Finishing up th Chassis

The Bancroft Rosalie Power Drive team is working on the chassis on the E31 members of the team doing this are Dalton W. and Austin S. The team is also finishing up the rear axle on the new S car students doing this are Alex B. and Eric B.  Joshua W. has started the how to videos to include in the blog for next year. These might also be used in the documentation. We would also like to wish everyone, especially our sponsors, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Curious Visitors

Eric and Dalton describe the braking system.

The Bancroft Rosalie Power Drive team had the Columbus Lakeview team visit the school on Wednesday, December 8th. Last year's documentation was shown and older documentation books where on hand to browse through. After that discussion, the teams went to the shop.   Students asked questions about the building and structure of the cars. They also asked where we have found specific parts in the past. The Lakeview Power Drive team has some enthusiastic students. We look forward to competing with Columbus Lakeview in the spring.

Power Drive Video

The Bancroft Rosalie Power Drive Documentation team has started their video they have asked members of the Power Drive team to state the number of years on power drive, their name and their role. People doing this video are Anna B. and Jenae G. This should be done in about a week.

Wiring the Cars

The Bancroft Rosalie Power Drive team is hard at work. They are rewiring the s21 car this was done by Alex B. Dalton W. and Eric Browning. The process of wiring each car should take about a week so this process should be done before the first race.

S21 is getting remodeled

The Bancroft Rosalie Power Drive team is remodeling the S21 car they have pulled the body off and have cut the back axle and lower part of the frame off and are fixing a couple cracks and mishaps that happened during the Wayne Fall Rally. These corrections should be finished before the first spring race in 2011. We hope to see a lot of fans at our spring race. We would like to thank the sponsor for all their support.

Working on the Cars

The B-R Power Drive team is hard at work. They are welding the A31 car. They are also tearing down the S20 car and fixing it. The A21 car is ready to go. We would like to Thank all the Sponsors and Fans that have supported us. We hope to see you all at our first spring race.

Bancroft-Rosalie races into 1st place again!

On October 2nd,2010, the Bancroft-Rosalie Power Drive team headed their way over to Wayne to participate in the Wayne Fall Rally for the 7th time in Rob Smith's eight year career.  The format for this race was different from every other race that the kids have participated in.  This race was 90 minutes long; this gave drivers an opportunity to gain knowledge and practice driving skills. B-R's A-21 car finished 1st place with 134 laps and started from the 10th position, Alex Berg took the lead on the 17th lap and never looked back.  The S-20 driven by Eric Browning was in contention until mechanical failure when the chain came off the rear wheel because of a broken spacer.  First year pit-crew members Morgan Smith, Drake Luedert and Brady Petersen with the guidance of Dalton Wortman got the car back together so the car could continue to race after very extensive work. The S-20 still managed 7th place with 90 laps.
The kids were excited about the rave and they worked hard to get each car in top-notch condition.  Now that the Power Drive team doesn't have a race again until spring, they can get each car perfected.  The team would like to extend a big  "Thank You" to all the fans that had the chance to get to the race, to all the sponsors and Wayne, High School for letting the team race - also a special thanks to Renz Electric for all their support over the year, and also allowing the team to use their suburban to pull the trailer.

Upcoming Races

Then Power Drive is kicking it in gear and getting ready for the upcoming race in Kansas City held October 11th at the Kansas City Motor Speedway. This will be the team's first time ever at this Electrical Challenge. Mr. Smith hopes to do very well in the team's first appearance. The team is also competing October 2nd in The Wayne Fall Rally at Wayne State College, which the team has won the race three out of six appearances.  The Bancroft-Rosalie Power Drive team has a big following including Jon Cerney, Ronda Ras, and Clark Petersen but many people have never attended a race. The race is sixty minutes long and the cars go around the track as many times as possible.  You also switch drivers in the middle of the race in between the 20-40 minute mark. Please come support the Bancroft-Rosalie Power Drive team October 2nd at Wayne State College for the team's first race of the season.

Rebuilding

The power drive team is back at it they are rebuilding the previously retired A31 car that was wreck in last years Cuming County Open. They have taken the entire shell off and are rebuilding the axles. This should be finished in two to three weeks.

Big Expectations

The 2010 Power Drive season is approaching swiftly.  Mr. Smith is getting the students to kick it in gear and and get the cars ready for the first race. D. Wortman and L. Rascon will be working on the axels of the E car.  Working on the S car is A. Steichen, D. Luedert and J. Redding.  They are straightening the rims of the car. A. Berg and E. Browning are also working on the S car.  They are fixing the gears and the chains on the car.  Mr. Smith has big expectations for this year's Power Drive Team.  The documentation team is also helping out the team by learning Google doc's, writing letters to parents and sponsors, along with thinking up ideas for the documentation books.  The the is gearing up for the big race in Kansas City on October 11th.  The race in Kansas City will be held at Kansas City Motor Speedway.

