“I’m watching Tatum [the driver] run up to us after the race, and she looks at me and goes, ‘Guys! We got second!’” said Sophia Hester, an exploratory studies student and crew chief of Lady Elizabeth. “We all kind of look at her funny and I say, ‘No Tatum, we won!’”

The evGrandPrix is similar to the legendary Purdue Grand Prix, which has run annually since 1958. But instead of running on gas, these karts run on batteries and electric motors, which creates a unique high-pitched whine throughout the racecourse. “Lady Elizabeth” marks the first time an all-female team has won either the electric or gas Grand Prix. The team was a collaborative effort between students in the College of Engineering, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, and a corporate sponsorship with Toyota.

Building the kart

The opportunity to be on an all-female team began with a Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) class, which allows students to earn academic credit while participating in a hands-on experience. The majority of students in this year’s evGrandPrix VIP class were freshmen, giving them a unique opportunity to take on roles they might not have otherwise.

“Sophia has been an absolute powerhouse on building everything,” said Tatum Langston, junior in mechanical engineering technology and driver of Lady Elizabeth. “She was so eager to learn, and from the beginning she was ready to take on any challenge, so it was a no-brainer to put her in the crew chief role.”

“When we received the kart, it was pretty bare,” explained Hester. “It was a Top Kart chassis that had brakes, pedals, and some old tires on it.”

The group decided against building their own battery, instead agreeing they could find something on the market that could better satisfy their needs.“I really wanted to work on the wiring of the battery,” said Hester. “Thankfully, we had three teams sponsored by Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE), and one of the other team members spent nine hours one day helping me learn everything. It was amazing getting to try so many new things while also learning from other people who had more experience.”

“Every single member of the team was so essential in getting everything set up on the kart properly and making sure everything was functioning,” said Langston. “We also have a whole separate operations team and marketing team, and they were essential to our success by acquiring the Toyota sponsorship.”

Each week the team met remotely with Toyota employees to give them the rundown on the building process — all while receiving invaluable advice from these industry experts. Students also drove to Gerogetown, Kentucky for a special tour of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, the company’s largest manufacturing plant in the world.

“From the beginning, Toyota told us they didn’t want to be just a check,” said Hester. “They wanted to be involved and teach us things.”

Ukari Figgs with the winning Lady Elizabeth team.

Ukari Figgs (BSME’99), general manager for manufacturing at Toyota North America and former Purdue women’s basketball champion, had worked closely with the team and attended the race to cheer them on.

Another special guest was Elizabeth Miller, the very first IBE graduate and namesake of the “Lady Elizabeth” kart. Elizabeth is a single mother, who had to overcome many hurdles during her academic journey. “Her story was really inspirational, and we wanted our kart to be representative of someone like that, someone who despite all odds persevered and dove headfirst into things and is passionate about learning,” said Hester.

Race day

The team faced many obstacles leading up to the race. They placed well in practice, so they started the introductory sprint race high on the grid and in good spirits. Unfortunately, as the karts took off, a loud noise began emanating from their kart.

“Electric karts are so quiet that when you hear a noise, you know it’s not good,” explained Hester.

They pulled the kart and noticed the chain had been rubbing against the sprocket guard and consequently, had flown off.

“We couldn’t touch the kart when it came off the track, so I was standing there with my tools laid out just waiting until we got the go ahead,” said Hester.  “We really had to use what we had, which might have consisted of a few too many zip ties!”

The Lady Elizabeth team lining up on the grid.

Hoping that was the last of their issues, they began lining up in the 12th place spot on the grid. However, as they went to move the kart, the throttle stopped working.

“People are starting to line up for the picture and I go grab Jack, a guy on one of the other IBE teams, and he realizes one of our screws came loose,” said Hester. “So, he runs, jumps over the fence, gets the wrench, and we quickly screw it in and then pose for the picture.”

Finally, the race began, leaving Hester with nothing to do but watch. Lady Elizabeth was fast right off the bat, passing car after car, making it clear they weren’t going down without a fight. It was easy to spot the purple cherry blossom kart, an homage to Toyota’s Japanese roots. Eventually, the checkered flag came out, causing cheers to break out amongst the crowd.

Tatum Langston holding the checkered flag after winning the race.

“Honestly, my goal was just to survive the race,” said Langston. “So I was really excited. It was the first race I’d ever actually finished, and the first time I’d gotten to see the checkered flag! So I was just really happy. I originally thought I was second, and they had to tell me that we won! I was just in shock!”

The Lady Elizabeth team holding their trophies.

Boiler Up and Hammer Down

Motorsports are an integral part of the Purdue experience, both in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. In fact, Purdue has the only accredited motorsports engineering degree in the country, headquartered in the “Racing Capital of the World” just steps from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Outside the classroom, Boilermakers have an array of extracurricular motorsports groups to join, from Purdue Baja to Purdue Solar Racing, along with the newly created Women in Motorsports Council (WiMC). WiMC collaborates with the leaders of Purdue’s motorsports teams to create an inclusive and supportive community across teams in West Lafayette and Indianapolis, providing opportunities for students to grow professionally and creating a space for students to empower one another.

“If you’re thinking of getting into motorsports and you aren’t very experienced, don’t be afraid to just join a team,” said Langston. “You’re going to mess up, but your team will be there to support you and teach you along the way.”

“Many women haven’t had the typical ‘help your dad in the garage’ experience, so it’s intimidating to enter the motorsports space and not even know what some tools are,” said Hester. “But I think it’s important to remember that you can always ask for help. No matter how experienced you are, knowing how to use your resources is crucial. A lot of times those resources are people and their knowledge. Utilizing that help is part of being a successful engineer.”

Sophia Hester and Tatum Langston holding one of Lady Elizabeth's trophies.

Purdue Motorsports: https://engineering.purdue.edu/motorsports

evGrandPrix: https://engineering.purdue.edu/evGrandPrix

Writer: Julia Davis, juliadavis@purdue.edu