Sacramento State’s Hornet Racing team hosted a day of formula fun in their first NorCal Shootout event at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA on Oct. 11-12, 2025.
The NorCal Shootout was a two-day event run by Formula Society of Automotive Engineers teams and sponsors, drawing in college racing teams from all over California and as far away as Oregon and Nevada.
Vehicles in the race were small, formula-style internal combustion or electric racing cars that students designed and manufactured themselves. Teams were not required to be part of the Formula SAE to participate.
There was a trophy and $300 prize for the fastest lap time, which was awarded to San Jose State Spartan Racing with a time of 4.55 seconds.
Around two-hundred students from at least eight different colleges came for the opportunity to take part in the weekend event, with some even setting up tents to sleep overnight at the track.
Third-year mechanical engineering student Celia Lenear explained why this event was so important for colleges to participate in and give their weekend solely to racing.
“Outside of the NorCal Shootout competition, most college racing teams do not have opportunities to race their cars before heading to Michigan for the Formula SAE competition in the spring,” Linear said.
The Formula SAE hosts the largest competition in North America once a year for electric and internal combustion teams, at the Michigan International Speedway. This event is considered the most prestigious racing competition for college students globally, focusing on build, design and racing ability of their vehicle.
Many college racing teams felt it crucial to come to an event hosted by the Hornet Racing team. Students have a pragmatic place to practice their race cars and learn more about who their competition will be when they go to the Formula SAE Competition next year.
Mechanical engineering professor and faculty adviser for the Hornet Racing team, Christopher Savarino, said he feels that this event was extremely beneficial for their racing team that otherwise would not have anywhere legal to practice before the big race in Michigan.
“You have to know your car forward and backwards, and trying your car out on a course like this is huge before the big competition in Michigan in the spring,” Savarino said.
Brenner Krogh, who is on the Formula Slug racing team for UC Santa Cruz, said he was grateful their team had a chance to race, even though their car took a turn for the worse after a combination of issues destroyed their inner hub on a rear wheel.
“It’s very beneficial that it happened now,” Krogh said, “Because if we had raced our car like this in Michigan, it would not have looked good for us.”
Lenear explained the events like the NorCal Shootout are not exclusive to students studying engineering.
“Most teams consist of computer, electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineers but the door is open to all college students no matter what their major is,” Lenear said.
This is true for third-year computer science major Aaliyah Smallwood, who said she had nothing to do with cars before joining.
“When they say they are open to all levels and majors, it’s true,” Smallwood said. “I didn’t know how an engine worked, and they slowly explained it and mapped it out.”
Smallwood said she thought it would be intimidating to join such a large club on campus with no prior experience, but she found it to be the opposite experience and has made many friends since joining.
Second-year business marketing major Emily Cotter said that watching her dad fix his car and her bike when she was younger piqued her interest in the sport.
“It’s a lot of fun seeing the cars race here today and seeing all the teams together and repairing the car to improve it,” Cotter said.
Emily’s father Mark Cotter came with their dog Mako in support of his daughter and the team for the weekend event.
“My daughter and I had done a track day with the Audi Club together, and my daughter was hooked after that,” Mark Cotter said “So when she was looking to make some friends on campus, this felt like the right club to join.”
Kyle Clemons, a driver for the Hornet Racing team’s car during the event, said he was nervous while waiting in the racecar to go. That was until he got the green light and left his nerves behind to focus on the track.
“Most people don’t understand how low to the ground you are looking, and the ground just comes at you so fast you can only look at what’s coming up next,” Clemons said. “And before you know it, you’ve done a lap or two, and you’re done. It’s a lot of fun.”
Fourth-year electrical engineering major and president of the Hornet Racing team, Nico Pfeifer, said he felt having the team host the event at Thunderhill was a huge success.
“Not only were we able to get valuable data for how to improve our own car going forward,” Pfeifer said, “but because we hosted the event, it will give us honorable recognition from the other teams going forward.”
