Integrating Auto Racing In The Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

The Intercollegiate Auto Racing Association (ICAR) was formed in early 1998 for the purpose of organizing auto racing as a collegiate sport for engineering students. The race vehicles currently sanctioned for use by the Association are Legends cars. Legends cars are fiveeighths scale models of stock cars from the thirties and forties powered by 1200 cc four-cylinder motorcycle engines, and are the basis of a popular spec-class racing series sanctioned by INEX, the international sanctioning body for Legends cars. The inaugural ICAR four-race championship series was held during the spring 1998 semester with seven southeastern universities participating, including the University of South Carolina, the University of Virginia, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Duke University, and the University of Tennessee. Since then, three more semester-long series have been completed (fall ’98, spring ’99, and fall ’99). A typical semester series involves one event per month. Events usually consist of a practice session, a series of three practice heats, followed by qualifying and three points races involving three different engineering student drivers from each school. The race teams are comprised of from ten to twenty students who fulfill various roles such as drivers, mechanics, engine tuners, chassis tuners, statisticians, and team managers.