ETCS students show strong drive to produce sports car performance

On a $450 investment, ETCS Motorsports Club members have received a huge return, and there are still more good opportunities for learning ahead.

After looking for a car they could fix up to compete in local competitions, club president and junior Wyatt Newcomer found a 1998 BMW Z3 near St. Louis and left with his dad and a trailer to retrieve it on Jan. 2, 2022.  It was a very long day on the road, but the BMW started on site and the son-father duo arrived back to their Elkhart home.

The early stages of the project included organizing and registering the club with the Student Government Association. Newcomer and senior Quentin Carr, the group’s vice president, also needed various university permissions and an actual spot on campus to work. With guidance from Gary Steffen, an associate professor and director of the School of Polytechnic, the details worked out, allowing multiple mechanical engineering technology majors who had joined the team to park and work on the car in a lot adjacent to the ETCS Building.

Then the real labor began. Though the car started, it needed a massive number of new parts and elbow grease before it could move under its own power. Those efforts included replacing the clutch, motor, and transmission mounts. They even resorted to an old mechanic’s trick of hammering a pilot bearing out by forcing bread slices into its center.

After weeks of preparation, club members rallied to manually push the transmission back up into the car and bolt everything together while lying on the pavement.

“This isn’t meant to be perfect or pristine, it’s a rolling, learning experience,” Newcomer said. “Everything we do reflects that.”

Admittedly gearheads, Newcomer and Carr said their goal is to show classmates, and themselves, what they are capable of and to enter local Sports Car Club of America competitions. The first one is on-campus in a few weeks.

“I’m a very hands-on learner, and being a MET major, that comes in really nice because it’s technical,” Carr said. “We are here to teach people about racing and how to do maintenance. We’re not doing crazy swaps or anything too outrageous. This is how you race, and these are the places you do it, so we’re giving people a stepping stone.”

But there has been a lot of sweat equity involved, sometimes with 20-25 club members pitching in to twist a wrench. Along the way, meeting agendas and locations sometimes changed to the parking lot where the car sat to show how to take its brakes apart and put them back together.

Among their fellow students who have dedicated the most work are freshmen Vico Prelogar and Noah Spector, sophomore Max Reynolds, juniors Coy Seegers and Blaze Jackson, and seniors Quentin Potempa and Hunter Bennett. The club also mentioned the help of John Mitchell, the former manager of mechanical support services who passed away last year.

Not much came easy, especially when Carr’s hammer smacked his hand while working on the transmission. He said the biggest thing he’s learned was the need for people skills as much as mechanical, and teaching friends how to work on the car as part of a team.

“It’s a big piece of learning, and if they are coming to us when there’s an issue, we have to figure it out,” Carr said. “Problem-solving skills are really big in this.”

Newcomer said the biggest skill he’s learned is tenacity.

“I was under no illusions when we started it that it would be easy,” Newcomer said. “I knew the mechanical side of things would be rough, and we’ve had to do a lot of work. The hardest part for me is figuring out how to work with everyone at the university. They’ve all been wonderful, and we want to make sure we make them proud and provide a great environment for the rest of the club.”

There are still some wires to be removed or replaced; new tires are necessary; and the yellow paint job needs a solid touchup before a number decal can be attached. The car will never be street-legal, but there’s a lot of sentimental value.

Carr is set to graduate in May, and Newcomer in 2025, but they hope the club they founded keeps building and plan on checking in regularly to see how the project evolves. They’ll also remember some great stories.

“A big part of this has been taking any problems we’ve had and learning to be creative with a solution,” Newcomer said. “We’ve worn many hats throughout this and done many things. It’s taught me a lot about leadership, continuance, and finding the right strategy.”

Anyone interested in working with the club can email [email protected].