As the semester progresses for Clemson Baja SAE, the team is working towards building its newest vehicle for competition later this year. However, the new vehicle is not the only thing the organization is constructing this semester.
Clemson Baja SAE was founded in 1978 and is a student-run engineering organization that designs and builds custom off-road vehicles to compete in the national Baja SAE Collegiate Design Series. The organization had become dormant following the COVID-19 pandemic, but a group of eight dedicated students were determined to bring the organization back to life in 2023.
Clemson Baja SAE racing on dirt track
Since its revival, Baja has utilized a test track in the woods behind their race shop to ensure their student-built vehicles were primed and ready to compete. Recently, though, the track was cleared and logged, completely destroying the course and making it unusable for the race team. The occurrence left Baja without a way to test their vehicles, meaning they would be unable to be sure that there were no mechanical or safety defects before traveling for competitions. That’s when Blanchard CAT and the Department of Construction Science and Management stepped in.
“This semester, we are partnering with the Construction Science department,” Tyler Odgers, president of Baja SAE, said in an interview. “Right now, they have drone scanned the entire block and they’re designing a track on their computers.”
Odgers added that Blanchard CAT has donated equipment for the construction of the track, something that would have been unfeasible for the team to afford. Just as it does for many professional race teams, funding for Clemson Baja often comes at a premium. With the need for funding, the organization cannot focus solely on engineering and manufacturing their vehicles. Odgers says that the team has begun developing a large business team in order to afford those aforementioned costs.
Team picture with Clemson Baja SAE car
“Obviously, we need funding, right?” Odgers said. “We have a team that is essentially putting together a packet presentation that we can just go out and give to businesses. There’s a very big communications, marketing type of thing trying to get our name out there.”
Odgers went on to say that he sees opportunities for practically any major, and that “there are very few majors that I think can’t do something with us.” As the team continues to prepare for competition and the construction of its new race vehicle and test track, emphasis will still remain on the business and communications side of the organization. Any students interested in joining Clemson Baja SAE can find them on TigerQuest or go to https://cecas.clemson.edu/bajasae/join/
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season kicked off in Daytona this past weekend, with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 taking place on Sunday. Among the field of 41 teams was one former Clemson Tiger pursuing a third consecutive Daytona 500 victory.
Landon Walker posing next to the Daytona 500 Harley J. Earle trophy
Landon Walker was an offensive tackle for the Tigers from 2008 until 2011 and was part of the 2010 squad that secured Dabo Swinney’s first ACC championship. Throughout his career, Walker played a total of 3,131 snaps, a record at the time, and now sits fifth on the all-time list of Clemson players. Throughout his life, Walker bled Clemson orange, as his father, Gary, was a former Clemson Tiger and part of the 1981 team that won Clemson its first National Championship.
When Walker graduated from Clemson in 2012, he had his sights set on the National Football League and intended to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. However, a failed physical, uncovering arthritis in his knee, brought his plans to a screeching halt. Walker eventually realized his days of playing football were behind him, but still, he refused to confine himself to a typical desk job. That’s when he received a phone call from Hendrick Motorsports.
Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR’s most successful race team, with 320 race wins and 15 championships. Walker wasn’t being called to drive a race car – he was being asked to join the pit crew.
In a 2023 interview with The Tiger, Walker said that he was unsure of what to expect when he showed up to the team’s campus in Concord, North Carolina.
“I really had kind of a very mild understanding of what it would be and kind of got into it with the right people at the right time,” Walker said.
Walker learned quickly that the training and preparation for pit crew members was not much different than what he had done his whole life while playing football. As he began his tryouts, he was fully prepared for the tests they threw his way.
“They were doing combines, which you do in football, and testing your running skills and your power skills. Really just an overall test to see how athletic you were.”
Landon Walker and the pit crew celebrating William Byron’s Daytona 500 win
After Walker completed his tryouts, the team decided they liked what they were seeing and offered him a spot on the pit crew as a fueler. He accepted the offer and joined the team in September 2012, and he has been there ever since. Walker has achieved several feats during his 13 years with Hendrick Motorsports. For many years, though, there was one that seemed to slip away from him time and time again: The Daytona 500.
