WAYNE — High school students in Nebraska built their own functional cars entirely on their own, with the interception of a coach only when they were going to build something unsafe.
“Like if the seatbelt wouldn’t work,” explained power drive coach Tony Cantrell. He’s been in the business of car racing for decades, having competed himself at Wayne State College.
But the talent doesn’t stop there. The kids then compete in these tiny machines, under the hot sun, with the pressure of their whole school watching, zooming around for hours.
Participants of the sport enjoy creating and designing their own speedy little cars from scratch, but they also gain life skills from the year-round program.
“One of my former students is even building planes for the Air Force,” Cantrell said.
Saturday, kids from Winside, Wayne, Stanton County, Friend and more battled it out to see which could drive more laps within 90 minutes, at an indiscreet parking lot in Wayne near the high school.
For many of the competitors, the competition was also just days apart from their graduation. They toughened it out despite even some mechanical challenges, and champions from Friend and Wayne took the first place titles.
Organizers say adults can join the all-ages competitions, too.
