We brought out Inviscid, Kingpin, and Seraph for showcase. This year, our very own Thomas D. Felmley the Great was invited to speak on the Buggy Alumni Association alumni panel. He gave the audience a history on Quantum Leap and shared his insights on the sport. We didn’t compete in design comp this year as the team prefers to enter when we build a new buggy.

The annual hype session brought the team, alumni, staff advisors and supporters together in a SRS-only space. Spirit Buggy chairmen Chris Fulton and Matthew Swain encouraged the team, announced each race team and reviewed the rules to not get DQ’d (there was a call and response to ensure retention) . The drivers Beichen, Chloe and Nina present the chairs with a thank you gift from all of the mechanics and drivers which adorned the truck for the weekend.  As always, the session ended with a spirited (yes, yes, “ha ha”) cheer led by Alum Evan Moss.

Watch the livestream here.

Day 1

We raced 5 teams: Womens A,B and  Mens’s A, B, C. Women’s B ran a 02:52:88 which put them in 11th place. They were later disqualified for lane interference. Women’s A spun in the shoot but reached a 33.62 mph speed.

Men’s B team posted a 02:17:16 time and moved on to finals. Men’s A spun in the shoot but reached a 36.2 mph trap speed. Men’s C received a 02:24:09 putting them in 11th place for the day.

Day 2

We had two exhibition heats: Driver and Men’s D. Check out the pass on the Men’s D race! Men’s B posted a time of 02:15:22, beating out Fringe A and SDC B with a trap speed of 34.76 mph. This earned us 6th place overall! You might wondering if there were any substitutions for Men’s B since Men’s A didn’t compete on Saturday. Nope! In fact, Men’s B pushed with B team pushers and 1 C team pusher!

Congrats to the team for doing their best and leaving everything out on the course!

Watch the Livestream

TIME STAMPS FOR DAY 1

(video listed as Friday Part 1 on CMUtv): Women’s B: 33:46 ｜ Women’s B: 1:01:45

(video listed as Friday Part 2 on CMUtv) Men’s A: 1:13:30 ｜ Men’s B: 20:06 ｜ Men’s C: 1:41:30｜

TIME STAMPS FOR DAY 2

(video listed as Buggy Day 2 on CMUtv) Drivers: 18:17 ｜Men’s D: 9:50 ｜Men’s B : 2:58:57

View the full raceday results here.

The Carnegie Mellon Black Alumni Association (insert link)(CMBAA) held a lunch and business meeting on Saturday. CMBAA invited the students to give attend and to provide a sweepstakes recap.

On behalf of the students, Spirit Buggy co-founder Robert Bowie presented CMBAA with a custom wheel covered signed by the students and gave a speech. This is a small token of appreciation for the consistent support that CMBAA has provided for over ten years!

For their years of service, Ann Witchner was presented with a Lifetime Chairman's Choice Award and Tom Wood received a Lifetime Spirit of Buggy Award. Beginning next year these annual awards will bear their names. (More on that here). Though we didn’t win any additional awards outside of our 6th place trophy, we got some fly pics out of it.

Buggy Alums hosted a cookout on the Terrace of the Marriot Residence Inn. Over 60 students and alums came out to swap stories, advice and to enjoy food and each other’s company. A big shoutout to Robert and Sue Bowie who held it down at the grill!