Penn College team overcomes adversity at Baja SAE Ohio

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s team proved resilient in overcoming early adversity to place 20th out of 70 cars in the premier event at a recent international competition in Nashport, Ohio.

Baja SAE Ohio required schools to design and build a single-seat all-terrain car to withstand several tests that challenge students’ ingenuity and vehicle quality. The four-day extravaganza culminated with a four-hour endurance race that forced cars to survive twisty turns, rugged terrain and numerous obstacles.

Penn College’s goal was a top-10 finish in the race, which the team has achieved 16 times in Baja SAE competitions since 2011. John G. Upcraft, instructor of manufacturing and machining and faculty adviser to Penn College’s Baja SAE club, believes the team would have met their objective if not for misfortune during the first lap of the race.

“The placing doesn’t reflect our performance. We had the car. We had the driver. We just didn’t have the luck,” he said. 
The team was eliminated from serious contention halfway through the first lap when a competitor in front of Penn College’s No. 19 car hit their brakes on the backside of a jump, causing a collision that dented two tubes on the car’s frame. It took 20 minutes for race volunteers to tow Penn College to the pits where the 19-member team went to work.

“When they came into the pits, it was all-hands-on-deck. They looked like ants attacking crumbs. It was really impressive to watch them come together,” Upcraft said.

It took the students about 40 minutes to repair both tubes by welding in “scabs” to reinforce the damaged sections. When the car returned to the course, Penn College was in 67th place. Over the next three hours, the car – driven by Evan C. Jezek, a welding & fabrication engineering technology student from Matthews, North Carolina – surged past 47 other teams to finish 20th.

“We can’t control another team wrecking in front of us off a jump. We did everything in our control to have a good outcome,” Upcraft said. “Our new gear ratio and clutch tuning worked perfectly. Our shock tuning worked very well. I was pleased with the performance of the car, and Evan did a great job driving.”

Penn College recorded the fourth fastest lap (3:19.921) and completed 50 laps in besting the likes of Georgia Tech, Virgina Tech, North Carolina State, Michigan State, Auburn and Notre Dame. École de Technologie Supérieure, a public research university in Montreal, won the race in compiling 66 laps.

Besides Jezek, other members of the Penn College team at Baja SAE Ohio were engineering design technology students: Seth A. Alderfer, Telford; Christopher E. Blake, Kensington, Maryland; Brock J. Dunkelberger, Catawissa; Ian B. McFall, Boalsburg; and Luke T. Rockey, Morrisdale.

Manufacturing engineering design technology students: Devan E. Duffield, Fredericksburg; Grant S. Gamber, Marlborough, Massachusetts; Benjamin J. Hawkins, Aaronsburg; Justin A. Moser, Nesconset, New York; Alex R. Reed, Fawn Grove; Jack J. Shea, Pittstown, New Jersey; Grady I. Walsh, Barto; Ethan M. Wilson, Fawn Grove; and Landen Witmer, Dauphin.

Matthew J. Rotundo, an applied management student from Abingdon, Maryland, along with recent manufacturing engineering technology graduates Nicholas J. Benninger, Bloomsburg; James T. Johnson, Manheim; and Trevor J. Lindsay, Mechanicsburg, also represented the college.

In other events, Penn College finished sixth in acceleration, 16th in maneuverability, 18th in suspension and traction, and 58th in passport pull.

After a few weeks off, the Penn College contingent will begin preparations for the 2027 Baja SAE season, with plans to compete in all three competitions for the first time.

Students will begin working on building a new chassis and “ironing out” rear suspension points, according to Upcraft. “I can’t wait for the next endurance race,” he said. “I feel confident about the next race as long as we get some luck. It should be our turn to have a good day.”

The 2027 Baja SAE schedule features competitions in Arizona (April 29-May 2), Williamsport (May 20-23) and Michigan (Oct. 7-10). It will be the second time Penn College has hosted Baja SAE Williamsport. The event will take place at the college’s Heavy Construction Equipment Operations Site in Brady Township.

For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email Admissions or call 800-367-9222.