WashU Racing earns best overall finish in its history
McKelvey Engineering student-led team places 25th at FSAE Michigan event
WashU Racing, the formula-style racing club led by McKelvey School of Engineering students, ended its season with an impressive finish at the Formula SAE Michigan May 13-16, placing 25th overall and first among small and medium-sized schools.
The historic performance also included first place in the business presentation event, first place in the cost scenario event (seventh in cost overall), 13th in the design event, and the successful completion of the grueling endurance race one year after the team fell short of reaching the finish line.
Below, learn more about the event from WashU Racing president Suzy Schwabl, who earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering & materials science in May and will return in the fall to pursue a master’s in aerospace engineering.
FSAE Michigan is the big event that our team works toward every year. Starting about one week after the 2025 competition, our team began preparation for 2026 FSAE Michigan. After failing to complete the big 22-kilometer endurance event at the 2025 competition, our team was not going to waste any time getting started on this year’s racecar.
The competition consists of four main dynamics (driving) events and three static (nondriving) events, all of which make up our final score. The dynamic events start with acceleration, where the car has to accelerate down a 75-meter straight pass to see how fast it can go. Second is skidpad, which consists of the car driving in circles in both the left and right directions to test the car’s lateral acceleration. Third is the autocross event. This event consists of a longer, roughly 800-meter, track with tight corners and some small straightaways. The track is designed to test the acceleration, cornering and braking of the racecar.
The final, and most significant, event is the endurance event. The endurance race is worth the most points, and it consists of a 22-kilometer track split between two drivers. It is designed to test every aspect of the racecar from acceleration, braking and cornering to driver skill, vehicle reliability and fuel consumption. If anything breaks, falls off, or if the car runs out of gas, you’re out. In 2025, the car ran out of gas just a few yards before the finish line.
Now fast forward to about 50 weeks later — the 2026 event. The week leading up to competition is always the most hectic week, and this year was no different. It’s our final opportunity to verify that our car is both performance and rule ready. Finally, on May 12, we left for Michigan.
The first day of competition is a full technical inspection, where each car is assessed against a 130-page rule book. Entering tech inspection was one of the most nerve-wracking times of the entire competition for me. There is always a non-zero chance that you won’t pass, which means you don’t drive at the competition. If you don’t pass the first time, you have to get back in the long line, which can take hours that you don’t always have to spare. Even though I knew we had done many pre-inspections in the garage, it’s impossible to know what the judges are going to be picky about. The nice thing is that we can make on-the-spot fixes for anything small. The entire time my heart was racing as we were told to swap zip ties for hose clamps, tighten loose bolts that we missed, and so on. It was a relief to eventually pass first try in just over an hour. For context, it took three hours last year, and even then, we did not entirely pass the first try. We all slept well that night after a smooth first day.
The second day consists of more static tech inspections as well as the dynamic brake test. The design, cost and business events also took place that day. For the first time in team history, we were in the top 10 finalists in the presentation event. The task was to create a sponsorship proposal presentation and present it to judges who acted as the sponsor. FSAE likes to create well-rounded students, so testing the non-technical skills is totally fair game. The event consisted of a first-round written sponsorship proposal, second round of a virtual presentation and a final round of in-person presentation. Last year we were knocked out after the first round, so making the third (and final) round was extremely exciting. We practiced countless times to make sure everything was smooth and coordinated. At the award ceremony at the end of competition, we found out we took first place, and by a long shot. Upon talking with one of the judges, we heard, “Your presentation was the clear winner in the finals, which you’ll see evident in the scoring as well.” For the first time ever, WashU Racing was taking home a trophy. No better way to start than with first place.
The second day also consists of design and cost events. At the design event, we present our car to a panel of industry judges and defend the design decisions we made, and why they align with our team goals. It’s a 45-minute event where we must present our vehicle and data, proving that our design works. We placed 13th overall in this event, where the top 10 teams make the design finals round. This was an incredible accomplishment — one of the best design finishes we’ve ever had — especially after hearing that our name was tossed around in the conversation of which elite teams would make design finals.
We also placed seventh overall in the cost event, which was another team record broken (all events are out of 120 teams). We also proceeded to pass the brakes and tilt tech inspections on the first try, which was a huge relief. What a day it was to be us. Next up: the dynamic events!
The third day includes the first three dynamic events: acceleration, skid pad and autocross. We started off the morning going to practice to make sure our car was driving properly before we entered any of the real events. Upon going out, we had a failure with our clutch system, which was certainly nerve-racking, but nothing that our amazing team couldn’t fix. After successfully running through a full practice, we proceeded to successfully compete in all three dynamic events that day, placing in the top half of teams for all events. This made way for the final day: the endurance race.
After running out of gas just before the finish line last year, entering the event was definitely the scariest part of the competition. Though we did everything we could from weight savings to developing a better engine tune to implementing fuel saving strategies while driving, there was a distant, looming feeling that something could always go wrong.
After setting a fast autocross time the day before, we were placed in the lineup alongside some of the top teams, which was both exciting and scary. Before we knew it, our car was speeding off onto the track. My heart was racing the entire time, for all 10 laps, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. The 10th lap was almost too hard to watch. None of us wanted to relive the bad memory of not finishing the race.
Crossing the finish line, though, was the best feeling in the entire world. Jeremy (Choh), Ray (Hogea) and I were jumping for joy and shouting in excitement. We all hugged and couldn’t stop exclaiming, “We did it!” For the first time in a very long time, our team finished the race without anything going wrong with the car. That moment made every late night in the garage and every tough time worth it. We had finished endurance.
Finding out we placed 25th overall nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was our best finish in team history, with the previous record being 37th in 2022. It was a true testament to how this team came together to persevere and not just build a race car, but build it well. If it wasn’t for every person on this team and the role they played, we might not have hit this incredible accomplishment. It was an ever-living testament to our motto: Building People by Building Cars.
Crossing the finish line is a moment I’m going to remember for the rest of my life, no doubt. FSAE has truly given me not just the best learning opportunity, but a life long’s worth of good memories and even better friends.
