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Isabella Ank

Speeding around the parking lot, senior Caleb Summitt races ahead of his competitors at Hillsborough Community College Brandon Sept. 22. As Summitt was driving, senior Luis Martinez delivered him certain instructions through a headset, such as whether a car was about to pass him or not.

The robotics team placed fifth in their class at the annual Electrathon of Tampa Bay, an electric car race, at Hillsborough Community College’s Brandon Campus Sept. 22. 

Seniors Caleb Summitt and Luis Martinez represented the team at the race. Besides competing, they also worked on completing the car. Although some components were bought online, Summitt and Martinez had to wire the vehicle, which took about a day to finish.   

“We just kind of slowly worked on it,” Martinez said. “We changed the sprocket size.” 

The Electrathon requires an electric motor, though competitors can choose between lead acid or lithium batteries. Summitt and Martinez used lead acid in the form of two car batteries.  

“We want lithium, but they’re so expensive,” Summitt said.  

The event consisted of two races, one beginning at 10 a.m., the other at 1 p.m. A total of 11 other drivers competed, though drivers were separated into different classes.  

“Electrathon is truly STEM in action,” Electrathon of Tampa Bay publicist Fredi Beck said. “It’s a way of spending time in the fresh air, allowing students and volunteer mentors and advisors to interact and learn from each other. The bonus is that it’s fun and challenging to all participants.” 

Both Summitt and Martinez drove their car using handlebars similar to those on a bicycle. Summitt drove in the morning race and Martinez raced in the afternoon. While one student drove, the other gave instructions via a Discord channel.  

The driver’s overall objective in the race is to complete as many laps as possible within one hour. However, battery changes are not allowed during the race, so drivers can only compete until their batteries burn out. A total of two batteries were used by Martinez and Summit during the competition, but they would like to use more in future races. 

“We need to have four batteries,” Martinez said. “Two for the first race, two for the second race.” 

Summitt ended the first race with 69 laps in 50 minutes before the first battery ran out, while Martinez completed 36 laps in 30 minutes using the second battery. For future races, Summitt and Martinez wish to use a new car due to the limitations of their current one.  

“We’ll build a new one,” Summitt said. “If we have funding and if we’re going to dedicate a weekend to it, we can make that in a weekend.”