Patriot Racing gears up for new season as national champs
MADISON – Taking a lap as national champions, the Patriot Racing team is gearing for a new season of competition.
“This past May, Patriot Racing won the 2022-2023 National Championship in the F24 Advanced Modified and F24 Advanced Custom division,” Media Lead Isa Hayes said.
Patriot Racing is part of the Greenpower USA program. “Greenpower started about 25 years ago in the United Kingdom, before coming to the United States in 2011,” Hayes said.
Bob Jones Patriot Racing has three teams:
* Red Team — Team Lead Max McGee, Media Lead Isa Hayes, Ben Lambertson – seniors; C.J. Stratton – sophomore; Lyla Zomkowski, Bryce Benson, Delmont Goins – freshmen.
* White Team — Team Lead Tucker Magonigal – junior; John Allison, Daniel Myatt – seniors; Isaac Lockhart – sophomore.
* Blue Team — Team Lead Gabe Whitt – senior; Liam Culver, Conrado Jocson, Michael Schmauch – juniors; Nathan Gagne, Elliot Davison – sophomores; Ben Cox – freshman.
School sponsor is Jessye G. Gaines. Team Mentor is Kris Kasprzak.
Cars are divided into three sections. “Green Goblin is a simplified version available to elementary school students. F24 Intermediate is for middle school students, and F24 Advanced is for high school students. We compete in F24 Advanced,” Hayes said.
Bob Jones has three cars — Red, White and Blue. “Blue car was our first car and competes in F24 Advanced Modified division. Red car was the next addition and competed in (that) division,” Hayes said. “These two cars keep their frame, but about every two years, we redo things, such as the body panels and wiring.”
White car debuted last year and competed in the F24 Advanced Custom division, “which means the car was completely scratch-built by our students. This past summer, we looked at our data from the original White car and completely rebuilt it,” Hayes said.
For Bob Jones’ modified cars, Greenpower USA or GPUSA provides a frame, motor and two 12-volt batteries. For their custom car, students must gather all materials themselves for the frame/body, but GPUSA does supply the motor and batteries. Regulations determine what students can and cannot put on or in cars.
“Based on the tracks we visit, we change our gear ratio so our cars can be as efficient as possible,” Hayes said. “We cannot, however, change the maximum speed while the car is running the track. (That is) we don’t have a gear shift.”
To join Patriot Racing, interested students must submit a formal application. Leaders review applications, and selected students complete the interview process, which results in final decisions for students that will join for the upcoming season.
To-date, Patriot Racing’s current schedule includes Internal Bob Jones Scrimmage, Sept. 23; EVOLV 400, Inspire Academy, Lafayette, Oct. 14; Choccolocco Green Prix, Oxford, Nov. 13 and 19; and EVOLV 400, Inspire Academy, Lafayette, March 16, 2024. Greenpower National Championship Race usually is scheduled in early to mid-May.
For more information, email bobjonesgpr@gmail.com, or visit bobjonesgpr.wixsite.com/patriotracing, Instagram: @patriot_racing or YouTube Bob Jones Patriot Racing.
