Drummond F1 Club places fourth
First-year team gains valuable experience in Bozeman competition.
The Drummond F1 Car Club got off to a fast start March 24-26 in Bozeman, returning from their first competition in with a fourth-place finish among 12 teams entered.
Drummond took top honors in the Presentation Portfolio and Tech Design divisions to aid them in their finish.
"One of the big things we did that other teams didn't was to show the team budget and ROI (Return on Investment)," Elizabeth Cartmill, the team's Pit Display leader. "We were the only team to do that and it made a difference."
The budget included line items for the 21st Century Grant that Drummond received that was worth just under $7,000. That grant helped get the team the bulk of its
funding, which included a 3D printer that resides Darcy Schindler's classroom. That printer was used to create the wings for the front and rear of the car, which help with its aerodynamics and keeping it on the track.
The budget also delineated the 13 local sponsors that contributed to the Drummond F1 Club's efforts.
While team's tech design was good, it didn't fair quite as well on the track. Their reaction times were good, but there were lessons learned from the races that will give the team something to shoot for next year.
"We'll probably change the car's weight and shape," said Tanner Piippo, Drummond's lead tech designer. "And we'll channel the C02 to give it more thrust."
Fortunately for the team, the car survived the competition before Cartmill accidentally knocked the front wings off the car at the closing banquet.
"I was texting my sister and slammed my hand down on the table and hit the car," she said with a smile. "I'm just glad it happened after we were done competing."
Other team members of the Drummond F1 Car Club include Guilherme Agostini, Danae Pollard, Donna Seekel, Shamus Scott, Carson Geary and advisor Darcy Schindler.
