December Blog Post

 Racer prepares his 5 second drag bike to race risking putting himself on the ground at over 150 mph

 Mike Garrett stages and launches to make one of the fastest passes during that thursday night thunder.

Speed Hunter's Mike Garrett first generation blown Nova makes a 5.61 pass that is great for its gasser roots when competitors are doing 7 seconds and higher.

Essential Question

1. Essential Question

"I reviewed the rule of 3 for an EQ."

2. Review the following EQ's (State if each meats the rule of three and why or why not)

• What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss? (Does not provide a good framework for more studies)
• What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation? (Works because has different points to be covered in research) 
• What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer? ( Does not allow for further research investigation by saying most it asks for only one answer)
• How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain? (Does not allow for depth in research is asking for only one answer)

3. What is the best way to build and race a drag racing car, that can consistently win races?

       

Lesson 1 Refection

1. Positive Statement 
What were you most proud of in your lesson 1 presentation and why?

I am most proud of my overall skills to explain things relatively aren't easy to comprehend. Usually Drag Racing is something relatively hard to understand since it goes against everything most people already know about cars, but from the feed back I received people said they had a good idea of what I was explaining, and the fact I used no pictures or video to explain makes it that much better. It also nice to hear people say that they are exited for my next presentations.

2. Questions to Consider
a) What assessment would you give yourself on lesson 1 presentation (self-assessment)?

AP+

b) Explain why using lesson 1 component contract. 

I think I deserve an AP+ because regarding body language and volume I think I did great but I had trouble with sources since lots of the information is just basic car knowledge that I didn't really get from anywhere I didn't use sources as I should have, I know my information is true but the audience doesn't but I will work to improve that for my next presentation.
3. What worked for you in your lesson 1?

I think the flow of the overall presentation did well and I think I covered enough to where my audience has a basic understanding of the topic but still has a lot to learn regarding details. I also think i covered enough to where the audience is not overwhelmed as i have overwhelmed people with my topic.

4.(what didn't work?) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your lesson?

I think I should have had a little bit more time with timing as I finished what I need to say but I thought i hadn't made time so i continued talking when i should have finished. I also might try using sources in my presentation to keep it creditable, and work on making it a little more interesting for the audience with visuals.

October NMCA

This month i went to NMCA Flowmaster street car nationals with my mentor. This event was huge with hundreds of racers from all over the country. I was fortunate to learn a lot about racing, when one of my mentor's close friends car went out on test and tune day and I learned the dark side of racing where its not always fun and sometimes stuff goes wrong.

I also learned the reason behind the safety rules and all the different regulations. On saturday the 25th their was three separate crashes on the track each person was fine, although their cars weren't. It really showed safety is also a really big part of racing and it should be the top priority even before going fast.

Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ?
2.What is a possible answer to your working EQ?

EQ: What is the best way to build and race a drag racing car, that can consistently win races?

• You should constantly check your car and improve on it, make sure every part is in good working shape and never run the with any mechanical issues.
• Sharpen reaction skills at the line by practicing and make sure you know the car well.

3.What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with your answer to your working EQ?

The biggest helpful source to me has been the book "The Fast Lane" by The National Hot Rod Association or the NHRA

4. Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

My mentor is a very experienced drag racer that has been involved in many competitions, although he does not do this for a living he has decades of experience in all aspects of drag racing. It relates to my EQ because i learn skills of maintaining and preparing a drag car, i also learn some aspect of driving the car.

Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for 30 hours.

My dad is a transmission mechanic and usually gets anywhere from 2 to 3 transmissions a month to rebuild from home. I usually am with him helping by handing tools and grabbing parts but as a more improvement i can get more hands on, he has gave me options to let me do the work while he attempts to help so id think this is a great way to learn a little more. My dad also has experience rebuilding engines and it would also be a good idea to get into doing some of that work.

2. Discus how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence. 

The expectation of 30 hours is not to big of a task i can probably complete them in one transmission rebuild since its very time consuming but as a plus id probably do a few more of these hours to get the hang of how stuff works and observe different cars.

3. And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

Rebuilding transmissions, and engines  would help to better explore my topic because it will help me better understand the basics of an engine and transmission. It will also help because a hands on learning works best with me, its one thing to read a manual but its another to physically do something.

History & More Beautiful Cars

This month has been great, iv'e learned a lot about my topic from a few research articles and I learned much of the history of drag racing from an NHRA published book. My mentor also gave the schedule of when were going to go to events and when were preparing for them.

Also September 19-21 i attended an amazing car show in my home city Ontario. It is the route 66 California Cruisin Reunion which is one of the biggest and most known car show in southern California.  I got to see lots of great drag cars as well as regular old cars. The show really was eye opening and shows that the type of work going into a lot of these old cars is unheard of but the end result is amazing. It also helped see the amount of people around still with a love for cars that is getting lost in young people these days. Overall this month pushed my love for cars just a little more than before and with NHRA finals coming up i know the up and coming months will only continue to get better.

Second Interview Preperation

1.Who is your mentor where do they work?

My mentor is Greg Peterson and he has his own pipping business. Greg has experience in the drag racing environment as an enthusiast  but occasionally competes for fun. He doesn't live off  drag racing but its a huge part of what he does and loves.

