Hello from Lincoln, Nebraska and the 2016 Formula SAE Lincoln competition! We’re updating this page all day long – if you’re just joining us, read from the bottom up! Live results are available at results.fsaeonline.com. Keep clicking refresh for the newest, um, news! 

3:56 pm – And THAT, friends, brings us to the end of the day, as the University of Illinois takes the checkered flag.

I’d like to hang out and get you official results, but the best place to find them for individual events is at results.fsaeonline.com – Select the “Event Leaderboards”. 

We really appreciate everyone following along this weekend, and supporting the students here that have put so much time and energy behind this event. Thank you, too, to the workers, parents and friends who have braved the 100 degree heat to help make this event possible. 

Are you new to SCCA and want to be a part of some of our other activities? You can join by clicking here. 

3:52 pm – The MUS&T (do they abbreviate it that way?) is in under the checkered flag, leaving just the Illinois car on course.

 3:46 pm – A big blow for ETS Montreal, who was great during yesterday’s autocross. They are done for the day, off course, before a driver change.

That leaves just Illinois and the Missouri University of science and Technology on course to wrap up the day. Both, I believe, are on the second drivers.

3:38 pm – Big news – the defending overall champions, San Jose State, are out with oil leaking from the car.

Washington got their finish, as did a very excited Auburn team, however. The final cars are on the circuit now!

3:31 pm – Not for long, though. The Huskies are moving yet again.

3:28 pm – It seems like a one for one trade every time. It’s all hugs for Cal Poly Pomona, as they complete the run. Literally 100 feet away, Washington is sitting stationary on the side of the track.  

3:20 pm – Driver change for Washington; Cal State Poly Pomona has been dragging a cone for an entire lap under the left side pod; and the Iowa State car was called in for being up on two wheels in a turn.

[Insert poop emoji] just got real!

3:16 pm – High fives all around as Pitt takes the checkered flag. There’s a big finish, and they’ll head off to judging now.

3:10 pm – We are down to crunch time! Only six cars are waiting to take the start, with four more on course. It’s go time!

3:06 pm – A bad break, literally, for Akron. The Zips had a broken front wing, bringing out a black flag and ending the day.

Meanwhile, these cars are absolutely flying now. While the early runs may have been with the hopes of finish, these cars are running 10/10ths to get to the finish. It’s a great display of both driver AND engineering!

3:00 pm – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has completed their runs; meanwhile, Pittsburgh has completed the driver change and headed back out. It’s time to complete the second half!

carleton, however, fell victim to the dreaded oil loss and are finished. 

2:49 pm – A lovely young lady following along at home had a question about these teams and these cars, and it was a good one – How long does it take to prep for an event like this?

The short answer is that “it depends”. The University of Kansas team builds a new car every year (some may tweak last year’s design, or run on a two-year cycle of builds), so they began this year’s model in August of 2015. 

Each of the teams have 10-15 students here on site, along with some professionals to consult with at home. The Jayhawks had theirs ready for the Formula SAE Michigan event in May, then are here, and annually turn up at the SCCA Tire Rack Solo National Championships in September to compete in the FSAE class. 

Its hard to estimate man hours, but it sounds like each student involved is contributing the most that they can for nearly 8 months in advance – AND living the college lifestyle to go with it!

2:46 pm – That’s a finish for the Polytechnique Montreal team, who conquered their endurance woes and knocked out all 22 km.

Meanwhile, aren’t we all, Rose Human Institute of Technology, aren’t we all?

2:33 pm – It’s busy in the driver change zone.

FSAE rules are VERY strict. No fluids leaking, no working on their cars. USC were just excused because a wire came loose and the car wouldn’t start without plugging it back in, in the cockpit. South Dakota State was dripping just a bit of oil – and that’s a no go. 

SCCA Club Racing H Production, I’m looking at you here. 

2:24 pm – The first car out after the break, from the University of Texas – San Antonio, is in for the driver change.

Unfortunately, they won’t be going anywhere, as tech as just given them a DNF for leaking oil.

2:13 pm – We’re back to the IC classes – so noise, power, and moveable breakable parts are on tap.

In theory, though, we’re now into the best of the best territory. The top 24 cars are on tap now, so let’s see who gets to the end!

2:08 pm – The battery was good, but a chain ended the day for Penn. Meanwhile, Polytechnique Montreal is nursing the car around the course. 

But the Czech Technical University of Prague – they were flat out the whole time. 

1:44 pm – Already just three EV cars left, out of the original eight.

Polytechnique Montreal and the University of Pennsylvania are in for their driver swaps.The only thing that could stop them now:

1:38 pm – The EV class is most definitely different than the internal combustion motors. The only ambient sound is tire screeching, and the acceleration is incredible. 

They are also much, much more finicky, it appears. For instance, after a spin, the McGill University machine asked for a hand from the course workers to turn the machine off, and back on, to restart. That’s a rules no-no, however, and earned a black flag and retirement.

1:26 pm – We’re back at it, with a twist. Up now, in the middle of the day, is the EV class – with electric cars. 

Not only will be dependent on battery power through here, but it’s also very, very quiet outside! 

12:21 pm – After lots of agony and heartbreak this morning, we break for lunch on a feel good note. Calgary, after putting around the course in a nerve wracking few laps that were, at best, a jogging pace, and at worse, a walk, finished up and crawled across the finish line. 

It’s hard to explain how much work and dedication goes into these machines, how hard they have worked and planned, and how much a weekend like this takes out of these students – especially four days on 100 degree pavement. 

How rewarding is it to finish this test? This rewarding:

11:53 am – Just two cars left on course before the lunch break. The U of Calgary just made a driver change, though the engine sounds off song.

