NASHVILLE, Tennessee USA — On a cold Tuesday in February, students lined Bison Square on the Lipscomb University campus. The engineering students gathered to blow off some steam and to race rocket cars across campus in a competition to celebrate National Engineering Week.

Students and observers gather as judging takes place for awards such as Most Artistic and Most Innovative car. Photo: Billy Kingsley.

This is the third year that the university's mechanical engineering students hosted their revved up version of the traditional pinewood derby, featuring 7-inch wooden cars reloaded with model rocket engines.

"They started out with standard Cub Scout derby car kits," said adjunct professor Michael Colletti, turning over a colorful car to show its simple wooden design with four nails and four wheels.

"They carve the wood into the shape of a car, and it's been modeled with a hole for a rocket booster."

Students created the derby cars to shoot down a narrow track in the center of Lipscomb's campus, some at speeds topping 50 miles per hour, with many of the cars continuing their journey long past the track, flying under cars and across the brick sidewalk.

Car splits in half
David Callao said not all of the cars make that fast journey in one piece.

"You have to be really careful when designing it," he said, noting that last year one contestant's car split in two during the 30-foot race across the square.

And even though the students reduced the power level for the third year of competition, the end of the track still had to be fitted with cushioning to stop the cars' flight.

The Lipscomb student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers coordinates the Rocket Car Derby each year, and students compete for first, second and third place, and for prizes for aesthetics and craftsmanship.

The cars, with names like Thunder Soul, The Bomb, Plum Inferno, Pi and of course, Lightning, do not earn the students grades.

Copyright © 2008, The Tennesseean.