Tribute to the Team: A Narrative

Submitted By
Keith Schrader

For the many other months prior to this day, I had spent nights and weekends in this hidden room of the engineering building of the University of Detroit, Mercy. Our team captain would be here shortly and I was sure Phil was already there. Phil, Max (team captain) and I were the driving force of the SAE-Mini Baja team. We slaved many weekends working on a car that fought us the entire way. We were near completion of the beast, and had many mixed thoughts about the race less than a week away.

Max had chosen a few members to represent the team in Ohio. Of these was Chris, Phil, Adam, Nadia, myself, and himself. We embarked on our trip at about 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Seeing as how we were late to the race, we went directly to the racetrack and began registration. The first thing that we had to do, much to our displeasure, was to fill out paperwork and receive our paddock assignment. This marked the beginning of the real battle. Even though the car had been assembled back at school, there was still more we had to complete before it would be able to pass safety. We worked ‘til ten that night, finishing earlier than we had in 3 weeks prior to the race.

Getting back to the hotel was a big relief. We all needed a good nights rest before the next day. To congratulate ourselves, a few of us decided to have some drinks in our hotel room. Phil, Nadia, and I wanted to unwind and enjoy our time. So after we had all showered we enjoyed the peaceful time in our hotel room. All in all we were feeling pretty good about the next 3 days that were to follow. We had every right to feel good. It was almost race day and we had made it. But some things were in the making that we didn’t yet know.

The next morning we went directly to the safety inspection and barely passed. As we were leaving, we were stopped by another judge who told us not to bring our design back next year. This was because of one problem with the roll cage that was barely within specifications. At this time we were rushing to get me strapped in to begin our brake test. I listened to the officials as I watched the stopping line only one hundred yards in front of me. Once the flag was dropped, signaling that I was clear to begin my run whenever I wished, I took my foot off the brake and slammed the gas. The car sped away with ease as I quickly approached the stopping line. I hit the brakes hard and the wheels all locked up, bringing me to a fast stop. Once the brake test tag was mounted to the car, I made the turn to bring myself back to my teammates.

Now that we were clear to begin other events, we drove over to the hill climb. The car wasn’t fast, but it got to the top quick enough. I rumbled around the corner and we drove off to the acceleration and top speed course. I was given a few pointers from my team mates before I was given instructions from the official. I sped off the line, throwing rocks and dirt into the crowd behind me, cruising through the light curves of the track before passing the finish line.

Throughout the day it was like this. Driving to an event and finishing. Things seemed to be going great until we were looking over things before the sled pull. This was the most demanding part of the day. Nothing wrong with one last check. Looking over the drive train we discovered a missing keyway. This keeps a sprocket from just spinning on a shaft. We decided it best to role the car back to the paddock and fix the problem before damaging it further. It took us the better part of 3 hours to get it fixed, with the help of the team next to us from CalPoly Pomona. We were next to one of the best teams there, not because they had the best car, but because they had a passion for the sport and they were just a great bunch of guys. Only one other team helped us in fixing our car, but the hammer they gave us was more like a 50 pound paper weight than a hammer.

We solved the problem with only minor issues, and before we knew it, we were back in line waiting for the sled pull. We attempted twice and each time came within 20ft of the top car. This made us very proud. Finishing the day we were in high spirits aside from our disgusting attempt at maneuverability. We almost looked forward to the 4 hour endurance race to come.

It was the morning of the big race. The race that could make or break any leader on the board. If you made it through the 4 hours, your car was a proven design. We felt good. We knew our car was running good by yesterday’s end. We prepped everything for the race, made a list for who was going to race when. It was decided that Max was going to race the first quarter, Phil the second, me the third, and Adam the fourth. We were all a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect. Max’s parents and little sister were there, along with Phil’s parents and little brother. We had high hopes and just wanted to finish the race. As they started the staggered race, we watched in a cloud of dust as Max hit the gas and made for the first turn. It had begun. We watched in awe as Max passed one car, then two, then a whole group. We were amazed at how well he was doing. Five laps passed and max pulled into the refueling area. Phil quickly changed safety gear with Max and we got him strapped in. We topped off the tank and waited for an official to inspect the car. We passed, and Phil rolled off to rejoin the rest of the teams on the track. This was the last time I was to see Phil for almost an hour. Max had been keeping track of our car as I looked on at other cars doing just as well in the race. I had wanted to inspect their cars after the race to get ideas for next years design. Then the race was stopped. Cars were asked to stop where they were. All we could see was black smoke from where Max had seen Phil disappear. Adam and Max left to find out what was going on as we heard an announcement over the loud speaker. Race officials were asking for 6 fire extinguishers to replace the ones that were taken from cars on the track. Then I heard over our radio Max’s voice, “It was our car!” at that moment I dropped what was in my hands next to Max’s parents as I ran over to the other end of the track to find my team mates, if not Phil and the car.

It was the fastest I had ever run and the longest distance I had ever sprinted. Nothing. I ran towards the refueling area where I saw Phil’s mother who spotted me. She asked where Phil was. I could do nothing but tell her that I did not know, and that I was going to the FAQ desk to find out where he was. She came with me to the desk. ,I was very surprised when we got there. I watched as she explained to the guy what was going on and that she wanted to know where her son was. I watched, as she almost reached through the screen barrier when he told her he had no idea. She told him to find him for her.

We listened to scattered radio transmissions before he told us where to find him. He was in the center of the track, under the big, white tower. We took off in that direction; I could barely keep up with Phil’s mother as she easily jogged over to find her son. When we found him he was sitting on a bench with a sad look on his face. First thing he said to us was that he was glad it was him. That Max was too fat, I was too young, and Adam was too old. It was just like him to make a joke at a time like this. After he was released to us, we went over to our paddock where Phil changed into some clothes while we found our car.

It was covered in a white dust in some places, and pitch black in others. After 2 hours it was released to us to take back home. We were done. No way were we going to finish the race. When something like that happens, you are removed from the race and allowed to go home. We left the race tired, battered, burned, and beaten. The car fought us the entire way and finally beat us. We got 96th place that year, and no other team had ever earned a 96th place with more sweat and blood than team 37, The University of Detroit Titans, SAE-Mini Baja Team 2004. It was later determined that our fuel cap had rattled lose from vibration and was sitting in the bottom of the catch can around the tank. When the car came down from a jump, the front end caught the ground when it bottomed out and the car rolled forward. Gas from the fuel tank spilled onto a hot engine and started burning. Phil managed to have only a few burns. Some 2nd degree burns on his lower right leg, and upper right arm. And a 1st degree burn on his lower left leg. Many rules have now been changed as a result of this terrible accident and hopefully it will never happen again.

After we got back to school things changed a lot. We were no longer spending countless hours in the annex together. In fact we hardly saw each other for the rest of the summer. Max is finishing his last term at UDM and buying a house soon. He still works at Pico. Phil helped his parents out for a while before finding a job with a drag racing team. He now travels the country. I moved back to Seattle while still continuing my journey to become a chemist. I still play around with design ideas for Baja cars and hope to build one again soon.