cougar strong racing #555
​6th grade team

Coach: Mr. Chris McCalla
Cougar Strong Racing 555 Team Photo
2022-2023

David gibson
​team manager

My name is David Gibson. I am in the sixth grade at LCMS. I want to be on the CSR team because I like to build things, and I want to be an engineer when I grow up. This will be my first year on the team. The positions on the team I am the most interested in are being part of the build team and pit crew.

Fun fact: Where I used to live I competed on an air rifle team.
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curtis andrews
​pit crew chief

My name is Curtis Andrews. I am in the 6th grade. I am new to the Cougar Strong Racing team. The reason I want to be a member of Cougar Strong Racing is to continue participating in Greenpower at the middle school level. I was on a Greenpower team last year and I loved it. My position on the team is pit crew chief. The pit crew chief is important because I make sure people are doing what they should be doing when we have our car in the pit. 
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Fun fact: When I am not at school I like to build legos and ride four wheelers.

chloe kim
assistant pit crew chief

My name is Chloe Kim and I’m in the 6th grade. I joined Cougar Strong Racing because I enjoyed Greenpower at my elementary school and want to learn more about engineering. My jobs are alternate driver, assistant pit crew chief, & presentation crew. During pit stops I call out to stop the car and when it goes out of the pit. I’m also the alternate driver. When a driver cannot drive or can’t make it to a race, I take their place. My position on the presentation crew is important because half of our overall event points come from the team presentation.
Fun fact: I do ballet.

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Elijah brown
pit crew

Hi, I'm Eli Brown and I'm on the Cougar Strong 555 racing team. I am on the pit crew and some of my jobs are helping the driver get in and out. Also when the race car breaks down me and the other pit crew team fix it so we can get it back on the track and get our laps in. 



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 braxton ralph
​pit crew

My name is Braxton Ralph. I am a 6th-grade student.  I have not been on an elementary school Greenpower team, but I have been interested in Greenpower for two years. I wanted to join Cougar Strong Racing because it is a way to learn engineering, problem-solving, and teamwork out in the field and not behind a desk. I am a member of the pit crew and my job is to help a driver into the car and to fix the car if necessary. My job is important because I fix the car and I get the car back on the racetrack if it is broken.

​Fun fact: When I'm not in school, I spend a lot of time building things on my 3D printer and designing or engineering things.

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bentley tittle
​driver

Hi, my name is Bentley Tittle and I'm in the 6th grade at LCMS this year. I wanted to join Cougar Strong Racing because I like learning new things and having fun at the same time! I also enjoy driving and being a part of a team. I was on the Rosemont Greenpower team in the 4th and 5th grades. I am one of our three full-time starting drivers. The drivers are a key component to helping this team succeed. I’m also part of the presentation team which is responsible for producing our team presentations . These are worth 50% of our team's overall event score. I am looking forward to our next race!

Fun fact: I have played several sports, I am a huge fan Auburn fan, and I love the Falcons and the Braves. 

tucker cooley
​driver

My name is Tucker Cooley and I am in the 6th grade. I am a new member of Cougar Strong Racing. I wanted to join because I like being associated with races and competitions. Last year I was involved in Rosemont’s Greenpower team and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When I heard that Long Cane had a Greenpower team, I immediately knew that it was something I wanted to be a part of. I wanted to join because I like building and driving the Greenpower cars. I'm hoping to be chosen as a driver or pit crew chief because of my experience with Country Cub Racing. I'm looking forward to being on the Cougar Strong Racing team.

Fun Fact: I enjoy swimming and playing soccer.

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bill mann
​driver

Hi my name is Bill and I'm on the triple 5 team. The role I do in green power is driver i am the third driver and also the fastest on the team  I usually get to drive 25-40 mins a race.

Fun Facts: I love cars, family, and football. My favorite car is a 64 Nova SS. My favorite football team is the Saints or Bengals.

camryn nunis
presentation manager

Hi, my name is Camryn and I am on the Cougar Strong Racing 555 Team. I am in the sixth grade. This is my first year on the middle school racing team, but I have previously been on Long Cane Elementary School's Greenpower racing team. I wanted to join Cougar Strong because I enjoy working with others and racing. Even though I’m not one of the people driving the car, I enjoy watching other people race! The spot I got was the presentation crew manager. My job is making a presentation on either a tri-board or a google slides presentation. This is worth 50% of our overall score.

