Volusia County may be the birthplace of racing, but Pine Ridge High School students may be giving us a glimpse of the future of racing.

  • Pine Ridge High School students building electric race car
  • The car is part of Greenpower USA project
  • Students hope to race the car in Indianapolis

Pine Ridge High School in Deltona received a grant to build a single-seat electric-powered race car. This is the only Florida school to get this kind of grant.

Senior Grant Tryon is preparing for the race of his career. “It is a 90 minute, three-driver, one set of batteries endurance race,” said Tryon.

Tryon heads up a team of students building an electric race car which uses a 24-volt electric motor.

The Greenpower car grant provides students a car kit that includes the frame, wheels and other hardware.

STEM students use advanced science and math to design, fabricate and test modifications, as well as run simulations.

“They look at tire pressure, video mapping for speed, just determining all kinds of things that surround physics and racing. And it’s exciting,” said school principal Richard Myers.

“The physics I’ve learned is the propulsion, and the wind, the draft of how the wind handles going over the car. Believe it or not, everything that has to do with the car is physics,” said Tryon.

For the first time ever, this Florida school will take the electric race car they built and compete in a series of races hoping to make it to the Formula 24, high school electric racing, in Indianapolis.

Tryon is confident Team Pine ridge will do well.

“The other cars on the track? I think we’re going to give ‘em a run for their money,” added Tryon.

But Tryon and his teammates are not just placing their hopes on the race, they are looking beyond to what their careers may look like after this.

“I want be able to go into the career I want to go into.” A career, Tryon adds, which may include both physics and racing.

Tryon and his teammates will ask Daytona International Speedway if they can test their car on the speedway once Speedweeks is over.

Pine Ridge students will compete in their first race in Alabama in just three weeks.