2021 - 2022
The 2021-2022 school year is the 5th year of competition for our GreenpowerUSA program at Long Cane Middle School.
october 2, 2021
Event #1 of 9 - Chambers County Grand Prix, Lafayette, AL
#999 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 97/100 - (73 laps in heat 2), (72 laps in heat 4)
#000 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 92.26/100 - (69 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 96/100 - (63 laps in heat 2), (72 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.4 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 166 miles.
#000 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 92.26/100 - (69 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 96/100 - (63 laps in heat 2), (72 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.4 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 166 miles.
december 4, 2021
Event #2 of 9 - F24 Santa Sprints, Columbus, GA
#999 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 98.835/100 - (47 laps in heat 2), (48 laps in heat 4)
#000 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 98.835/100 - (47 laps in heat 2), (48 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 94.078/100 - (42 laps in heat 2), (45 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.7 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 194 miles. 999 & 000 teams got more laps than all schools competing, including high school teams. 999 & 000 scored higher on presentation than all other teams competing, including high school teams. 999 & 000 had the highest overall score of all teams competing, including high school teams. 999 & 000 set the track record at 48 laps.
#000 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 98.835/100 - (47 laps in heat 2), (48 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 94.078/100 - (42 laps in heat 2), (45 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.7 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 194 miles. 999 & 000 teams got more laps than all schools competing, including high school teams. 999 & 000 scored higher on presentation than all other teams competing, including high school teams. 999 & 000 had the highest overall score of all teams competing, including high school teams. 999 & 000 set the track record at 48 laps.
january 15, 2022
Event #3 of 9 - Oxford Green Prix at Choccolocco Park, Oxford, AL
#999 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 99/100 - (32 laps in heat 2), (32 laps in heat 4)
#000 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 98/100 - (32 laps in heat 2), (15 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 94.078/100 - (29 laps in heat 2), (28 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 1.0 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 168 miles. 999 & 000 scored higher on team presentation than all other teams competing, including high school teams. Only 1 other team tied 555's presentation score of 96. Team's 999 & 000 improved on last year's performance of 31 laps by 1 additional lap, tying the track record of 32 laps that we set 2 years ago.
#000 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 98/100 - (32 laps in heat 2), (15 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 94.078/100 - (29 laps in heat 2), (28 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 1.0 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 168 miles. 999 & 000 scored higher on team presentation than all other teams competing, including high school teams. Only 1 other team tied 555's presentation score of 96. Team's 999 & 000 improved on last year's performance of 31 laps by 1 additional lap, tying the track record of 32 laps that we set 2 years ago.
After 3 race events (of 9) this season...
february 12, 2022
Event #4 of 9 - Columbus Grand Prix, Columbus, GA
#000 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 97.184/100 - (60 laps in heat 2), (74 laps in heat 4)
#999 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 97/100 - (72 laps in heat 2), (76 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 87.917/100 - (65 laps in heat 2), (69 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 1/2 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 208 miles. 999 & 000 scored higher on team presentation than all other teams competing, including high school teams. 999 logged 76 laps in heat 2, beating their previous record of 75 laps from last year. The 1st overall win for 000 was big because they haven't beat 999 in the overall since Feb. 2020. This decreased the gap between 999 & 000 in the national points standings to just 0.816 points, with 999 in 1st & 000 in 2nd nationally.
#999 Team - 2nd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 97/100 - (72 laps in heat 2), (76 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 87.917/100 - (65 laps in heat 2), (69 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 1/2 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 208 miles. 999 & 000 scored higher on team presentation than all other teams competing, including high school teams. 999 logged 76 laps in heat 2, beating their previous record of 75 laps from last year. The 1st overall win for 000 was big because they haven't beat 999 in the overall since Feb. 2020. This decreased the gap between 999 & 000 in the national points standings to just 0.816 points, with 999 in 1st & 000 in 2nd nationally.
march 19, 2022
Event #5 of 9 - Inspire Academy 400, Lafayette, AL
#999 Team - 1st place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 91.5/100 - (68 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#000 Team - 3rd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 87.265/100 - (67 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 3rd place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 86.167/100 - (53 laps in heat 2), (53 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.4 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 375 laps for 150 miles. During heat 2 the 999 F24 had to run off the track to avoid an accident with another car and spent over 4 minutes off the track during recovery. They very likely would have been able to log over 70 laps in heat 2 had that not occurred. It was also significant that the weather was VERY cold with 20 mile per hour winds for the majority of the day. We are glad that kind of weather is rare for our race events!
