Purdue Motorsports holds high school EV go

Tenth-grader Nick Molchan has been driving go-karts for more than eight years.

His grandparents have a dirt track, and, from the time he was in elementary school, he's spent hours drifting gas-powered karts through sharp corners and hairpin turns.

"Drifting, to me, is a super easy way to get around corners fast in the kart," he said.

The feeling of going fast is Molchan's favorite part of go-karting.

When Molchan was in middle school, his neighbors and older brother Ben joined the Hobart High School Kart Club. Each year, the club designs, builds and perfects an electric go-kart to race against other high schools in evGrandPrix races organized by Purdue Motorsports and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.

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When he entered high school last year, Molchan followed in his brother's footsteps and immediately joined the Kart Club. But despite his nearly lifelong interest in go-karts, Thursday was the first time the sophomore drove an electric go-kart at top speed. He said he's only driven one slowly once or twice before.

Under a cloudless sky in pleasant, 70-degree weather, Molchan zipped around in the kart ― sometimes pushing 30 miles per hour ― in the parking lot in front of Purdue Polytechnic High School ― South Bend, where dozens of small traffic cones had been arranged to simulate Purdue University's winding Grand Prix go-kart track in West Lafayette. The Hobart Kart Club and other Indiana high school go-kart teams will take part in an about-nine-mile race at the Purdue track on Oct. 4.

Molchan said he will drive in the race if his brother, who has been the team's driver in years past, is unable to take time off from his job as a welder. Thankfully, Molchan said, Ben has taught him a thing or two ― such as how to navigate a turn when there's no dirt to drift on.

"He's taught me some cornering stuff, and he's helped me with the flags," Molchan, who hopes to build high-performance engines and work on a NASCAR pit crew someday, said. "It's different from dirt, because on dirt, there are a lot more up and downs."

Earlier Thursday morning, Molchan and the rest of the Hobart Kart Club arrived in the parking lot to participate in one of three EV Grand Prix High School "Test and Tune" events held by Purdue Motorsports throughout Indiana in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 4 race.

Purdue Motorsports Managing Director Todd Nelson said one purpose of these events is to allow students to test and improve their kart design before the race.

"This is an opportunity for them to come out and practice, to try some different settings on their kart and see what works," Nelson said. "They can adjust their motors or controls. They can change their gear ratio, they can change the setting of where the tires are, they can move the wheelbase … they can do different things and just kind of see what helps them get a better-handling kart to get around the track faster."

As Molchan drove, other members of his team timed his laps and took data on the kart's performance.

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Michael Hathaway, a junior at Hobart who hopes to have a career in engineering or cybersecurity, had the job of collecting data on each lap to measure how making slight changes to the kart improved its speed and endurance.

"We're going to analyze the data to see what's the best gear ratio we can get," Hathaway said. "We're trying to make our kart work as efficiently as possible."

Nelson explained that gear ratio is, in part, based on the size of a gear in the kart, which looks similar to a bicycle sprocket. A smaller sprocket increases the top speed but decreases the acceleration of the kart, while a larger sprocket decreases the top speed and increases the acceleration.

Hathaway said the Kart Club is trying to improve their gear ratio in order to create a faster kart and, hopefully, place in the evGrand Prix Student World Finals this spring. The Kart Club finished fifth at the World Finals two years ago but did not place last year after one of their kart's tires flew off its axle during the race due to a broken chain.

This year, Hathway said, the team is using a compressor instead, "so there is no chain to break."

Although Hobart and other go-kart teams usually practice and work on their karts in specialized classes or after-school clubs, another benefits of the "Test and Tune" events is all of the on-hand expertise and resources present.

Go-kart experts from Top Kart USA, an Indianapolis-based distributor of Italian karts, brought a model of the "ideal kart" to the event from which the students could take inspiration for their own design. Top Kart experts also provided advice on set-up options and how to increase the kart's top speed.

"We come with a support system so (the students) can make the best out of their testing," Nelson said. "We make sure that their kart is not only performing, but they're understanding why it's doing what it's doing."

The educational component ― understanding how and why the kart works ― is the primary inspiration behind the EV High School Grand Prix program and the "Test and Tune" events.

"What we're hoping that what it does is it … inspires students to pursue a STEM education in college with either an engineering degree or a technology degree," Nelson said. "We're hoping it brings out students that weren't really thinking about that, but when they see this and they see how engineering and technology come to life, it, hopefully, inspires them to pursue that for higher education."

He said Purdue Motorsports has offered the high school program since about 2015, and, in that time, many graduates have gone on to work in technology, engineering and the automotive industry.

Director of Purdue Polytechnic Statewide Partnerships Corey Sharp said Thursday was Purdue's first time hosting a "Test and Tune" in South Bend.

Last year, he said, the go-kart team from Mishawaka took second place in evGrand Prix Worlds. He said Mishawaka's performance, as well as the presence of at least five go-kart teams within 90 minutes of South Bend, inspired Purdue to host Thursday's event.

Sharp said another function of the event was to encourage more Northern Indiana high schoolers to get involved in go-karting. Students from Purdue Polytechnic High School ― South Bend, which does not have a go-kart team, were invited outside with their teachers to watch a portion of the "Test and Tune."

Following COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, Sharp said, many go-kart teams are rebuilding from scratch.

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"A lot of teachers left, school boards have changed, principals have changed," he said. "So with all of that, we know that there are 30 schools in Indiana that have karts that are not being used. Getting those karts back in action is our first goal."

Then, he hopes to get schools without karts out to see "Test and Tune" events and that it will inspire them to start their own teams.

"My view is that you can build excitement around your go-kart team like you would your softball or basketball team," Sharp said. "How many kids in high school athletics are going to be professional athletes? Not many. But every one of the students here can be an engineer or a skilled technician … So if schools can put the investment they put into athletics into their go-kart team, that'd be mind-boggling."