Milton High School laid some rubber at Five Flags with Ethyn Periman at the wheel under team leader and MHS teacher Jim McGhee. Periman completed 23 laps before running out of juice for the first race. The winning team for race one was Southwest High School from San Antonio completing 67 laps. Two students in the pit crew said the team had to make do with old batteries. Periman said he left the race before running the batteries completely dry so as not to ruin the equipment. "I was only focused on not hitting other people and staying in my lane. There were lots of different speeds." McGhee said they're hoping for some sponsorship next year. "We want to build our own car," McGhee said, "not just a kit car. I think we can design a better one. It's all about gearing and preparing the batteries." The team discussed a regenerative braking system, which uses the car's momentum to add life to the battery as the car travels. However, McGhee said those are expensive, high-end batteries. Dan Gardner with Compass Solar Energy said he came with Compass to provide charging opportunities so teams would have to wait less to do so. Gardner said his son goes to MHS and he would like to help the team next year, but more as a father than representative of Compass.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: MHS Electrathon competes