That changed in 2023, when his driver, William Byron, won that year’s running of The Great American Race. A year later, Byron would win the race once again, becoming just the fifth to win the race in back-to-back years.
Landon Walker and William Byron embracing after a Daytona 500 win
“That’s a big win that everybody wants, to put that ring on your finger,” Walker said. “It’s one of the most coveted wins in our sport, kind of our Super Bowl.”
No driver has ever won the race in three consecutive years. Alas, that record still holds after this past weekend, as Byron was unable to defend his crown once more. Still, after over a decade in the sport without a win in the sport’s most coveted race, Walker cherishes the opportunity to have been part of the race-winning team twice over.
As NASCAR revs into high gear and kicks off the 2026 season, Walker hopes to check one last box on his bucket list: becoming a NASCAR champion. There might be nine months until then, but come this November, it’s entirely possible this former Tiger might achieve just that.
Clemson Tiger Racing team with their car in front of ICAR
On January 24, the American motorsports season officially kicked off with the running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. Among the attendees at the event was Tyson Tucker, team principal of Clemson Tiger Racing (CTR).
CTR is Clemson’s student-run endurance motorsport team, giving students of all majors and backgrounds a chance to work on a race car, and even potentially drive one. Tucker recently sat down for an interview with the Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute to explain the history of the organization and give insight into what this semester looks like for the team.
CTR was founded in 2023 and has continued to grow ever since. Over the previous two years, CTR has participated in track days, which are solo test runs with no real competition, to build up to their goal of endurance racing. This month, that goal comes to fruition.
“This February will be our first ever wheel-to-wheel race,” Tucker said. “That’s kind of our biggest thing for this semester. We’ve been promising this is the point we want to get to, and now we’re actually able to do that, which is really awesome.”
CTR car at the First Friday parade
The event will take place on February 28 at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina. The journey to the track has not been easy, though; as anyone familiar with the racing scene would attest to, entry into motorsports can be a costly endeavor. For that reason, teams in all facets of racing rely on sponsorship to fund their programs, and CTR is no different.
Most recently, CTR signed its newest sponsorship with Celsius to become the official energy drink of the team. Tucker explained that the continued growth of the organization is what has allowed CTR to sign deals such as this one. When he first joined the team, Tucker said there were maybe 25-30 members. As of the Spring semester, CTR is home to 100-plus students.
“It has grown immensely over the last couple of semesters, which is amazing,” Tucker added. “It’s allowed us to do a lot of really cool things, and with some of these new members we’re bringing, we’re able to reach more sponsors.”
Pictured left-to-right: Samuel Desantis, Noah Miller, Matthew Flaim, Tyson Tuckerin front of their car
As the organization has grown, students with prior racing experience have been able to help prepare the team for the upcoming event. From karting to Spec Miata, there are several team members with a background in racing who hope to have the team set up for success later this month.
In addition to drivers with on-track experience, CTR is also partnered with the Collegiate Racing Series (CRS), which was co-founded by Jack Hobbs, a recent Clemson graduate and founding member of Clemson Tiger Racing. CRS partners with organizations from schools across the country, providing students with educational tools to learn about race craft, fundraising and managing a race team. Along with these resources, CRS also leases Miata race cars to student organizations to assist them in getting their program started.
With the chance to earn hands-on experience with a race team and connections to a large network within the industry through the Collegiate Racing Series, Tucker says CTR can provide amazing opportunities for students looking to find their way into motorsports. Students interested in joining or learning more about Clemson Tiger Racing can find more information on TigerQuest, or at clemsontigerracing.com.
Peter Gaspich is a current Automotive Engineering student graduating in May 2026. He received the Markvan Bellamy Brooks Endowed Scholarship in 2024. He is currently the Suspension Division Lead for Clemson Formula SAE, leading a team of student engineers, and over the summer he was a General Motors Motorship Tires R&D Intern in Concord, North Carolina.
How have you utilized your major/concentration in sports to help you throughout internships?
