Wrap Up

The following post written by the faculty advisor:

The 2010 IMSTEA Super Mileage Challenge went well for us in spite of some weather related and illness issues. Rich had the car done with plenty of time to spare. We tested everything a couple of days ahead of time and it was all systems go. When we left on Sunday morning the weather was looking a little wet with little chance of improvement in the forecast. It continued to rain all day Sunday, which meant the cancellation of the outdoor turn and braking tests that the cars normally have to go through at tech inspection. Also, because everyone was trying to stay dry, I didn't get the chance to see many of the other cars in the competition like I normally do. Our car breezed through the inspection process with nothing needing to be worked on.

Senator Lugar made an appearance and addressed the group. It was a little hard to hear him due to the acoustics of the Vincennes University airplane hanger, but it was a nice pep talk to the group about the importance of the work the students are doing working towards the goal of reducing our country's dependence on foreign oil. As always, the nice folks at Vincennes fed all the team members with hamburgers, hot dogs and all the trimmings.

Since this was to be my last year of involvement with the high mileage project, I bought a for sale sign and taped that to the car with all the contact information prior to leaving Sunday morning. It paid off with Vincennes university buying the car at tech inspection, with the agreement being they would take possession of the car after the conclusion of the competition on Monday. That was a relief - I wouldn't even have to transport the car back home!

Monday dawned cold and rainy and our team captain was sick as a dog. I think he had a touch of food poisoning. I felt real bad for him but he toughed it out and made it through the day. IMSTEA was using a new timing and scoring system this year and had a few problems with it. The first race didn't go off until 9:00, rather than the normal 8:00. Rich got our car out in the second wave but unfortunately, he lost count of the laps and pulled in too early. We got three more runs in, or so we thought, before cutting a tire and ending our day. About that time the weather improved but we were all pretty much ready to turn the car over to Vincennes, so we posed for the team photo and called it good. We had two young ladies from the school yearbook come down with the team on Monday, so they took the official portrait for us. I'm anxious to see what they come up with when the yearbook comes out.

The results for most teams were much lower than normal this year. I'm sure the windy weather and rain were the primary culprits. Mater Dei was the big winner again with 1004.02 miles per gallon followed by Warsaw High school with 775.31. The scores dropped off considerably after that with the next ones being in the 400 range. Our official mileage was 120.94 mpg. That included a DNF score for one run that we thought was good. Our highest was about 180. Not good but there were four unlimited class cars that did not complete even one run. There were 39 schools entered.

All in all, it's been a good run. We've had some great sponsors and supporters - thanks to all of you. I've had the pleasure of working with some very fine young men and women - thanks also to you. The biggest roadblock to my continued involvement is time. The project takes a lot of my non-school time and due to other commitments, I just don't have that much time to give. Thanks everyone and remember that petroleum reserves are finite - we are going to run out. Use our resources wisely.