Electrathon at Road America
Events
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Electrathon racing has been around in the United States for almost 30 years, but in the world of motorsports, it still has a quiet profile. The vehicles are relatively-inexpensive and relatively slow, compared to more traditional forms of racing, but they play a vital role in the automotive industry. Most Electrathon competitors are high school students, many of whom are working on a car for the first time, learning about aerodynamics, physics, math, design, problem-solving and electricity in a non-classroom environment. The electricity part of the competition is of great interest to us, because most Electrathon competitors use OPTIMA Batteries.
These Electrathon cars are powered entirely by batteries, typically two commercially-available 12-volt lead-acid batteries and in most cases, OPTIMA batteries. While Electrathon cars are inherently deep-cycle applications, many competitors choose to run our REDTOP batteries, which are not designed or warrantied for deep-cycle use. In talking with these competitors, we've learned that their experience shows the REDTOPs (which have more cranking amps than their YELLOWTOP counterparts) seemed to deliver more initial power, while the YELLOWTOPs (which have more reserve capacity than their REDTOP counterparts) seem to deliver more energy later in the competition, both of which sound plausible. Some teams have even experimented with one of each.
Electrathon cars make regular visits to our home track of Road America and we were lucky enough to be able to catch them in their May 2019 visit. Check out the handiwork of these young competitors below and learn more about Electrathon racing here.
These Electrathon cars are powered entirely by batteries, typically two commercially-available 12-volt lead-acid batteries and in most cases, OPTIMA batteries. While Electrathon cars are inherently deep-cycle applications, many competitors choose to run our REDTOP batteries, which are not designed or warrantied for deep-cycle use. In talking with these competitors, we've learned that their experience shows the REDTOPs (which have more cranking amps than their YELLOWTOP counterparts) seemed to deliver more initial power, while the YELLOWTOPs (which have more reserve capacity than their REDTOP counterparts) seem to deliver more energy later in the competition, both of which sound plausible. Some teams have even experimented with one of each.
Electrathon cars make regular visits to our home track of Road America and we were lucky enough to be able to catch them in their May 2019 visit. Check out the handiwork of these young competitors below and learn more about Electrathon racing here.