Do you like cars, engineering, and/or teamwork? If you said yes to any of these and want to join a club, Lafayette’s Racing Team is looking for new members.
Lafayette’s Racing Team is a group of students that gathers every Monday and Thursday from 3:15 to 4:30 in Room 604. This team designs, builds, and races high-performance cars. They race within the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE), an engineering education competition to get students to build, design, and race a race car.
Lafayette’s Racing Team is currently trying to craft a vehicle that follows the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards. Frank Gooding, the club’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Business Lead, stated, “A big rule the SAE has is the maximum dimensions for our car,” so they must double-check measurements when building. The SAE races will be held in Brooklyn, Michigan. Although the team won’t be racing in 2024, they intend to race and debut their car, MERCURY in the spring of 2026.
The Racing Team is designing their first car, MERCURY, and deciding how it will be made. They want to make an electric vehicle that will not require gasoline. The electrical power supplied to the electric drive motor generates an electromotive force, which turns the electric motor shaft. The team is working on the chassis, the foundational structure supporting the car from beneath.
The Lafayette Racing Team also provides experiences where club members can work with people from the University of Kentucky. Club members may work with the club’s sponsor, Kinemetrix, an F1 (Formula 1) sponsor.
The Racing Club is also an excellent way to meet new people interested in technology, cars, and engineering. “I like the Racing Club because it’s where I can hang out with my friends and build something cool,” member and Chief Operating Officer Gabriel “Gabe” Mullins stated.
If you want to learn more about the Racing Club and watch their progress on the MERCURY, you can follow their Instagram @lafayetteracingclub and visit their website, which is accessible through QR codes scattered around the school. So, if you want to join a club, give the Racing Club a chance!
