Jasper Motorsports ready to go and grow - Dubois County Free Press, Inc.

*With the red frame, the students involved in the Motorsports Club refer to the dragster as the “Red Car”.*

Jasper High School’s Motorsports Club held an open house Thursday evening, during which community members were given a tour and demonstration of what they’ve been working on over the past year.

Club President Jon Green told the group gathered for the event that the group’s primary goals include building a strong team, teaching members to diagnose and fix issues with the cars, and enjoying the thrill of driving their creations.

He also expressed a desire to make the club more well-known in Dubois County and inspire other schools to create clubs.

The group of 13 students meets every Thursday evening to discuss, plan and work on the two cars, a roadster and a dragster, currently in their arsenal. One of the club’s most significant achievements this year has been getting the roadster operational. Green described the excitement of the car’s maiden voyage, which he called “a fantastic drive.”

The Roadster is a wide-body, low-profile, single-seat car powered by a recently purchased engine putting out between 13 and 16 horsepower, with a max speed of about 45 miles per hour.

The Rocket, as the students call the second car, is a narrow, fiberglass-covered dragster sporting the same engine as the Roadster. However, the students haven’t been able to test it to determine its top speed, although they admit it’s FAST. Future plans call for the group to take the two cars to the Huntingburg Airport to put them to a test on the runway.

According to Green, who has been involved in the club for four years, they want to inspire other schools in the area to start similar clubs so they can begin to hold competitions.

*The students discussed the cars and their activities with the attendees at the open house on Thursday.*

Josh Dahmer, the motorsports club’s teacher sponsor and the corporation’s CTE teacher, explained that before the pandemic, Jasper High School Motorsports had taken the cars to compete in High School Formula racing in Newcastle, Ind. However, the club shut down during the pandemic, and it hasn’t been back since.

Also, Dahmer said the vehicles needed a lot of work when he was hired as the CTE teacher in 2019, and the club didn’t have very high participation. However, since then, more students have become interested and worked to get two cars up and running.

Dahmer said he would like to see them enter a competition soon, and he considers the club a fantastic avenue for the students to learn new skills.

“They want to build. They want to go fast. They want to hear loud, and that is the part of this program that is fun,” Dahmer said.

He pointed out that they are also learning how to collaborate, plan, assign roles and take on the less fun aspects of operating the club, including fundraising.

Fundraising is necessary since, Dahmer joked, “everything is broken, nothing works, and we need anything we can get.”

To compete, the cars have to meet the performance and safety standards required and that takes funding. Though the school has provided significant resources for the club, the students are seeking outside assistance to get the cars to the level they need for competition.

*Maddex Garrett gassed up the Roadster so Jon could take it for a demonstration spin around the high school parking lot.*

Looking ahead, the club hopes to participate in more public events. Plans are in the works to showcase their cars during the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in Ireland, thanks to Brett Voelkel’s offer to allow the students to have them in his renovated Texaco Station.

“It’ll be a very busy weekend to show more people in the town what the club’s about,” Green said.

Thursday’s open house highlighted the group’s activities with the hope of encouraging some donations to support their endeavors.

If you are interested in helping, contact Dahmer by email at jdahmer@gjcs.k12.in.us or by phone at 812-430-9362.