Jasper High School Motorsports gaining speed

A little known Jasper High School program is starting to grow and gain more community recognition. An open house was held at Jasper High School Wednesday for the Jasper High School Motorsports club. The open house brought parents and supporters in to learn about the program and how it is benefiting students at the high school.

While there are many clubs and organizations within a given school system in which students can become involved, few have such a wide-ranging appeal to those with varied interests. The Motorsports program has two central projects. The first is the super mileage program and the second is the Formula Car project.

Through these two programs, students are afforded hands on opportunities to learn and build functional vehicles that operate on principles of propulsion and conservation. The appeal for these two programs is that they offer more than just engineering, building and operating skills. There is also the need for marketing and documentation. If a student does not have any interest in the mechanical aspects, they can involve themselves in the other initiatives.

Ken Kern is an engineer for the Jasper Group who volunteers his time and talents to help the program and the students. According to Kern the key to the success of the program begins with the students participation. “We would like to have additional students involved. It is a relatively new program and not that well known,” Kern said.  “We need participants with different skills as well, not just if you can build a car or tear down an engine.”

Jasper High School has been competing since 2006 in the Super High Mileage program in competition between cars that get over 500 miles per gallon. In 2011, the program finished third in the state of Indiana in competition results with a car that was built and tested for just a few weeks and then taken to a track.

“The whole concept behind these programs is to develop their design skills, their engineering skills, and their problem solving skills,” Kern said. “Students walk away with skills they don’t normally develop in the classroom.”

Kern says that the Super Mileage Car program will continue to improve with a goal of entering a car in the Shell Eco Marathon in Austin, Texas.

The Formula Car program is one in which the Jasper Motorsports is given a strict set of construction requirements for a car and the students build the vehicle from scratch with a 40 horsepower engine which can reach speeds of 50 mph on a race track. The competition involves building a better car than other teams that will run smoother and better along with having a driver with good driving skills.

Kern says that this program also helps students decide that a college education in engineering might be an area that they want to pursue. “Last years group of students, many of which were part of the Super Mileage group, ended up at Rose Hulman, Purdue University, and other top level engineering colleges,” Kern explained.

All Jasper High School groups have to have a teacher sponsor and Jasper High School teacher Seth Sickbert is the sponsor of the program but the program has a lot of support from the administration as well. The program also has a support network outside of the school, development programs from universities provide direction for the program. Purdue University supports one such program. Also, several businesses in the community are helping the program as well by providing materials from which the students can build the vehicles.

Supporters of the program view it as a very worthwhile program that allows students to learn in a hands on environment, which is different from sitting in a classroom and being spoon-fed information. It appears to be working as the group continues to succeed.

The students will attend competitions in Super mileage and formula racing in late April. For more information about Jasper Wildcat Motorsports, log on to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jasperwildcatmotorsports.