Northwestern is just a few laps from the finish.

11:38 am – Congrats to CSU-Northridge, the latest finisher!

Just a few more cars to go this morning, and we’ll break for lunch prior to the second half of the runs.

11:04 am – While out of Necessary Roughness jokes, also have to report that Scramento State was unable to rejoin the field following the driver swap. Bad news for them.

11:03 am – North Texas gets the checkered flag!

A point of clarification, once again – neither Sinbad nor Kathy Ireland have anything to do with that team. Scott Bakula is unconfirmed.

10:56 am – Sacramento State in for a driver swap, while tech examines the car.

Again, no work or changes can be made for any team at this point. If anything is broken, leaking, or generally wrong at this point, the car is eliminated. Sacramento State is all clear and driver two is in.

Arizona is also making the swap.

10:47 am – My bad. Wrong school, sport, and fictional movie from a time that most of these college students weren’t born. Still green, though. 

10:46 am – North Texas in for a driver change as they’ve reached the halfway point.

10:34 am – Driver change for Southern Illinois, and a talking to for driver two in the CSU-Fullerton car, who got lost on course. CSU-Fullerton is back on course. 

If the Salukis rejoin the course just fine, consider this your update. If there’s trouble; we’ll let you know. 

10:31 am – Agony and ecstasy. While North Dakota reaches halfway and is making a driver change, the Witchita State car has caught fire on course.

Great reaction by the driver to get out, and the safety workers to put it out. Everyone is safe.

10:25 am – I spoke too soon. The U of BC is struggling to get started. They couldn’t get refuted, and are out of the event. Heartbreak down here in pit lane. 

10:20 am – Driver change for CSU-Fullerton. The University of British Columbia is also in and making the swap. Both teams looking strong, fired up, and back to the course!

10:16 am – That’s a driver change for Southern Methodist University. They’ve reached the halfway point and everything is running well. Could they be the second to complete the course?

10:12 am – We have our first finisher! The University of Colorado-Denver has set a time and completed all 22 km of the run!

10:07 am – Curtains for the Wisconsin-Platteville team. They’ve been towed in. 

10:00 am – The Columbia team is towed in by a golf cart.

On course now: Colorado-Denver, U of St Thomas, Colorado Mesa, SMU, and Wisconsin Platteville.

9:55 am – We spoke too soon on Colorado – Denver after the driver’s change. Driver two has been blacked flag. On a long, twisty, cone lined course, there’s been an issue keeping on the track. But all is good right now. 

Unortunately for Arizona State, their day is done after shutting off the car for a driver change.

9:46 am – The instituto Tecnologico de Chihuahua is now out, running their first lap on the circuit. The Colorado State School of Mines has joined them, out of the running.

9:44 am – The University of Colorado – Denver has become the first team to make it to the driver change. We’ve got some good things happening now, as they’ve reached halfway!

9:42 am – Running right now, and on course, after a black flag for the Temple car, are Arizona State, University of Colorado, Colorado Mesa University, and the Colorado School of Mines.

It’s important to note: that is not the Colorado School of MIMES. Those students are stuck in a box, or pulling a rope, or something.

9:38 am – Temple is still on course, I had bad information. But maybe not for long – they’re losing coolant, and may be done soon.

9:37 am – Western Michigan has been called in with a DNF.

9:35 am – Lest we confuse just what is going on here, last year at the this event, only 44% of the cars finished the test. At the Michigan meet a month ago, that number creeped over 50% for the first time.

So, while we’re rooting for everyone to finish, this is not an unusual result this early.

9:33 am – Now we’re cooking with gas! UCLA was car 78; Temple has joined them with a DNF.

9:31 – Car 78 is out. In a great bit of reporting by this author, I can’t tell who that is. Expect an update soon.

9:26 am – The bad starts early. Oregon Tech is out of the event, as is the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.

9:21 am – The first car is on course – Oregon Tech! We’ll keep a running tab today of everything we see. The good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly.

9:17 am – Short delay here this morning while we make sure the transponders are working. Oregon Tech is up first in line, followed by UCLA.

If the temperatures pick up, this is going to be a big test for the course workers.

8:54 am – Let’s go back a day. Yesterday, we ran the skid pad and acceleration competitions, followed by autocross. The top three in each were:

Skid pad:
Missouri University of Science and Tech
University of Washington
Auburn University

Acceleration:
Auburn University
Missouri U of Science and Tech
South Dakota State U. 

Autocross:
Missouri U of S&T
ETS Montreal
University of Illinois

It’s important to note that these are all unofficial – if you know I’ve made a mistake, leave a comment below! 

8:51 am – Some process items for today. Cars will go out in reverse order of their autocross times from yesterday. In theory, of course, that means the fastest cars and, therefore, the championship contenders, come at the end of the day.

After the first driver makes his or her 7 laps on the course, the teams have three minutes to make a driver change. Absolutely NO work can be done on the cars. Parents, I can hear you now – it’s just like at home!

8:19 am – The course opens at 9 a.m. this morning, and stays open until 4 p.m. this afternoon.

8:15 am – This morning is the endurance competition. What does that mean? Thanks for asking! 

Each team must drive 22km over a hybrid autocross course, with nothing breaking or going wrong. The first driver will drive seven laps; the second driver will drive eight. There are three passing zones on what is otherwise a hybrid traditional autocross course, though nearly twice as long as yesterday’s true cone run. 

Multiple cars will be on course together in this test of acceleration, speed, handling, dynamics, fuel efficiency and reliability. 

8:13 am – Good morning from Lincoln! Overnight rains have dampened the tarmac, but the temps are also very, very cool this morning. Right now, it’s a nice day in Lincoln – but that’s going to change. Expect another hot, HOT day.