UA Team Finishes 21st in Mini-Baja

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The results are in and the University of Arkansas Mini-Baja team, the Racin’ Razorbacks, finished 21st out of 140 teams in the Society of Automotive Engineers Mini-Baja Midwest Competition. The competition took place in May in Elkhorn, Wis., but the results weren’t released until recently.

The Mini-Baja Midwest Competition challenges participants to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the punishment of rough terrain. Competitors simulate real-world engineering design projects. The four-day event featured acceleration tests, braking tests, a maneuverability course, chain pull and mud bog. It ended with a four-hour endurance race on a dirt and grass racetrack.

The UA team spent the last year designing, fabricating and readying their vehicle for competition. The Racin’ Razorbacks ended the race only 1:43 behind the first-placed team, Oregon State University. The UA team received 346.15 endurance points, only 54 points less than the leader. Also, the team completed 45 laps around the 1.4 mile track, falling short of the leader by only 7 laps.

The Midwest Region Competition is heralded as the largest collegiate automotive design competition in the world and for more than 20 years the UA’s mechanical engineering department has hosted a team in this competition. Several members of the team have been involved with the program for three years, including veteran co-captains Casey Grissom and T.J. Thompson. They are led by Leon West, a professor of mechanical engineering and faculty adviser, and Jason Brannen and Ben Fleming, assistant advisers.

To keep the power plants consistent from team to team, all teams use 10 horsepower Briggs & Stratton engines. The frame, suspension components and drive train are designed and built from scratch. This year’s UA Mini-Baja car can achieve top speeds of nearly 40 mph, while navigating over jumps, through mud and crossing logs.