ELECTRATHON / ULTRAHIGH MILAGE

We're at Road America, America's National Park of Speed, where the annual Electrathon and Ultrahigh Milage competition is taking place over two days.  High school Technical Education classes are challenged to construct either or both electric or fuel powered vehicles and compete  to see which team can go the farthest on a single battery charge (Electrathon) or how many miles per gallon they can achieve (UHM). There are teams from all over Wisconsin and some as well from Illinois and Minnesota.
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The electric vehicles all have the same batteries (Optima is a sponsor) and all have a full charge. They all start at the same time and go until they're out of juice.  Cars with trailers pick them up to return to the paddock after miles have been calculated.
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The UHM vehicles, either gasoline or diesel, are given a measured amount of fuel.  They make two laps of the track (4.048 miles x 2) and the remaining fuel is drained and measured.  An algorithm allows for calculation of miles per gallon.
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On the first day several vehicles exceeded 400mpg.  The powers that be expect that, after fine tuning and review of driving strategy, the winner will be somewhere between 450-500 mpg on day 2.
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They also have to compete in several standard autocross maneuvers. 1) all vehicles must pass a safety inspection; 2) all are weighed and there are specific weight requirements; 3) they have to drive through a photo gate maintaining a speed of 15mph and they must be able to stop within a specified distance; 4) they have to perform slalom maneuvers around parking cones to measure agility; 5) all drivers must be strapped in properly and wear an approved crash helmet.
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They compete for trophies and prestige. All learn a lot about their own abilities.  Open to boys and girls.....and there were several female team members. All work must be completed by the team members and adults are allowed only as advisors.
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Best in Large.