Our children are our future. When we are no longer able to lead, they will take over our duties. When we become unable to care for ourselves, they will provide that care. And when we are no longer able to bring them inspiration, they will bring that inspiration to their own children. If we do not empower our children to do the best they can do, to unlock their talents, then we have failed not only them, but ourselves and our grandchildren.
This was the philosophy on which retired racing driver Carlos Servia based his outline for the Formula High School series. Of the belief that many teenagers with an untapped talent for racing were going through high school into a life that would prevent them from realizing a skill they may rather use instead of joining the business world, he set out to empower these youngsters so that they may someday bring inspiration to the next generation.
Though many called him mad, the two-time Formula One and three-time Champ Car champion used his own collected fortune to start a series. The first Formula HS season was a five-race series held at Las Vegas motor speedway using old Champ Cars from the early 1990s. Though the first season was less-than-spectacular, the whole thing costing overall less than $1 million due to ingenious methods of cost-saving, the idea nonetheless caught on. Several high schools formed in-school teams. Many maintained by their shop classes, others maintained by dedicated after-school teams. Some schools simply provided a name and drivers for cars supplied and maintained by outside sources.
Formula HS was not without its controversies, though. Some questioned the safety of such a series, others questioned whether the cost-saving methods employed would have long-term cost-saving benefits. Some states banned FHS completely.
After six years, most states had caught on. With several divisions in each participating state, it wasn’t long before State Championships among the winning division driver were organized, followed by a National Championship comprised of the State Champions being formed in the seventh year of FHS’s existence. In respect to the very first FHS season, the National Championship is limited to five races – the venues of which alternate each year.
Sponsorship was a heavy influence on keeping FHS going. More than any other racing series on Earth, FHS relied on sponsorship to keep it going.
But in the 8th year, FHS seemed to have hit the beginning of the end.
Many schools were finding the cost-saving measures that originally made FHS such a workable concept were not working out so well. Others couldn’t maintain teams due to funding cuts. The National Championship, comprised of 36 drivers in its first year, dropped to 22 in its second year. The 9th year of FHS was looking to be a farewell season.
Then 11-year-old supergenius Gina Babette Diggers skipped yet another grade to start attending Oakwood High School. Partially studying engineering, the FHS had fascinated her. Using the school’s uncompetitive 1995 Reynard Champ Car as a blueprint, she created a new car from the ground up. Using cheaper aluminum over the titanium favored by most schools, the resulting car was heavier than most competitors, though some reworking of the internal structure kept the weight difference to less than half a ton. Some intricate tuning of their underpowered Cosworth DFV V8 and the addition of a supercharger turned the slightly overweight car into a winner. Oakwood High School not only won a race for the first time in their FHS program’s history, but also won the Division, State, and National championships with a dominance that would make Michael Schumacher green with envy.
What’s more, Oakwood’s total spending on the season was barely 15% that of the other schools.
Nonetheless, it seemed that FHS was doomed to die. Not wanting to change their programs, most of the remaining schools soldiered on with their old cars – running them until they were out of cars and then pulling out of the program. Whilst Gina’s new interior structure and cost-saving use of cheaper but heavier materials was embraced by many schools, too few had the budget to build completely new cars.
But in the deepest darkness, there always lies a light of hope. And for FHS, the name of that hope was Panoz. Using their own Champ Car chassis as the base design, they employed the redesigned structural setup and cheaper materials to make a manufactured chassis available to all FHS teams. With so many FHS programs, Panoz was unable to produce the chassis in large enough numbers. But by subcontracting to various companies in the states with FHS schools, the chassis quickly became available. The manufactured chassis provided yet another drop in costs, as well as a readily available chassis supply for all involved schools. Knowing the sensitive issue of money for these schools, the amount of money charged for the chassis does not make any money for Panoz or the companies they subcontract. All chassis purchased are an even sale for the companies involved – no loss, no gain.
The assistance of Panoz had not only solidified the foreseeable future of FHS, but had made the whole program throughout the nation much more stable. Teams financially weaker had chances to stand against more well-funded school districts. Sponsorships were more able to buy the chassis and equipment needed to run a full season. And though few would go on to become professional racers, hundreds of young people realized the talents they had buried within and went on to much great things.
By the 15th year of FHS’s existence, one rarely heard a peep out of anyone about it. All bans on FHS had been lifted. And while not every high school in the country was participating, the National Championship was running a stable 50-car grid.
After graduating High School, Gina Diggers had moved on to her archaeological studies. But FHS was always tugging at her mind. At the age of 18, she returned to FHS as the assistant coach of the Oakland High School Formula HS team.
It has now been 25 years since Gina Diggers first became involved with FHS. Now 36 years of age, she has helped lead her team to another 12 Division Championships, 5 State Championships, and 3 National Championships.
Yet, 3 years had passed since the team even scored a grand prix win. While the drivers of the past few years had often excelled on oval tracks, even winning all four oval races one year, they hadn’t even gotten a Top Ten in the road and street courses that made up ten of their Division’s 14 races.
And this year Gina had to select a new driver. The school was cutting budgets, and the sponsor money was drying up due to their lackluster performance recently. As a result, they could only afford to race one car this year. Gina’s decision for driver was a sensitive one this year. Her niece, Tiffany, had been wanting to try out for the team, but after wrecking FIVE of her Ginamobiles in a single day, Gina had quickly dismissed any notion of letting Tiffany race the car. Though she would definitely like Tiffany’s help on the technical end of things.
But as for the driver, fate was on Gina’s side this year. And it provided for her a Foreign Exchange student by the name of…
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(Posted Wed, 22 Mar 2006 18:43)
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