Most of the skills I use today were gained from my experience as the Suspension Lead for Clemson Formula SAE. My involvement gave me valuable experience in vehicle dynamics, simulation, team management, data analysis, vehicle tuning, and so much more. Almost every skill I apply at work was gained from my experience on the team. I also have the Department of Automotive Engineering to thank to help give me the connections and interpersonal skills needed to excel in the industry.
What was your internship and where were you located?
The track in Iowa
Over the summer I was a Motorsports Tire R&D Intern at General Motors. My role involved testing, modeling, and simulating tire performance to better predict and optimize vehicle performance going into the race weekend. GM Motorsports has afforded me a unique opportunity to work in a variety of series, including NASCAR, Cadillac LMDh in IMSA/WEC, and even the brand new TWG-Cadillac F1 Team!
What advice would you give to future Brooks Scholars as they approach post-grad?
While I haven’t graduated, I would encourage anyone pursuing a career in motorsports to never be intimidated and remain dedicated to their passion. The most important factor in my success wasn’t my GPA or my proficiency in mathematics, physics, dynamics, or any other schoolwork, it was my dedication to my passion and my willingness to sacrifice my time to participate in a hands-on motorsports experience, such as Formula SAE. A crucial skill in any engineering field is knowing how to apply your knowledge, which from my experience, is a skill that cannot be learned within the limits of the classroom.
Natalie Bell racing in a Clemson Sports Car auto-crossing event.
Bell as a young child.
I grew up surrounded by my dad’s love of cars, specifically BMWs. He even bought me my own BMW to push around the house, and I spent Sundays with him watching F1 races in my lucky checkered flag socks, cheering on Kimi Raikkonen. I spent hours in the garage while he worked on his autocross car, so much so that when I was three, I begged him for my mechanic’s creeper to see what he was doing.
My dad was constantly fixing up his car for autocross- a racing event where drivers race one at a time through a cone-lined course. The objective is speed and agility, as hitting a cone results in a time penalty. The event organizers calculate all the times, and drivers can see where their times compare to their peers. As I watched him draw out autocross courses for our local Baltimore autocross group, I told him that I couldn’t wait to turn thirteen so that I could ride in the car with him as he raced.
Bell’s dad ready to compete in 24 hours of Lemon.
That dream would end up on pause for a while. My dad sold his tan BMW to go back to school and didn’t race for a decade. Eventually, my dad stumbled upon 24 Hours of Lemons, which is probably the weirdest racing event you could ever partake in. 24 Hours of Lemons is a riff off of 24 Hours of Lemans, a prestigious professional racing event. However, Lemons is not prestigious and is not 24 hours long.
Lemons is a two-day endurance event with various locations across the country where drivers and mechanics give old “lemons” of cars new lives as race cars. Each team must buy a car for $500 and then outfit it with a roll cage and additional safety features. My dad gathered a team of his coworkers to form Team Race Team, fixed up a BMW 318ti that hadn’t run in 10 years, and turned it into Oscar the Grouch. Or Otto, because he’s German.
Bell and Father preparing to race.
Watching my dad race again renewed my interest in racing. Eventually, I want to race alongside my dad in 24 Hours of Lemons, and autocrossing is one of the first steps. I have autocrossed as a part of Clemson Sports Car Club for the past two semesters, and I plan to continue to autocross post-grad. I love the sport of constantly trying to beat my own time while simultaneously trying to stay near my dad’s time (which is much faster than mine.)
It’s so rewarding to participate in autocross with my dad and finally fulfill my childhood dream of racing with him. He has taught me not to give up on my passions- sometimes, they take time.
A photo from clemsonfae.com featuring a former student-designed car
As the spring semester continues to pick up, so do the actions of the students of Clemson Formula SAE (CUFSAE), who are preparing for important events in April and May.
CUFSAE is a student race team that focuses on design, fabrication and competition of an open-wheeled, formula style race car. The team competes in the Society of Automotive Engineers student design competition.
In addition to the formulation of a race car, students have to work in all other facets of the racing business, including team management, public relations and sponsor procurement. The Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute is proud to sponsor CUFSAE for another year.
