High school electric car competition today at Hawkeye Downs

The Michigan Electric Car Championship trophy has left Michigan.

On May 15 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich., Kennedy High School's electric car program, Cougar Electric Company, won the championship trophy. Kennedy faced some very stiff competition - Lakeshore High School, from Stevensville, Mich., had won the championship every year since 1998.

Eric Mager drove and Brad Gilbertson was crew chief on the winning car.

The winning team members are Eric Mager, Erin Wilson, Brad Gilbertson, Ausi Slaybaugh, Wyatt Hawkins, Corey Scott, Anissa Brown, and Barry Wilson.

The final race of the school year, Toyota Financial Services Speed Trials, will take place in two heats, 10 and 11:30 a.m. today at Hawkeye Downs.

Cars from several schools across Iowa, including Cedar Rapids Prairie, Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin are expected to compete.

The public is invited to attend and admission is free.

Electric car competitions are about designing, building and racing a single person, lightweight, aerodynamic, high-efficiency electric vehicle. They are powered by sealed lead acid batteries weighing no more than 67 pounds.

The objective is for students to drive the vehicles as far as possible for one hour using limited electrical energy.

In 2001, Cougar Electric Company was awarded the First in the Nation in Education Award by the then governor of Iowa, Tom Vilsack. The team was one of only five K-12 programs in the state to receive the award.