Team Sycamore Racing started as a student organization more than two years ago at Indiana State University with the purpose to promote motorsports at ISU.
"It's grown into this drag-racing organization where students are gaining experience with all the different aspects of the motorsports business," said Dr. Randy Peters, motorsports coordinator for the ISU College of Technology.ISU also now offers motorsports management as a minor.
Tuesday, Peters, along with Team Sycamore crew members, ISU Assistant Dean of Students Al Perone and Melissa Froderman, ISU College of Technology, brought their dragster to Edgewood Middle School. Students from Warsaw elementary, middle and high schools had the opportunity to hear presentations on how Team Sycamore members are combining their college majors with an interest in motorsports, in addition to checking out the team's dragster and taking a turn on a drag-racing simulator.
Peters said ISU has five different colleges. For Tuesday's Warsaw visit, Peters said they had six students representing four of the colleges - business; technology; nursing, health and human services; and the arts and sciences.
Forty-five ISU students participate in Team Sycamore Racing. Only four students are licensed to be drivers. To be a driver, a student has to be licensed through the National Hot Rod Association. The team also has to prove to NHRA that the dragster is safe. One of the first responsibilities of the crew chief is the safety of the drivers and crew, Peters said.
Team Sycamore is open to all students, graduate and undergraduate. Select individuals can apply for the vice president positions of marketing, finance, public relations, events planning or crew chief.
"They are my primary people. Their job is to learn their job and train others, so we all learn together," Peters said of the vice presidents.
Sophomore Matt Williams is the vice president of public relations. He also is one of the drivers. The vice presidents, Williams said, are decided based upon who puts more effort into the team.
"However dedicated you are to something," said Williams, "is what you'll get out of it."
Williams said he is not just learning about racing, but learning every aspect of motorsports.
He said, "I would even feel comfortable coming out of this program and starting my own race team. It's all about having the right people around you and we have that. It definitely takes all of us to do this. There just can't be two or three of us to do this."
While the organization has Peters as a faculty advisor, the team acts as a business, Peters said. Part of that business includes recruiting students to ISU and promoting Team Sycamore's sponsors, including VP Racing Fuels.
"Students gain experience to add to their resume," said Peters.
Team Sycamore has hosted a variety of events, Peters said, including street-legal drag-racing nights at the drag strip.
This year will be the team's first season racing in NHRA Division 3. They will compete in six different states, including Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Michigan. The team races other professional teams.
"We want to win. We plan to win because that's our goal," said Peters.
ISU freshman Brian Homsangpradit is a crew member responsible for helping the crew chief organize work on the car and making sure everything is ready.
Homsangpradit said he found out about the team halfway through this year. He said he's always had an automotive background, having worked with his father on cars. It was his father who encouraged Homsangpradit to join the team.
Studying mechanical engineering at ISU, Homsangpradit said he hopes to be able to use this as a resume booster to get a job as a mechanical engineer.
Sarah Adams, freshman, does public relations for Team Sycamore. She said there are three event coordinators that help plan different activities like Tuesday's visit to Warsaw. They also "do a little bit of everything on the side," she said.
"For me, I actually started off wanting to be a wedding planner," Adams said. Through Williams, Adams said she got involved with Team Sycamore and learned there was a whole other side to racing that she didn't know about.
"I've been racing for over 10 years myself, and motorsports is my background," said ISU senior Kayla Koch. She has competed in microsprints, which are small sprint cars that run on 600cc bike motors.
From Missouri, Koch said she transferred to ISU after hearing about their motorsports program. She said it's always been a dream of hers to be involved in motorsports.
EMS teacher Nick Walenga initiated Team Sycamore's visit. An ISU alumnus, Walenga said he saw the team at homecoming last September. After that, he kept making phone calls to get the team to visit.
"It's just been great. The kids have loved it," said Walenga. "... These guys have just been super."
Warsaw School Board member Tammy Dalton visited Edgewood to check out the car.
"I think it's really good," said Dalton of Team Sycamore's visit. "It's a great learning experience for them. Who has the opportunity to see something up close and personal (like this)? If it gets someone excited about going to college because of something like this, all the better."
The seventh-grade industrial technology students make their own little race cars as part of the class, said EMS Principal JoElla Smyth. Seeing the big, real one is really cool for the students, she said.
In addition, Smyth said, if students can see the college students having fun, working hands on, and that college isn't just textbooks and tests, she said she hopes that may inspire students to want to go to college.
