When Jace Grunden and his fellow Cornhusker Figure 8 Racing team founders approached the College of Engineering leadership about starting a team at Nebraska, they had to be honest — they would be crashing the car. A lot.
"We ran the idea through our heads for probably two years, doing a bunch of research on how feasible this was before approaching SLICE [Student Leadership, Involvement, & Community Engagement] and the college,” said Grunden. “We wouldn’t be racing at top speeds, but we did have to be honest that the car would not be pristine when it came back to the shop.”
But with support of the College of Engineering, and top-tier resources, including the Kiewit Garage, Grunden and a team of Husker engineers launched the Cornhusker Figure 8 Racing Team. There were big technical challenges, but it built camaraderie within the team and provided unique opportunities to learn on the fly.
In the high-octane world of Figure 8 racing, beating up the car comes with the territory, along with a host of unique and unexpected problems. To prep for racing this summer, the team had to push the skills they’re learning in class to new levels.
“I've been a car guy since I was in high school, but besides Anna [teammate Anna Haden], none of us had ever built a race car before," Grunden said. "We've only been approved since January, and we've been working pretty much every single night until race day.
"Without the Kiewit Hall garage space or any of the people here at the College of Engineering, this would not have happened this year at all.”
The work also brought together every aspect of engineering.
"We had three or four of our team members go through hours of statics and dynamics problems to look at all the scenario," Grunden said. "Connecting those dots between your classes and real-life engineering has been a great experience.”
As they moved through racing season this summer, the team achieved their goal: successfully finishing a race. Both the accomplishment and opportunity have meant everything to Grunden and the team.
“At Nebraska, they genuinely do care about their students and want to give you the best chance to succeed with your ideas," he said. "Getting the opportunity to come try and lead something like this really makes my heart swell with pride.”
