‘Racing the Sun’

On April 25, the Globe High School robotics team will race their electronic go-kart at the Musselman Honda Circuit in Tucson. The event, called “Racing the Sun,” is sponsored by SARSEF, a Tucson-based nonprofit on a mission to create Arizona's future critical thinkers and problem solvers through science and engineering. 

It hasn’t been easy.

“Ninety percent of robotics is the robot failing, but the 10% when it works is… exhilarating,” says Globe team captain Jonas Schwenk.

Ray Baker, the team’s coach and one of the high school’s career and technical education instructors, learned about the competition at a conference last summer. Given the diverse interests of his students, he thought it would be an "awesome opportunity.” 

Winners are chosen based on a combination of performance metrics — overall engineering, speed and endurance. As a sponsor, Resolution Copper makes it possible for the Globe team to participate by covering the cost of the go-kart, computer-aided design software, and the competition entry fees.

The team says they had been toying with ideas since October and got serious about two months ago. Beginning with a gas-fueled go-kart, the students pulled the gas engine out and rebuilt it to run on electronics.

“The hardest part is transferring your ideas into something that actually works,” Schwenk says.

In his second year as team captain, Schwenk helps manage the workshop, facilitates decision-making amongst the team and communicates with Baker about items the team needs or problems they need help solving. A National Merit Scholar, he’ll study robotics and autonomous systems at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus in the fall. He joined robotics his freshman year because he likes science and math and thinks robots are cool.

“Why not give it a shot?” he thought.

“It was a lot of fun. Very challenging, but very rewarding, and a lot less math than you’d think,” he says. “It‘s a lot of critical thinking and a lot of creativity.”

Vice captain Nicholas Enfield, 16, got involved with robotics because he likes building things. The go-kart race, he says, is different from other competitions that provide students with a kit.

“This challenge is a lot more free and we have to use a lot more creativity to figure out how to do it,” he explains, pointing out the three batteries set up in series, the translator that turns the regular voltage into information the motor can use, the breaker and two emergency shut off switches, in front and back.

Because the shaft spins so many revolutions per minute — 3,100 — any slack that's left in the drive chain will cause a bend and reduce speed, and cause slipping. The team’s first idea was trying to lift it up to reduce the slack. They found it just wasn’t feasible. 

Then Baker came up with this 3:00 a.m. idea: “What if we try sliding it backwards instead of up?”

A former IT director, Baker is in his third year as coach of the team. There are about 10 students active on the team project in class, and three to four students who commit time to it after school as well.

“The class really helps you learn these skills necessary for the team,” Enfield says. “The team is where you use those skills to build things.”

SARSEF also provides teams access to electrical engineers as mentors who can help troubleshoot their design via a video call or an in-person visit to the robotics workshop. 

When Globe’s team prototype finally took off, they made it around the track six times. 

“So it was all rattling, but it was going. It held together,” Baker says. “I don't think we could have been any happier if we won the Super Bowl.”

He credits Schwenk and Enfield for all their effort. They are quick to share the praise. Teammate Alexis Mull did a lot of the electrical work, and Michael Webb has focused on coding.

“He's done amazing this year,” Schwenk says. “This really helped us to get in a good autonomous mode, making us more competitive.”

In September, the team took top honors in the fourth annual Futureshaper Robotics Competition, hosted by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. Working with the kit provided, the team built robots that could pitch, field and hit home runs — their strongest entry.

Mid-year, they participated in the First Tech Challenge and qualified for the 2026 AIA Arizona VEX V5 Robotics High School State Championship held in March. 

There, “everything broke,” but the team chalked it up as a learning experience.

The go-kart batteries are now secured on a metal plate that has been cut and recut by machine, and then, as time ran out, by hand, to accommodate the electronic components.

“Iteration is our favorite word,” Baker says.

The team has not yet decided who will drive the go-kart on race day. 

Expect some trial and error.