#000 Team - 3rd place (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 87.265/100 - (67 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 3rd place (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 86.167/100 - (53 laps in heat 2), (53 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.4 mile track. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 375 laps for 150 miles. During heat 2 the 999 F24 had to run off the track to avoid an accident with another car and spent over 4 minutes off the track during recovery. They very likely would have been able to log over 70 laps in heat 2 had that not occurred. It was also significant that the weather was VERY cold with 20 mile per hour winds for the majority of the day. We are glad that kind of weather is rare for our race events!
april 9, 2022
Event #6 of 9 - Greenpower Splash at Mallard Point, Decatur, AL
#000 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 100/100 - (67 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#999 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 99.5/100 - (67 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 90.5/100 - (61 laps in heat 2), (61 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.47 mile track. This was the first time a race event has ever been held at Point Mallard in Decatur, AL. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 390 laps for 183.3 miles. During heat 4 triple nine and triple zero were neck and neck the whole race. On the very last lap triple zero passed triple nine to win 1st in the endurance race. Weather was unusually cold most of the day with very high winds. Triple zero scored a perfect 100 on team presentation & perfect 100 on endurance race. Triple nine scored a 99.5 on team presentation.
#999 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 99.5/100 - (67 laps in heat 2), (67 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 90.5/100 - (61 laps in heat 2), (61 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.47 mile track. This was the first time a race event has ever been held at Point Mallard in Decatur, AL. Combined team laps logged during both race heats totaled 390 laps for 183.3 miles. During heat 4 triple nine and triple zero were neck and neck the whole race. On the very last lap triple zero passed triple nine to win 1st in the endurance race. Weather was unusually cold most of the day with very high winds. Triple zero scored a perfect 100 on team presentation & perfect 100 on endurance race. Triple nine scored a 99.5 on team presentation.
april 16, 2022
Event #7 of 9 - 4th Annual Diverse Power Grand Prix at LaGrange College, LaGrange, GA
#999 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 100/100 - (44 laps)
#000 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 99.5/100 - (44 laps)
#555 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 90.5/100 - (40 laps)
NOTES: 0.67 mile track. Only ran 1 heat due to rain first half of day. 999 set a new track record, same number of laps as 2019 but did it 2 minutes faster. 000 also beat the 2019 record but finished just 40 seconds behind 999. Our 999 team was just 3 seconds away from being able to log one additional lap. Combined team miles at this race was 86 miles. 999 & 000 logged more laps than all other teams in the race, including high school teams. Presentation scores were outstanding. Great race event!
#000 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 99.5/100 - (44 laps)
#555 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 90.5/100 - (40 laps)
NOTES: 0.67 mile track. Only ran 1 heat due to rain first half of day. 999 set a new track record, same number of laps as 2019 but did it 2 minutes faster. 000 also beat the 2019 record but finished just 40 seconds behind 999. Our 999 team was just 3 seconds away from being able to log one additional lap. Combined team miles at this race was 86 miles. 999 & 000 logged more laps than all other teams in the race, including high school teams. Presentation scores were outstanding. Great race event!
May 7, 2022
Event #8 of 9 - Toyota Classic, Huntsville, AL
#000 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 97.5/100 - (52 laps in heat 2), (55 laps in heat 4)
#999 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 96/100 - (53 laps in heat 2), (55 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 99/100 - (51 laps in heat 2), (52 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.56 mile track. Combined team lap count from the 2 race heats was 318 laps, equating to 178 miles. 999 & 000 logged more laps than all other teams in the race, including high school teams. The highest team video presentation score was 98. Only 3 teams achieved this score - our 555 team, another middle school team, & 1 high school team. 000 & 999 scored a 95 & 92 respectively. Only 1 other team matched 555's overall event score of 99/100 and it was a high school team. Racing at Whitesburg was so much fun! Love that track. This was the 27th race for our program.
#999 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 96/100 - (53 laps in heat 2), (55 laps in heat 4)
#555 Team - 1st place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 99/100 - (51 laps in heat 2), (52 laps in heat 4)
NOTES: 0.56 mile track. Combined team lap count from the 2 race heats was 318 laps, equating to 178 miles. 999 & 000 logged more laps than all other teams in the race, including high school teams. The highest team video presentation score was 98. Only 3 teams achieved this score - our 555 team, another middle school team, & 1 high school team. 000 & 999 scored a 95 & 92 respectively. Only 1 other team matched 555's overall event score of 99/100 and it was a high school team. Racing at Whitesburg was so much fun! Love that track. This was the 27th race for our program.
