The Nevada Wolfpack Racing Team, the University of Nevada, Reno’s gas powered off road
baja race team, consists of 20 members.
The team has months to construct a buggy that they race in competitions during the summer.
They compete against other colleges internationally and nationally, in a different location every
year.
“The main stress is for it to pass tech, it’s all thoughts of ‘please pass tech’ while they are
checking it within the 138 page rule book right before competition starts,” President Ian Scoggin
said. “Along with hoping that the car doesn’t break on the first try because then all of our work
leading up to that point feels pointless.”
Right before competition starts the buggy has to go through tech, where the officials will go
through their rule book to make sure that the buggy is following all of the protocols in place.
There are many different key aspects that go into the building process. According to the team’s
website, unrbaja.com, they have 2 buggies ‘Crusty’ and ‘Leg Cramps’ that will be used for
competitions. ‘Leg Cramps’ was the first car used at competition in Rochester, New York in
2019. While ‘Crusty’ is the buggy that is currently in the process of being rebuilt now for their
upcoming competition in Portland, Oregon. ‘Crusty’ also competed in Rochester summer of
2022..
Consisting of mainly engineering majors, the racing team builds the entire buggy to race in
competitions. Taking up to a year to come up with ideas, construct the ideas, ensure they pass
tech and compete.
“Probably the most stressful part of being on the team is the time management that comes with
it, and the possibility of things breaking throughout the buildout process,” Vice President and
Chief Engineer Frankie Attard said. “Nothing goes right the first time around so far we’ve had
the brakes break twice, the shifter acting weird, the entire left side of the vehicle breaking on our
first run, and trying to figure out the design of a new frame around the newer upgrades of the
vehicle while making sure it stays within the ranges of tech.”
The building process starts off with a 3D model then the team can begin building parts and
modeling them. Manufacturing has to occur before the production of the buggy. It takes lots of
time, patience and determination. Despite the huge stressors throughout the build process, the team is able to create strong
bonds with one another. Spending countless hours together in their lounge, building in the shop,
and going on trips with one another. The bonds of this team can be seen as life long, creating some of the best memories together.
“We are all really close good friends who can help one another in a time of need, even just
outside of working on the club car,” Treasurer Ben Purse said. “The times where we’ve all gone
to Moon Rocks to drive the buggies around to mess around and team bond just for a couple
days are some of the best memories I have with the team. Or recently with the snow driving the
buggies around in the icy parking lot just for fun. ”
The racing team with their buggy ‘Crusty’ at the latest competition in Rochester, New York this
past summer. Photo by Frankie Attard.
Although the team cannot handle any more members with the small budget they are given, they
would appreciate support from students at the University.
“We just need more people to know about the team so we can get more money but our hopes
are with more people hearing about us and showing support we could get more funding allowing
us to have more people come to competitions,” Attard said. “Our shop is super small which
means we need a smaller team and allows for nobody to lose interest or underwhelm anyone.”
Frankie Attard – 650-483-1256 / [email protected]
Ben Purse – 408-601-8288 / [email protected]
Ian Scoggin – 775-848-4672 / [email protected]
UNR Wolfpack Racing Team Website / https://192.168.20.58/home