What an exciting day/weekend! We finished 2nd overall in the ICE (internal combination engine) with 457 mpg. We received a $2000 check for this from Shell (and a cool trophy.) They went on to compete for a trip to London and came in 2nd place out of 3 trips. Logan Sailor is the driver and Josh Majerus is the team captain.

The prototype came in 8th with 1045 mpg. They had some great runs and with the weather conditions today it created a bit more of a challenge. Jacob Songstad was the car driver and Grayden Thompson was the team captain.

We have a great group of kids and we couldn't be more proud of them. They spent some time with some other teams and it was fun watching them laugh and just have a good time. 

So today has been an exciting and stressful day for us! We got invited to the driver's world cup race. The first round was a brake check in the rain. We passed both brake checks but the chain fell off at the end. It was about 10 minutes before we found out if he was still eligible. Next was the qualifying round for the pole position, still raining. Logan got second pole position. Then came the race. The car didn't take off right away because the parking brake was left on. So he got going, first lap gets in a big crash on the last turn...the crash was not his fault but he t-boned another car that spun around on a turn and was going backwards down the hill. They asked him if he was OK and wanted to keep going and he said...um yeah...if I can...so off he goes! Let me tell ya, his mom wanted him to be done! Haha! The track was really slippery and he got warned for speeding 1 time but pulled off second place behind the other MN team...St Thomas Academy! So they won a trip to London again! So proud of our team and the St. Thomas team...they are also a great group of people!!!!

Good morning from Detroit! Today it is cold and windy here and we are expecting rain! We are done running the urban but there is still cars on the track. Logan finished with 457 mpg. That is 2nd overall in the internal combustion engines (gas, diesel, and ethanol) The 1st place car was Mater Dei and they have a gas engine so we had the best diesel run even though we won't get a 1st place. The prototypes will be going out soon and then it will be the race for the 3 spots for London. It has been a long weekend and the kids are getting tired...here are the kids that are supposed to be watching the prototype. Good thing for lines! Haha!

As of 1:00 EST...this is the standings...right now they are switching back to urban concept cars.

Good morning from Detroit! The cars are in line to go outside. Hopefully we can get some good runs in before the rain comes in this afternoon! It's going to be a great day!

Everything/everyone is winding down for the night. The urban concept car made quite a few runs on the practice track. The prototype had some electrical issues after passing tech so they worked on that most of the day. They got it figured out and were able to make it one round on the practice track. They are working on a few small things and they should be good to go tomorrow!

The prototype has now passed tech also!!! Yeah!!! So now both cars can be on the practice track! The actual competition runs start tomorrow. However, the weather forecast is not looking good...so it may get interesting! Tech may get cut shorter so other teams may not make it through, the schedules will get flip flopped, runs may get moved inside, etc. Happy Friday!!!

Sorry I haven't updated much today...it has been a long busy day! The urban concept car HAS PASSED tech inspection! The prototype has 2 left to pass...this things have now been fixed and should be passed in the morning! They are very picky this year! Lots of advisors are noticing this...not just us! But...that is ok! We are just about there!

For those of who that are not familiar with the process, there are 10 tech stations that they have to pass before they can get on the track. 1. Vehicle weigh-in (the cars have to meet certain weight requirements) 2. Driver weigh-in (the drivers also have to meet certain weight requirements) 3. Turning circle (the car has to have specific turning requirements) 4. Vehicle dimensions (the cars have to fit into specific specs) 5. Seat belt (they check to make sure the seat belts work properly) 6. Brake system (check brakes on an incline) 7. Visibility  (check to make sure you can see all directions out of your car) 8. Time to exit (make sure the driver can unbuckle and get out of the car in under 10 seconds) 9. Design Check (check for sharp edges, wiring, gaps, good fire wall, lights, etc) 10. Fuel system  (give you fuel, make sure the car runs, and all the shut-off's work.) So that is tech in a very brief summary...it is a lot more involved than that and pretty stressful but in a nut shell...and there was some changes this year that were not in the rule book...so we had to do some scrambling but...it's all good now!

We have arrived...they hit the ground running...everyone found a job and they are working hard!

Last night we stayed in Peru, IL. This morning the team captains, car drivers, Scott, and James got up early and took off so they can get registered. The rest of us left the hotel a little after 8. It was raining when we got up but now it is kind of a hazy sunshine! We should be there sometime around 4ish...due to the time change and guessing stops.

Shell Eco Marathon 2017...we left Alden today around 4:30. We stopped in Centerpoint, IA for fuel and supper and of course we had to stop in Walcott. So now we are back on the road. Our plan is to stay in Peru, IL tonight and then get up early and head into Detroit tomorrow! Let the fun begin! 

The cars loaded in the trailer...eastbound and down!

Sneak peak of this week's Alden Advance. Awesome story about the team! 

Counting the Days

April 18, 2017

Crunch time is here!!  We hit the road for the Shell Ecomarathon in Detroit in ONE WEEK!!