2. What five questions will you ask them about your background?

• How did you originally get into drag racing and how long ago was that?
• What was your biggest accomplishment regarding drag racing? What helped you do it? what held you back?
• What is one of the most valuable lessons you learned from drag racing?
• What area of drag racing do you consider yourself most experienced in? Why?
• How is or has drag racing affected your life over the years? explain why?

Mentorship Reflection

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?  If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

It wasn't to difficult to find my mentor Originally I contemplated many other topics and didn't really have any real success finding a mentor. It wasn't till late summer that i realized I really like performance cars and much more driving them and my current boss drag races on the side competitively and for fun and when i asked him to be my mentor he became very exited.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

Out of the many articles I have read their has been one that has been the biggest help to open up opportunities for more research. The article is by website named popular mechanics and it basically briefly explained the different parts in a top fuel racer, for example it went into the science of the fuel used and how it works and although installing the same system in a amateur car may be to expensive it is good to know the different options a driver has. It helped because it really explained in a two page article how science and physics are used and their is much more that meets the eye in the simple 4 wheeled beasts.

Beautiful Cars

Since I just started my senior project I don't have much to say since i still have not spent as much time as I would like working on my mentorship hours; Although I can say I haven't learned every little thing about Drag Racing yet I have experienced a new feeling i cant explain. When arriving to a drag strip the feeling you get inside to see hundreds if people that love to do the same thing you do makes for a special connection. At the track everyone is there to help and theirs always people that walk up and just want to talk about your car with you and other times you walk up to others. The feeling is different than anything else iv'e experienced and the amount of cars that show up is crazy all types of people from the guy that made his car with a 10 thousand dollar budget and the person that spent 1 million dollars and is still planning to spend more. A drag track really turns me into a kid in a candy store (with no money). Below are some drag cars so you can see a little taste of what I see.

Interview Preperation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

I plan to interview my mentor Greg Peterson for my first interview because i know him well and he is the person to introduce me to the Drag racing. It would be a good place to start because of his knowledge and past history and i could really learn lots of tricks and tips from him.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. what additional 5 questions do you plan to ask?

I plan to ask very conversation starting questions like, How did you start drag racing originally? What caused you to like racing so much and invest so much money? If you could change something or an experience you had in the past with drag racing what would it be? What do you love most about drag racing and why? What goes on in your mind during every pass? Why?

Topic Choice and Working EQ

1. Drag Racing

2. How can a drag race driver best improve his chances of winning the race?

Summer Mentorship Hours

1. Mentorship log of hours:

- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZYCvvpnQmdYu3fdvLw1Aj2wRPZV9DS40-u4rmJStngs/edit#gid=0
       
2.What is the contact name and number of where you volunteered?

- Greg Peterson (909) 208-7742

3.What questions were raised because of the 10 hour experience?

 - Do i really think about dedicating my life to working on cars?
 - What probabilities are their that i can end up successful in life with this career?
 - Out of the thousands of different job opportunities what would I like to join the most?

4. What is the most important thing you gained about this experience? Why?

 - The most important thing i gained about this experience was the amount of hours and effort involved in making a car work all together. It also gave me a sense of actual work as i am used to only working on my own cars and not keeping track of hours and money invested as i did during the completion of my 10 hours. It was important because it gave me a feel of the so called adult life and what it has in store for the future.

5.What is your senior topic going to be? How did what you do help you choose a topic? Please explain.

- My senior topic is performance mechanic and i decided i wanted to do performance mechanic a early into summer because growing up i've always had the passion for cars and from the first time I helped my mentor work on his car i knew that what i wanted. It helped me decide because at first i thought about doing normal topics like marketing and business but from early into research i decided I really wanted to be somewhere in the car industry and i really tried my best to have automotive engineering as my topic but when i couldn't find a mentor i knew the closest thing would be what i chose,  Performance Mechanic

BLOG #1  

1. Over the two weeks of presentations i saw ski patrol, soccer training, soccer, bodybuilding, dentistry, boxing, coaching soccer, photography studio, auto mechanic, STEM-involvement K-12, electrical engineering, soccer, advertising, firefighting, automotive repair, and fire protection.
2. A few questions i had about some presentations were if the presentations really need to be so much lecture because most presentations if not all were boring at times and i think they could have done more to make their presentations more interactive. One thing i would like to suggest is perhaps making props mandatory to bring because just but what i observed the students with props that they showcased did better than the ones that didn't.
3. I feel that the most important part of the presentations is that the person enjoys their topic because when students got up and talked about something they love, it would show the presentation was likely and it even got me exited about their topics at times.
4. I am considering many topics performance mechanic, auto mechanic, real estate, or business administration. I am already leaning more towards the mechanic topics since my dad is a mechanic and i know lots of mechanics. Out of the topics i am thinking about the mechanics ones are really something id enjoy since cars are really my passion.
5. For summer mentorship i most likely will go in a shop to do basic mechanics either with my dad or a friend of my dad's. Their is also other auto parts stores and body shops I can potentially mentor at so i think it is more about deciding what branch of mechanics i would most enjoy going into.