Drexel University’s ASME Chapter Participates in Red Bull Soap Box Derby

Despite the torrential downpours and wet roads, Drexel’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) placed 15th in Philadelphia’s Red Bull Soap Box Derby on September 6, 2008. Drexel’s ASME members Raymond Brown (‘11), Jonathan Mahler (‘09), Chris Muenker (’11) and Pat Sweeney (’11) raced a Dragon-shaped vehicle that was completed by the ASME team in under three-weeks. The ASME chapter qualified late for the competition with three weeks notice. With the challenge of time restraints, the team used one week for design, one week for building and one week for decorating.

Drexel’s ASME chapter challenged 40 teams of up to four members in the Red Bull Soap Box Derby to craft creative human-powered driving machines to race against the clock in a downhill dash to the finish line on Lyceum Ave in Manayunk, also known as “The Wall.” The team ranked in 15th place with a speed of 20.0 mph and a final time of 55.13 seconds. Drexel’s ASME had to build a soap box that weighed no more than 176 lbs. In addition, the soap box had to be less than 6’ wide; 20’ long and it could sit no more than 7’ from the ground. The teams were judged on creativity, speed and showmanship. Drexels’ ASME planned a skit around the Dragon Force song from Guitar Hero®. Their inspiration to build a dragon stemmed from Drexel’s mascot, Mario the Dragon. This is the first soap box Drexel’s ASME chapter has made.

Chris Muenker, a member of ASME said, “The Red Bull Soapbox race is not like any competition that we have been faced with. It combines design and fun with welding and mechanics. We had the opportunity to not just compete on a design level but on a creative level as well.”

This course tested not only these teams’ engineering skills, but their creative prowess as well. The event was open to the public and admission was free. For more information on Drexel’s ASME, please click here. For more information on the Red Bull Soap Box Derby, please click here.