Cassville Supermileage team named State champs

Cassville High School Industrial Arts students traveled to Warrensburg this week to compete in the Missouri State Supermileage Challenge held on campus at the University of Central Missouri. CHS students were named State Champions in the Bio Diesel category with their vehicle having an average of 188.75 MPG. Marcus Reynolds is the team’s adviser.
Pictured, from left to right: Robert Espinoza, bus driver; Mr. Marcus Reynolds, CHS Industrial Arts teacher; Zane Mebruer; Tye Ellis; Josiah Hill; Roper Stone (in the vehicle); Andrew Littlefield; Robert Richie; Taylor Fisher; Sam Holman; Russell Dunker and Ryan Yang.

April 24, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Working tirelessly over the last few months, Cassville technology teacher Marcus Reynolds and his Supermileage team were named state champions in the Biodiesel category at the 2019 Missouri State Supermileage Challenge in Warrensburg.
The competition pits high school students from across the state in a race to build the most fuel efficient automobile. Students spend several months constructing the car out of whatever materials are at their disposal. Teams select a driver to take the machine on a ten-lap course.
The 26-member team had to consider many factors in the building of their cars. These included the weight of the car, the efficiency of their engine, aerodynamics and the strength of the materials used.
“We used a different metal for the frame,” said Cassville student Sam Holman.
“For cost reasons, we had a much heavier frame last year,” said Reynolds.
This year’s car had a lighter weight than last year’s submission, according to team members. To achieve this, the team settled on the use of an aluminum frame, making the car not only achieve top speed faster, but also capable of achieving speeds without burning excessive fuel. According to Holman, this frame had a total weight of seven pounds.
“We built the car smaller this year than the one we made last year, so we had to consider how to do more with a smaller car,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds also went on to state that the team based their design for the car’s chassis on a chassis designed by the University of Southern California for a similar competition.
Another design shift made by the team for this year’s model had to do with the car’s steering.
“We added rack and pin steering instead of regular linkage steering,” said Reynolds.
According to Reynolds, in addition to this being a lighter type of steering mechanism, it also allowed for more legroom in the vehicle itself. This led to the driver having more maneuverability within the car.
According to the team, they also made the decision to switch from a standard engine to a diesel engine in order to maximize their fuel efficiency.
Members of the team also stated that this year’s version of the car is more square in the nose than last year. This was done in order to help the car push more air to the sides as it accelerated.
According to Reynolds, an aspect of the team’s success this year had to do with returning members who were driven to make improvements to last year’s design.
“We made it to fourth in state last year,” said Reynolds. “Some of these guys were on the original team, so they were there when we did our planning last year. They came in and picked up where they left off last year.”
Reynolds went on to explain that these returning members, along with several members of the team being related to members of last year’s team, were able to continue their own work, aided by the knowledge of the things that kept their last model from being as efficient as it could be.
Reynolds and his students claim that the competition has helped them indulge their passions for industrial arts in a classroom setting.
“I liked the opportunity to work on cars, motors, and welding at school,” said team member Lannin Pryor.
“It definitely gave me more hands-on, real world experience,” said team member Michael Russell.
Reynolds went on to state that part of why he enjoyed the competition was the opportunity to demonstrate how aspects of other school subjects, such as geometry and physics, can be applied to practical arts.
“The extension of other classes into a practical application is where I see the most benefit to my students,” stated Reynolds.
Overall, the Cassville team were named State Champions in the biodiesel category of the competition, with their vehicle having an average fuel efficiency of 188.75 miles per gallon.
Vinnie Roberts
Working tirelessly over the last few months, Cassville technology teacher Marcus Reynolds and his Supermileage team were named state champions in the Biodiesel category at the 2019 Missouri State Supermileage Challenge in Warrensburg.
The competition pits high school students from across the state in a race to build the most fuel efficient automobile. Students spend several months constructing the car out of whatever materials are at their disposal. Teams select a driver to take the machine on a ten-lap course.
The 26-member team had to consider many factors in the building of their cars. These included the weight of the car, the efficiency of their engine, aerodynamics and the strength of the materials used.
“We used a different metal for the frame,” said Cassville student Sam Holman.
“For cost reasons, we had a much heavier frame last year,” said Reynolds.
This year’s car had a lighter weight than last year’s submission, according to team members. To achieve this, the team settled on the use of an aluminum frame, making the car not only achieve top speed faster, but also capable of achieving speeds without burning excessive fuel. According to Holman, this frame had a total weight of seven pounds.
“We built the car smaller this year than the one we made last year, so we had to consider how to do more with a smaller car,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds also went on to state that the team based their design for the car’s chassis on a chassis designed by the University of Southern California for a similar competition.
Another design shift made by the team for this year’s model had to do with the car’s steering.
“We added rack and pin steering instead of regular linkage steering,” said Reynolds.
According to Reynolds, in addition to this being a lighter type of steering mechanism, it also allowed for more legroom in the vehicle itself. This led to the driver having more maneuverability within the car.
According to the team, they also made the decision to switch from a standard engine to a diesel engine in order to maximize their fuel efficiency.
Members of the team also stated that this year’s version of the car is more square in the nose than last year. This was done in order to help the car push more air to the sides as it accelerated.
According to Reynolds, an aspect of the team’s success this year had to do with returning members who were driven to make improvements to last year’s design.
“We made it to fourth in state last year,” said Reynolds. “Some of these guys were on the original team, so they were there when we did our planning last year. They came in and picked up where they left off last year.”
Reynolds went on to explain that these returning members, along with several members of the team being related to members of last year’s team, were able to continue their own work, aided by the knowledge of the things that kept their last model from being as efficient as it could be.
Reynolds and his students claim that the competition has helped them indulge their passions for industrial arts in a classroom setting.
“I liked the opportunity to work on cars, motors, and welding at school,” said team member Lannin Pryor.
“It definitely gave me more hands-on, real world experience,” said team member Michael Russell.
Reynolds went on to state that part of why he enjoyed the competition was the opportunity to demonstrate how aspects of other school subjects, such as geometry and physics, can be applied to practical arts.
“The extension of other classes into a practical application is where I see the most benefit to my students,” stated Reynolds.
Overall, the Cassville team were named State Champions in the biodiesel category of the competition, with their vehicle having an average fuel efficiency of 188.75 miles per gallon.