts.
Cliff with ProEv had a good day but came up short to the USF team which set a track record of 127 laps in the 1st race and 253 laps for the day.

From The Pits A shout out to the HCC team for their help with the new guys. The Palm Bay team had problems with their batteries and the HCC team was able to help them out so they were able to race the second race.

Our South Florida and East Coast Teams, Tiger Racing, ProEv, Robinson Racing, Electrocutioners, and Palm Bay Magnet came thru the hurricane threats in good shape. One of our Electrocutioners missed the race for the lame excuse that he was getting married on Sunday. What was the problem, we raced on Saturday. Congrats to Steve Lamson aka Slam and his new wife (he now has a pit crew).

Our President, Charlie Harrison missed his first race officiating with some excuse about having to have a stint put in one of his arteries. His wife Debbie filled in and did a great job.

Coming out of retirement for this race was Ken Fiallos, our past President and Founder, who ran the scoring and stats, Charlies job. Charlie will be back for the next race.

Speaking of the next race. We were scheduled to be at Daytona International Speedway in October for a multi day display. That has been postponed to sometime in the future. Mulberry High School has stepped up and offered to host a race in that time slot. As of Monday September 23, 2019 approval has been obtained for a race on October 12, 2019 at Mulberry HS. This was due to a very dedicated Sponsor, Todd Thuma that has been an outstanding addition to the Electrathon of Tampa Bay Family. Originally, the Daytona Event was scheduled to have no race fees charged to teams nor season points awarded. The Mulberry Race that is replacing the Daytona Event WILL be a race with entry fee and WILL have season points awarded.

Order of Finish for the day when both races are combined:
High School Class:
1st Place – Mulberry HS

2nd Place – Palm Bay Magnet

3rd Place Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate

Open Class:
1st Place – Robinson Racing aka Silver Bullet Racing

2nd Place – Tiger Racing

3rd Place – HCC

4th Place Titan Racing

Advanced Battery Class:
1st Place – USF, with new track record

2nd Place – ProEv

Vic

Good morning Charles

The Four Points Sheraton is being sold. Here are the hotels for the November race at Buckingham Airfield.

I have added the Holiday Inn at the Forum to our website, they lowered their rate to $99 for a QQ room. They are undergoing renovations and hope to have their full breakfast up and running by Halloween, but this is not guaranteed. Until their renovations are finished, they have cold items (cereal, yogurt, breads, etc.).

I have also added the Best Western Inn & Suites. Their rate is $79 for a QQ room with breakfast.

Link is now operational again. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Thank you,
Melanie

The hotel has set aside QQ rooms and a few King only rooms. Teams will need to provide a copy of their state of Florida tax exempt certificate. Parent rooms will pay 11.5% tax.

Electrathon Race, November 9, 2019, at Buckingham Airfield:

HOTEL HOTLINE: Please call Lee County Sports Housing at 1-239-541-1800, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern, or submit a reservation request online at:

https://leecountysportshousing.org/event/1405

Reservation requests need to be made before September 26, 2019. On that date, any unclaimed rooms will be released into general inventory and we can no longer guarantee availability or rate.

Thank you for letting Lee County Sports Organizing Committee help you with lodging for your event. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Thank you,
Melanie
Lee County Sports Organizing Committee

On September 21, 2019, Electrathon of Tampa Bay will hold the first race of the 2019 – 2020 season. The host will be Hillsborough Community College located at 10451 Nancy Watkins Drive, Tampa, Florida 33619.

Set up will begin on Friday around 6 p.m. so that safety barriers are in place for the track and course design completed. Final set up of the scoring system and registration area will start at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning.

ALL team members will be required to attend the meeting in the main building at 8 a.m. so that a quiz can be administered and reviewed.

All parent consent and minor waivers must be turned in at the registration booth when you sign in. Team Sponsors cannot sign these forms for participation.

All drivers will weigh in and must have their long sleeve shirt, long pants, helmet, shoes, gloves, eye protection and required ballast for weigh in so that they are a minimum of 180lbs.

All Advanced Battery Division teams will be required to show manufacturer’s specs for the weight of the batteries to comply with Electrathon America and ETO rules for advanced batteries. If a team does not have their manufacturer’s specs sheet, the batteries will need to be weighed at the race.

All Advanced Battery Division teams will have installed in their Electrathon car, a kWh meter. At the end every race, an inspection of the kWh meter will be done by the ETO Inspection Team to verify the number of kWh used during the race to comply with Electrathon America and ETO rules. Any team’s car meter that is not functioning or reads more than 1 kWh (1,000 watts) the team will be disqualified for that race.

Teams will be required to attend the Driver Meeting with the Race Steward for information on driving, flags and safety protocols.

The first race lineup is 9:45 A.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race and race season at 10:00 A.M.

The second race lineup is 12:45 P.M. and the green flag will drop to start the race at 1:00 P.M.

Clean up and awards will follow. Hope everyone has their cars ready to go and remember to do all of your safety checks and be knowledgeable and understand the Electrathon America Rules and Guidelines for the car, driver(s) and teams.

Yellow – Barrier, Green – Pits, Red – Course, Black – Scoring Tower

Charlie