Fun fact: I'm on the middle school’s softball team! (As you can tell from my pictures, I really love softball 🤣)

zoey mauer
marketing manager, presentation team

My name is Zoey Maurer and I am in the 6th grade. I am new to Cougar Strong Racing but I was on another Greenpower team last year.  I wanted to join CSR because I enjoyed Greenpower last year.  I wanted to continue to learn about the sport this year. The job I have on the team is social media manager. My job is important because I take pictures and videos and upload them to instagram for people to see. This is so our sponsors and fans can see how we race and operate our team.

Fun fact: I like to ride horses.

ISABELLA MCMICKIN
marketing assistant manager

Hi, my name is Isabella McMickin and I am in the 6th grade. I wanted to join Cougar Strong Racing because I enjoyed Country Cub Racing at Rosemont and I wanted to continue working in the program. As the marketing assistant manager, I help Zoey manage all of our social media platforms. It is important because, It helps build our community so people will want to join at Long Cane or any other school, and it helps sponsors so what we are doing with their support.

Fun Fact: I lived in Worth County and Harris County before moving to Troup County.​

EMILY UMFRESS
marketing crew

My name is Emily Umfress. I'm on the 6th grade Cougar Strong Racing team. I was on the Rosemont Elementary Greenpower team in 5th grade and I learned to drive, change the tires, and all about building the car. I wanted to join the 6th grade Cougar Strong Racing team because I like working with my friends and the excitement of race days. I am interested in being a photographer because I think it would be fun to learn something new and maybe even cool! :

Fun Fact: I play cello and I can wiggle my ears.

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Elsie lasseter
marketing crew

My name is Elsie Lassetter. I am in the 6th grade. This will be my first year competing with the Cougar Strong Racing team. I am interested in Greenpower because it will provide me with skills that I can utilize for the rest of my life. The position I have is Social Media Crew and I take pictures and make videos. It is really fun on Social Media and I am very happy I got it.

Fun Fact: I have over 20 farm animals.

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joey whiddon
data manager

My name is Joey Whiddon and I am in the 6th grade.  I wanted to be a part of Cougar Strong Racing because I enjoy working on complex building projects and working with technology. My job as a data manager is to keep track of the data. My priorities are to keep track of the laps, my team, the pitstop time, and speed and log that information into our data sheet. I also use the speed gun to time how fast our car and the other teams cars are going. I am excited to be on the CSR Team!

Fun fact: I recently built the Saturn V rocket from Lego blocks. It's 3 ft tall.  ​




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alex taylor
data crew

Hi!  My name is Alex Taylor.  I am thrilled to be on the 6th grade racing team.  I am so excited to join the Cougar Strong Racing Team.  I can’t wait to meet the team and learn about engineering.  I hope to be able to drive a race car one day.

Fun Fact:  I can tell you anything you want to know about History. 

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CARMIN M. SMITH
data crew

My name is Carmin M Smith, I am in the 6th grade. The reason I wanted to join CSR is because I am going into a new year, that means new people and I would love to make some new good friends. I also want the experience of building and racing electric cars, and a lot of my teammates from last year are on the same team now. I was the pit crew chief and driver for my elementary school team at Rosemont Elementary.  My positions for CSR this year are data crew and change over crew. I love my job, it's fun and cool. I really think greenpower can help me improve as a person. I think that it can help me with many careers in the future. 

Fun fact: I don't really like to dress up on a normal day. I normally only dress up when I have to.

 Team coach / teacher - chris mccalla

This is Mr. McCalla’s second official year with Cougar Strong Racing, coaching the 6th race team. Mr. McCalla’s Greenpower experience also includes two years as a technical advisor to the Long Cane Elementary School’s Power Surge Greenpower team, and volunteering (bugging Mr. Graham, and inviting himself to help with the LCMS teams). He has also previously coached youth league soccer.

A huge motorsports fan, Mr. McCalla enjoys Formula 1, World Endurance Championship (WEC) and World Rally Championship (WRC) racing. Mr. McCalla has succeeded on the local rally racing scene (one 1st place and 1 4th place finish). He also manages and serves as the McCalla family motor pool mechanic and technician that consists of two MINIs, two Fiats, and one Miata.

Looking to continue Cougar Strong Racing’s tradition of success, Mr. McCalla expects no less than his team’s best effort, each and every day, instilling a Can-Do, no-quit attitude in his team members. 
Mr. McCalla has been a certified teacher since 2016 (having previously worked in journalism and government affairs), holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, and a Master of Arts in Teaching. He is certified to teach middle grades Social Studies, American History, Political Science, and CTAE-based classes.