12 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PHOTO ESSAY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2003
Ben Brown, Haven senior and captain of the chassis team, drills holes into spacers for the mounts that connect the chassis and the frame.
By Kevin Wiggs
kwiggs@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The many sleepless nights spent by the University of Kansas Jayhawk Motor sports Team resulted in its best finish ever at the Society of Automotive Engineers' formula car race. The team finished 17th overall out of more than 125 entries at the competition on May 14 through 18 in Pontiac, Mich.
The group used up the spring 2003 semester building a formula-style race car from scratch for its senior project. The team exhausted many busy nights and $22,000 to complete the car.
"We were well prepared and were about par with expectations," said Robert Sorem, associate dean for undergraduate studies at the School of Engineering and faculty advisor for the team. "It was well run without many hiccups."
Ben Brown, Haven senior, files down a half inch from the back of the race car's body. Brown said the alternator cover was larger than planned and the carbon fiber body had to be filed down to fit the engine properly.
The competition was divided into seven parts, with four dealing with car performance. The judges looked at the cost of the car, the design and a sales presentation. The presentation gave the Jayhawk team its best finish — 11th overall.
The downfall of the competition for Kansas came on the skid pad, which measured cornering ability on a flat surface. It rained during two of the five days causing problems for the Jayhawk team.
The first part that measured performance was an endurance race. Kansas was one of only 34 teams to complete the 22-lap race. Fuel economy was also measured during the endurance run.
"The team was right where we expected, but the weather hurt." Sorem said. "We didn't have much experience."
Scott Chapman, Shawnee senior and team captain, said the team spent four
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