Static Events

If the team passes the inspection, it is cleared for static events, which include presentation, cost and manufacturing and design.

The presentation event tests how well the team can develop and pitch a solid business, production or technical plan that would persuade potential investors to back its concept.
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The design stage paves the way for all the hard work that follows later in the season, an aspect that returns when JMS has to present during the static events.
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Building a race car is not simply about how well it performs on the racetrack, but how well students can effectively communicate their ideas, challenges and solutions during each process of the race car’s construction.

“To me, the most important thing they can learn is how to work on a project, and how to explain things to people that don’t see it your way,” JMS faculty advisor Dr. Robert Sorem says.

Next, the cost and manufacturing event evaluates how well the team managed a budget and designed their car with production efficiency in mind.

The event is crucial for ensuring that the vehicle is not only competitive in terms of performance but also financially sustainable in its production.

Lastly, the design event assesses the team’s engineering effort and how effectively its design meets market expectations for innovation and overall value.

This is one of the prime opportunities for students to showcase engineering skills and receive constructive feedback on their final blueprint.

“The best part of competition is when we roll our car out and the students are proud of what we’ve produced compared to other teams,” Sorem says.

Each event carries a specific point value — 75 points for presentation, 100 for cost and manufacturing, and 150 for design — with higher scores reflecting stronger overall performance.

The static events highlight teamwork and preparation, proving just as crucial as the dynamic ones in showing judges that teams care about both how their car performs and how it’s presented.

Dynamic Events

When the static events end, teams gear up for the dynamic stage, putting a driver behind the wheel to finally hit the asphalt and burn some rubber.

There are five dynamic tests designed to simulate real-world racing conditions: acceleration, skid pad, autocross, efficiency and endurance.

It begins with the acceleration event, where cars sprint 70 meters from a standing start on flat pavement, racing for the fastest time in up to four runs while avoiding penalties for hitting cones or going off course.

From there, the skid pad tests cornering skill, measuring how quickly a car can complete one left-hand and one right-hand circle, emphasizing suspension performance, lateral grip and stability.
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This diagram is the exact path drivers must take to complete the skid pad test, a dynamic event worth 75 points.
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Next comes autocross, a half-mile, cone-marked course packed with slaloms, hairpins and chicanes, challenging each car’s maneuverability and handling at average speeds of 25 to 30 mph, with teams given multiple attempts to post their best time.

The competition then ramps up with endurance, a 13-mile multi-lap test, requiring two drivers to share the distance with a mandatory driver change while navigating designated passing zones and avoiding penalties, all without any stops or repairs during the run.

Finally, the efficiency event rewards smart engineering, measuring how much energy an electric vehicle consumes over the endurance course and awarding points for completing the distance efficiently.

Like the static events, each dynamic event carries a specific point value: skid pad is worth 75, acceleration and efficiency 100 each, autocross 125 and endurance 275, reflecting their impact on overall competition performance.

Combined, the static and dynamic events offer teams a maximum of 1,000 points, with the team earning the highest total over the five days of competition crowned the overall winner.

The JMS team was unable to compete in 2024, but placed 45th out of 114 competitors during the 2023 FSAE competition, earning a total of 417.7 points.

The team still has some work to do before the students feel comfortable competing come this June, but they’re confident they can come back stronger, ready to take on elite opponents.

“I wasn’t able to go my first two years, but last year I was finally able to go with the team, and it was just an incredible time,” Cox says. “A whole week of a lot of hard work out in the sun, but a lot of fun anyway.”
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Even though the JMS team wasn’t able to track their car during the 2024 Formula SAE, it was still a great learning experience for several of its members.
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Competition is still a semester away, but the team has faith it will be ready for the checkered flag, guided by Sorem, who has been a steadfast mentor of the program for more than three decades.