May 21, 2022
Event #9 of 9 - GreenpowerUSA National Finals at Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, AL
#000 Team - NATIONAL CHAMPION - 1st place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 95.848/100
(Lap Count: 25 in heat 1, 26 in heat 2, total = 51 laps)
#999 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 95.2/100
(Lap Count: 26 in heat 1, 27 in heat 2, total = 53 laps)
#555 Team - 3rd place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 87.054/100
(Lap Count: 23 in heat 1, 24 in heat 2, total = 47 laps)
NOTES: 1.36 mile track. Combined team lap count from the 2 race heats was 318 laps, equating to 178 miles. 999 & 000 logged more laps than all other teams in the race, including high school teams. The highest team video presentation score was 98. Only 3 teams achieved this score - our 555 team, another middle school team, & 1 high school team. 000 & 999 scored a 95 & 92 respectively. Only 1 other team matched 555's overall event score of 99/100 and it was a high school team. Racing at Whitesburg was so much fun! Love that track. This was the 27th race for our program.
(Lap Count: 25 in heat 1, 26 in heat 2, total = 51 laps)
#999 Team - 2nd place overall (Intermediate Modified) - Score of 95.2/100
(Lap Count: 26 in heat 1, 27 in heat 2, total = 53 laps)
#555 Team - 3rd place overall (Intermediate Stock) - Score of 87.054/100
(Lap Count: 23 in heat 1, 24 in heat 2, total = 47 laps)
NOTES: 1.36 mile track. Combined team lap count from the 2 race heats was 318 laps, equating to 178 miles. 999 & 000 logged more laps than all other teams in the race, including high school teams. The highest team video presentation score was 98. Only 3 teams achieved this score - our 555 team, another middle school team, & 1 high school team. 000 & 999 scored a 95 & 92 respectively. Only 1 other team matched 555's overall event score of 99/100 and it was a high school team. Racing at Whitesburg was so much fun! Love that track. This was the 27th race for our program.
2021 - 2022
season results
000 team - 1st place - 2022 national champions - intermediate modified
999 team - 2nd place - intermediate modified
555 team - 3rd place - intermediate stock
The 2021-2022 season was the 5th year of our program. It was our first "full" season of races in 2 years and we were glad to be back at it. We traveled to 9 race events across the season with races in both Alabama & Georgia. Our Alabama races included events in Lafayette, Oxford, Decatur, Huntsville, & Lincoln. Our Georgia races included events in Columbus & LaGrange. In total we traveled 1,408 miles getting to and from our race events - quite the adventure for our middle school students!
A few changes were made this year to how the National Champion would be named in each division. Previously it had been points accumulation over the season, with team that had the most points earning the title. Then it changed to the highest 3 race point total. But when the opportunity to hold the national championship at Talladega Superspeedway came along, the decision was made to still name a points champion, but in order to earn the title of national champion your team had to win 1st place in their division at the GreenpowerUSA National Finals at Talladega Superspeedway.
Our 3 teams had an amazing year competing in the 9 race events we attended. Our modified teams won 1st & 2nd overall at 8 of the 9 race events we attended this season. In the one race event where they didn't place first & second, they placed 1st & 3rd (spring Inspire Academy 400). Our stock team finished 1st overall at 7 of the 9 race events, with two 3rd place finishes (spring Inspire Academy 400 & Talladega). WOW (that has to be a record...)!
Going into the national championship race our 3 teams led their divisions with the highest 3-race point totals of all teams in the nation. For the intermediate modified division our 999 team's 3-race point total was 298.335. Our 000 team was right behind them with 297.670, so just 0.665 points separated them (the next closest team had 270.816). In the intermediate stock division our sixth grade 555 team's 3-race point total was 291.833 (the next closest team was 288.077). But all 3 of our teams knew they had to have their best performance of the year in order to win the big one at Talladega & earn the title of national champion in their division. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome at Talladega, finishing 1st, 2nd (modified), & 3rd (stock) overall.
During those 9 race events our teams accumulated an amazing amount of miles during the 16 race heats (48 total for our program) in which we raced. Our 999 team had the most with a total of 496.998 miles. This comes out to an average 31.06 miles per race heat, which makes their average speed 20.71 miles per hour. Our 000 team was right behind them with 468.190 miles, with an average of 29.51 miles per race heat, which makes their average speed 19.67 mph. And our 555 team accumulated 447.074 miles during race heats, with an average of 27.94 miles per race heat, which makes their average speed 18.63 mph. That made our program total 1,412.262 miles logged during race heats in just 9 events - more than any other program in the United States...wow! The season total for all teams in the U.S. was 11,102.88 over 12 events throughout the season, so we are proud to claim 13% of those miles. This was not an easy task and required a well tuned & maintained race car by our build teams & pit crews, and consistently good decisions by our drivers on the race track.
