STEM Race Car Challenge 2015

Lost in the hoopla of Kyle Busch’s win in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 28 was a winning effort by four students from Washington Elementary School in Cloverdale the day before.

Trevor Perkins, PJ King, Amritpal Parmar and Charlie Cibrian captured the STEM Race Car Challenge on June 27, the culmination of a three-month program that challenged local students to develop and construct a gravity-powered car, test the effects of different factors and race them down a sloped track.

In the final round, King and Perkins ran their “Stealth” entry to victory over a car prepared by students at Loma Verde Elementary School in Novato.

The Cloverdale kids each received a trophy and tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. In addition, they were named honorary starters for the NASCAR Pro Series West Carneros 200 race that started hours after the contest, earning a chance to recite the famed words, “Drivers, start your engines!”

Loma Verde Elementary School in Novato finished second during the STEM Race Car Challenge on June 27 during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Savemart 350 weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

The competition, which took place in the raceway’s Wine Country Winner’s Circle, was the culmination of a three-month program that challenged local students to develop and construct a gravity-powered car, test the effects of different factors and race them down a sloped track.

Up to five students from each of the 10 participating schools squared off for the final rounds of eliminations. The “Stealth” entry from Cloverdale’s Washington Elementary took home the championship title by narrowly edging out the “British Motor Cannon” from Loma Verde.