Seasons End

With the school year at its' end the Power Drive team has called it quits for a few months.  Overall the season was very successful as the team brought home 2 championship trophies.  The team would like to thank all of our sponsors and supporters for supporting us this season.  Here's to a good season.

State Champions Again

This past week the Power Drive team won their 3rd consecutive State Championship. We were able to win both classes that we competed in, the Advanced and the Standard. The A21 car placed 2nd in the Endurance race, 1st in design, 1st in Maneuverability, 2nd in Documentation, and 1st overall. The S20 car was not able to place in the Endurance race but still pulled away with placing 1st in Documentation, 2nd in Braking, 2nd in Design, and 1st overall. Along with winning documentation the team received a toolbox donated by Snap-on. Overall it was a very successful day. The team has now one 7 State Championships to go along with 6 State Runner-Ups since we started the program in 2000. The Bancroft-Rosalie Power Drive team would also like to thank all of our sponsors, parents, and volunteers who helped us in our successful season.

State Championship

With the Power Drive season winding down there is only one more race left. The Power Drive State Championship is only one day away and we are ready. State Power Drive is held at Mid America Motorplex in Pacific Junction Iowa. The team is confident and ready to bring a third straight championship home. The State meet has three events instead of one. The first event is Maneuverability. This tests the cars movement and quickness. The next event is Braking. In Braking the car has to reach a minimum of 15 mph and then begin stopping on the line. The car that stops in the shortest distance wins the event. The last event is the actual race.

Bancroft-Rosalie April Monthly Report

The month of April was a very busy time for the Bancroft-Rosalie Power Drive team. The month started out with the Big Red Invitational race held on April 11th. Bancroft-Rosalie’s E31 car placed second at this race. The next race was at Columbus. We placed 3rd in this race with both our A21 and E31 cars. Our next race was the Cuming County Open which was hosted by the Bancroft-Rosalie Power Drive team. We needed to make sure that everything was set up for the race and also that the food was ready for the concessions. Unfortunately, we didn’t do as well as we had hoped. We wrecked both of our cars and were only able to get the A21 car back out on the track to finish the race.

After racing at the Big Red Invitational, we had a few minor things to fix on the A21 car. Due to the severity of the crash, we have regrettably decided that we will no longer be racing the E31 car. Instead, we have moved our focus to completing the S20 car that was started at the beginning of the year. We hope to have this car completed by Wayne State College Spring Rally; which is in two days on April 24th. We have been working into all hours of the night, trying to finish in time and are pretty close to being finished.

The Documentation Squad also had to finish the documentation books for the A21 and S20 cars. These books are a very crucial part of winning the State Championship and this year the winning book gets a brand new tool box for their school. This year, our themes for the books were “Go Green” and “Racing with the Stars”. We also tried a new way of presenting our books. Instead of printing out every page and putting it in a book, we have put them in a PDF layout. Not only is this more environmentally friendly, it is also a lot easier and less time consuming. We hope to do very well with our documentation this year.

We would like to give a special thanks to everyone that helped at the Cuming County Open. Without their help, the race would not have been possible. Our next Power Drive rally is this Saturday, April 24th at Wayne State College. We are hoping to race both our A21 and our S20 cars at this race. The team will be working hard to finish the S-20 car.

Rainy Days

The Power Drive race in Wayne last Saturday was canceled due to the weather. We were disappointed but didn’t lose hope because it gave us a chance to finish up the new car. The team has been working hard all week and its showing with the results of the car. As of yesterday the canopy has been completed and the car is now ready to paint. Documentation is finished and the video turned out great. The video is located on the top right of the website. Trust me you will enjoy it.

Ready to Race!!!!

This past weekend the team had 2 races. The first race was the Alternative Fuel Odyssey held in Columbus and the teams did well with the E31 finishing 3rd and the A21 placing 3rd. It was a great race with a lot of good competition. The Cumming County Open was held in West Point on Saturday the 17th. We were not as successful this race. The A21 car was wrecked in the 12 lap but was able to get back on the track and finish the race. The E31 car was not as lucky as it wrecked during lap 16 and was not able to return to the race. The E31 is currently retired until further notice. But all hope isn’t lost. This week the team has been working extremely hard to get the S20 car done and it’s paying off. With a few minor fixes the new car is ready to race and hopefully its first outing will be in Wayne on May 1st. Documentation has also been completed and has been sent in.

The Season has Finally Begun

Racing season has finally begun! The spring season has begun and our first stop was Lincoln. This past week the team raced at the Big Red Invitational held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Tractor Testing Track. “It’s one of the nicest tracks we will race at this year and the people at the facility did a great job getting the track ready and running the event.” said instructor Rob Smith. The E31 was driven by E. Browning and R. Mohl. The A21 car drivers were J. Hennig and D. Wortman. Both cars ran well but both came up short with the E31 finishing 2nd in the Exhibition class and the A21 finishing 5th in the Advanced class.  Even though the team did well we are looking forward to doing better in the next race.

