Camden, NY has certainly made its mark on the racing business. NASCAR champion crew chief Todd Gordon ‘87 recently called the shots for seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in the Daytona 500. Daniel Bajek ‘01 is an engine specialist for Joe Gibbs Racing, working with top drivers such as Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch during his career. Camden native Charles Sweatland was a pioneering NASCAR mechanic in the Grand National Series until 1960.
This February in the hallways of Camden High School, a new generation of racers took to the track. Many of them will harbor dreams of doing something other than reaching the top levels of racing. That didn’t make the competition any less intense as students in the Drawing and Design for Production (DDP) classes built and raced miniature carbon dioxide-powered dragsters.
For many years, this project has been completed at the middle school level, but bringing it into the high school environment gives students an opportunity to apply more advanced skills to the assignment. As instructor Michael Petrie pointed out, it was also an opportunity for him and colleagues Jake Bates and Jeremy Calkins to use their experiences outside of the classroom to create a fun, competitive, and engaging unit.
“One thing that makes our department unique is that all of our technology teachers here at the High School have coaching experience,” Petrie said. “If we can introduce a competition into any of our projects, we take that opportunity.”
To begin, each student was given a pre-drilled wooden blank to build from. Within the constraints of that block and a set of carefully designed rules, students were challenged to build a car that would be lightweight, durable, aerodynamically sound, and most of all, fast.
The classes completed a comprehensive design process that went from an idea, to a sketch, to a final drawing, and ultimately, a finished car. The students practiced craftsmanship with a refined attention to detail up until they sanded and painted their design into the final product.
“One of the major takeaways for students is developing an eye for detail and always looking for ways to improve their design,” Petrie said. “We want students to ask themselves 'how can I make this even better?'. We try to push students to look at every small detail on their car so they produce a product they are proud of.”
A knowledge of physics comes together with an eye for detail to help create a winning car. Students spent time along the way learning about how weight, friction, drag, and downforce can affect the performance of their design. They also had to work within the rules to be eligible for championship racing.
With the cars built, nearly 70 students over seven class periods took to the starting line and battled it out over several days to determine a winner. At the start sequence, a sharp point in the starting apparatus punctured a metal cartridge filled with compressed carbon dioxide in the back of the car. The release in pressure quickly propelled the cars to the finish line.
After qualifying runs, the top 16 cars competed in an elimination bracket to determine a winner.
At the end of the competition, sophomore Carson Kimmel was the overall champion with a fastest time of 1.155 seconds and managed to hit 41.3 miles per hour on a very short course. Freshman Cody Piersall was the runner-up at 1.170 seconds, while freshman Tyler Perkins was third with a time of 1.200 seconds.
The winners received a custom laser-engraved wooden plaque that was designed by students.