For Clemson’s team, their sights are on the Michigan FSAE Competition in May for the planning and the creation of the racecar, called Tiger 25, where they will race at the Michigan International Speedway.
Student members of CUFSAE can join five different divisions: aerodynamics, business, chassis, electrical, powertrain and suspension.
Clemson Formula SAE team, Fall 2024.
The team lead of the group is Grant Harley, who is studying Electrical and Computer Engineering in his first year of graduate school at Clemson. One of Harley’s main focuses is to keep the team focused on the design timeline for the car. In doing so, he sets weekly meetings with the leadership team and remains in contact with the Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty advisor.
“The biggest thing I have to do before our car release is make sure the car is following the necessary production timeline and keeping the entire team on the same page about what needs to be done and when it needs to be done,” Harley said.
A Charleston native, Harley is also a part of the electrical team, where he helps design the brake system plausibility device (BSPD) – a safety component that shuts the car off if the throttle position or brake pressure stop reading.
“This helps protect the driver in the case of a malfunction in the car and protects the car from dangerous operating procedures,” Harley said.
Cameron Boerst, Vehicle Operations Manager.
Harley works closely with Vehicle Operations Manager, Cameron Boerst, a Mechanical Engineering junior with an Electrical Engineering minor. Boerst’s job focuses on test-day operations, planning when the car will run, whether on or off campus.
“This requires communication and planning between divisions to make sure the rear and front wings are ready, the electronics are working, the powertrain is running, and the suspension is tuned for a day of running,” Boerst said.
Another Charleston native, Boerst is also designing the drivetrain of the car, which is what he looks forward to the most out of this project.
“The drivetrain is responsible for delivering power from the engine to the hubs of the rear wheels,” Boerst explained. “This includes a lot of CAD modeling in SolidWorks paired with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on the forces experienced by the drivetrain.”
Peter Gaspich, Brooks Scholar
No matter how strong the engine may be, suspension is incredibly important to the car’s success. This is led by fellow junior mechanical engineer and recent Brooks Scholar, Peter Gaspich, an inaugural member of the new class of automotive engineers at Clemson. Gaspich and his team focus on manufacturing and testing of the car’s suspension system ahead of the May event.
“In other words, my goal is to ensure that the driver can get optimal performance from the tires and maximize grip throughout each lap, as maintaining grip to the road is the most essential part of a fast lap time,” Gaspich said. “No matter how powerful the engine is, it won’t be going anywhere very fast if it’s just spinning tires.”
The Greenville native also has one of the most important tasks on race day: constantly studying the car’s responses and making needed changes to the car to help the driver with the ride.
At this point in the semester, the suspension team is working on manufacturing all of the suspension parts, something that Gaspich heavily takes part in.
“This includes outlining manufacturing plans, training new members on shop equipment, coordinating with sponsors to outsource the manufacturing of more complex components and spending late nights at the shop with my closest friends!” he said.
The Tiger 24 racing in the Pittsburgh Shootout
With a project as big as designing and building a formula race car, it’s the little steps that count. For Harley, he is most looking forward to seeing the car run on its own for the first time.
“I am most looking forward to the first time the car runs under its own power,” he said. “It’s an extremely fulfilling moment watching this project that you’ve spent almost a year designing and building culminate into this one moment.”
Every week means the team is one step closer to the first race. With March beginning, it’s crunch time for CUFSAE. The team hopes to see successes similar to, or greater than, last year’s Tiger 24 design.
Clemson Formula SAE team member working on the Tiger 25
From Gaspich’s perspective, as well as many others on the team, the opportunity to work on an ongoing project to present it in front of 119 other schools is something that the classroom doesn’t provide.
“I cannot express enough how important being involved in Formula SAE is to anyone interested in a career in motorsports, or even engineering in-general, as engineering is so much more than what you learn in the classroom,” Gaspich said.
Whether participating as a passion project or looking for experience for a future job in the motorsports industry, all eyes look to May where Tiger 25 will be racing on asphalt that has hosted NASCAR and IndyCar events.
