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By Chris Case
CUBA–Attention to detail. It often goes unnoticed, but attention to detail is what separates being pretty good from being the very best.
The four Cuba High boys who worked together to build a competitive high mileage car know all about sweating the small stuff. Paying attention to the minor details helped get their Wildcat team a Best in Show award at a statewide high school high mileage car race in Warrensburg, Mo. The team also finished in second place in the mileage distance competition that took place on April 27.
“It’s pretty impressive, really,” said Cuba High industrial arts teacher Rick Gordon. “In our first attempt at something like this, we manage to finish in second in the race and are named best in show. I’d say that’s pretty good. This whole thing has been really fun for us all.”
The project itself came about by happenstance. Gordon learned of the competition – now in its second year – taking place in Warrensburg and thought his kids might be interested in getting a Cuba car into the race. “It wasn’t actually a class project,” he pointed out, “just a bunch of guys who were interested in doing it. We worked on it completely outside of the classroom.”
The four boys involved in the project from start to finish spent their spring evenings inside a Rosati garage, working on their car. It was built from the frame up based on their custom design.
“We put some ideas of what we wanted down on paper and then made changes as we went along,” Gordon explained. “It was fun watching the design actually come together before our eyes.”
Doug Williams, a specialist in a wide array of mechanical skills, provided leadership, guidance and plenty of hands-on experience. His son J.D. was part of the Wildcat team.
“Doug was our secret weapon, our crew chief. I mean, this guys knows his way around a garage,” laughed Gordon. “He was really instrumental in giving us advice on which way to go with the design, what would work and what wouldn’t.”
J.D. and his teammates James Gilliam, Tyler Dake and Terry Reeves worked hard to get the car built from scratch in a matter of weeks — cutting sheet metal, welding joints, finishing detail work – and none of it during regular class time. The boys got sponsorships from local businesses to pay the costs for construction materials, decal work, T-shirts and other related expenses. Local companies that contributed were recognized with decal displays on the car itself, just like in NASCAR racing.
“We were the only school to do that, and when we showed up at the competition wearing our T-shirts and our car showing all our sponsors, people really took notice,” Gordon said proudly. “We looked good out there.”
The team took their car to Warrensburg – the Second Annual Missouri High Mileage Vehicle Competition – hoping to bring home a first place prize. They drove the farthest just to enter the race.
The Missouri contest is open to middle and high school students. The challenge is to design and build the most fuel-efficient single-person vehicle. The cars are powered by single-cylinder, four-stroke Honda cycle engines using ethanol fuel.
Cuba finished in second place out of 11 schools in the race. Many of the schools had cars that were disqualified or could not even finish. Not only did the Wildcat machine finish, it did it in style, flashing the yellow and black of Cuba High.
“All the other instructors felt like what we did with our car was really in the spirit of the competition, and obviously we had a good looking car because it won Best in Show honors,” Gordon said.
With a maximum lap speed of 30 miles per hour and minimum lap speed of 15 miles per hour, teams completed 10 laps around the closed course on four separate runs. Times were averaged and the car having the best fuel efficiency average won.
Ozark, averaging 158.22 miles per gallon, won first place. Cuba took second, averaging 103.75 miles per gallon. They were the only two schools averaging in the triple digits in efficiency.
“I’m just so proud of the boys. They worked so hard on this and I’m glad that they had something to show for their efforts,” said Gordon. “Sure, it would’ve been great to have the first place trophy, but second is awful good – especially on our first try.”
Sponsors for CHS in the event included Wal-Mart, Mace Supermarkets, Cuba Sign Shop, Williams Insulation, The Rose, Cuba Police Department, Mullally Distributing, Covico, Orc-O Tool, Gilliam Electric and Refrigeration, American Precision Diecast, Indeeco and Mobil On the Run.
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