Documentation

The documentation part of our cars has begun. Documentation is a huge part in our success at the state race because it counts for a majority of our points. It has helped us to state titles in previous years. The welding is completely finished on the new car. We welded gussets in the joints that we feel need to be stronger. The steering has also been completed and we are now planning on installing the electrical.

Welding in Progress

The Power Drive car is currently being welded on. The welding is almost finished besides a few complicated welds. The team is also testing batteries. This is to make sure we use the batteries that run the longest and are the most efficient on race day. Steering is also being worked on in the new car. We are using a new steering system in the new car that is different from the previous system. Also the A car is getting a new paint job courtesy of Ideal Wheels of Bancroft. A checklist for the E car has also been made and will be filled out throughout the week. The checklist is important to how well the car will race. It gives us ideas what to check and modify so that the car runs well.

A21 Car is Back

The team has completed the rear wheel adjusts. They have moved on to creating a new steering system in the car. This is something new that we have never tried before. Besides fixing the steering and fitting electrical the team is also making modifications to the S20 and A21 cars. Carbon fiber fenders are being placed on the S20 car to reduce drag on the car and make it more aerodynamic. The fenders were made with the help of one of are many faithful sponsors Dave Raasch. Our A21 car was lent to the Columbus Lakeview Power Drive team for tips on how to build a car. We hope to have our cars ready for our home race, the Cuming County Open, on April 17.

Getting Closer

The chassis to the car is ready to be welded together. This week the team has begun installing the motor mount to the car. The motor mount is made out of aluminum and keeps the motor in place and allows us to adjust the motor’s position. It also can increase or decrease the chain tension to our desired specification. The A 20 car is just about completed. Also on the new car the team has installed to rear and front wheels and is currently working on the steering. Some of the electrical is being placed in the car. The battery box has been completed and has been put in the car. The battery box holds the car’s batteries and keeps them from moving and shifting weight in the car.

Making Adjustments

The team has been working on documentation. The team has also been making modifications to the S20 car. A. Berg is currently making adjustments to the steering components on the S20. This week they have fabricated a seat to fit the new car. The seat is made from aluminum and is TIG welded together. They have also created a circular rear on the car. We believe this will create less drag.

Progress!!!

The team is about finished with the front of the chassis and is working on the rear. The chassis should be finished in a week or two. Currently the team is also making adjustments to the S20 car. These modifications will help in the race. The seat for the new car is also being modified to fit expectations.

Catching Up

February hasn’t been kind to Power Drive, creating problems like snow days that hinder the progress of the car. The team is still working on ways to raise money and are preparing for the upcoming Cuming County Open which is scheduled for April 17. The team is holding concessions and is in charge of setting up the track for the race. We encourage anyone that enjoys a good race to come and support us in West Point on April 17. Also congratulations to R. Mohl for receiving a scholarship to play football at Wayne State College.

Weighing In

In Power Drive this week the team is working on the chassis. The team also held concession stands again for the high school basketball games. The weight of the prototype was also calibrated. The team used a digital go-cart scale to find the correct percentages of weight in the front and rear of the car. This scale was donated by one of our many sponsors Rick Logeman and River Rat Racing.

Working Hard

The team is still hard at work. They are currently working on the chassis for the new car. M. Wellman and R. Mohl have finished the nose piece to the car and are starting on a new piece to the car. The construction of the nose piece took a variety of tools. One of the tools used was the tubing bender. With the tubing bender the team is able to make precise angles and radiuses on certain pieces. Another tool used was the tubing notcher. The tubing notcher is used to place an opening in a tube to allow pieces to fit together. Also this week the team is working on the documentation video. We would also like to congratulate team member K. Anderson on her scholarship to play basketball at Morningside College.

Getting Started

The team is currently still working on the chassis for the new car. This past Tuesday the team held concession stands for the girls and boys basketball games against the Winnebago Indians. The concessions were very successful. Some members have been practicing TIG welding on Chrome Molly. Chrome Molly is a material that is strong yet flexible so we are able to bend it into the angles we need them at. We also acquired a new sponsor this week. Special thanks to our new sponsor Brian Tietz.

Back to Work

Christmas break is over and Power Drive is in full swing once again! Also the team welcomed new members this week. The new members are K. Anderson, T. Ostrand, B. Petersen, J. Schuetze, and D. Wortman. Most of these new members will help mainly on the documentation part of class. Documentation is a huge part in the bid to win another state championship. Documentation has been a key component to our success at the state Championship. The team is currently working on the chassis for the new car. Also they are designing a different steering system to fit in the new car.