So the season ending results were...
7th grade 000 team: NATIONAL CHAMPION, 2nd in season points - modified div. (297.670)
8th grade 999 team: RUNNER UP for National Champion, Season Points Winner - modified div. (298.335)
6th grade 555 team: 3rd Place National Finish, Season Points Winner - stock div. (291.833)
While our 999 team was heartbroken not to win the modified division national championship for the 4th consecutive year, our 7th grade 000 team was estatic to win their first national championship, and to finish ahead of 999 in their overall event score by just 0.648 points at Talladega. They were also the first team in all of GreenpowerUSA to beat 999 for the national championship.
We’d like to thank our sponsors, team parents, & our school administration for their support. Coaching these three teams and getting to know our team members has been so much fun this year. Congratulations to Cougar Strong Racing #000 & #999 - #1 & #2 in the Nation for the fourth consecutive year, and to #555 for taking the 3rd place spot in the stock division (They were just 4.624 points from winning the national championship)!
-Mr. Graham 🏆🏁🔋🏎💨🐾
A few changes were made this year to how the National Champion would be named in each division. Previously it had been points accumulation over the season, with team that had the most points earning the title. Then it changed to the highest 3 race point total. But when the opportunity to hold the national championship at Talladega Superspeedway came along, the decision was made to still name a points champion, but in order to earn the title of national champion your team had to win 1st place in their division at the GreenpowerUSA National Finals at Talladega Superspeedway.
Our 3 teams had an amazing year competing in the 9 race events we attended. Our modified teams won 1st & 2nd overall at 8 of the 9 race events we attended this season. In the one race event where they didn't place first & second, they placed 1st & 3rd (spring Inspire Academy 400). Our stock team finished 1st overall at 7 of the 9 race events, with two 3rd place finishes (spring Inspire Academy 400 & Talladega). WOW (that has to be a record...)!
Going into the national championship race our 3 teams led their divisions with the highest 3-race point totals of all teams in the nation. For the intermediate modified division our 999 team's 3-race point total was 298.335. Our 000 team was right behind them with 297.670, so just 0.665 points separated them (the next closest team had 270.816). In the intermediate stock division our sixth grade 555 team's 3-race point total was 291.833 (the next closest team was 288.077). But all 3 of our teams knew they had to have their best performance of the year in order to win the big one at Talladega & earn the title of national champion in their division. We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome at Talladega, finishing 1st, 2nd (modified), & 3rd (stock) overall.
During those 9 race events our teams accumulated an amazing amount of miles during the 16 race heats (48 total for our program) in which we raced. Our 999 team had the most with a total of 496.998 miles. This comes out to an average 31.06 miles per race heat, which makes their average speed 20.71 miles per hour. Our 000 team was right behind them with 468.190 miles, with an average of 29.51 miles per race heat, which makes their average speed 19.67 mph. And our 555 team accumulated 447.074 miles during race heats, with an average of 27.94 miles per race heat, which makes their average speed 18.63 mph. That made our program total 1,412.262 miles logged during race heats in just 9 events - more than any other program in the United States...wow! The season total for all teams in the U.S. was 11,102.88 over 12 events throughout the season, so we are proud to claim 13% of those miles. This was not an easy task and required a well tuned & maintained race car by our build teams & pit crews, and consistently good decisions by our drivers on the race track.
So the season ending results were...
7th grade 000 team: NATIONAL CHAMPION, 2nd in season points - modified div. (297.670)
8th grade 999 team: RUNNER UP for National Champion, Season Points Winner - modified div. (298.335)
6th grade 555 team: 3rd Place National Finish, Season Points Winner - stock div. (291.833)
While our 999 team was heartbroken not to win the modified division national championship for the 4th consecutive year, our 7th grade 000 team was estatic to win their first national championship, and to finish ahead of 999 in their overall event score by just 0.648 points at Talladega. They were also the first team in all of GreenpowerUSA to beat 999 for the national championship.
We’d like to thank our sponsors, team parents, & our school administration for their support. Coaching these three teams and getting to know our team members has been so much fun this year. Congratulations to Cougar Strong Racing #000 & #999 - #1 & #2 in the Nation for the fourth consecutive year, and to #555 for taking the 3rd place spot in the stock division (They were just 4.624 points from winning the national championship)!
-Mr. Graham 🏆🏁🔋🏎💨🐾