POWERGRAMS

6 Barber Motorsports was abuzz with the whir of electric vehicles as a dozen teams participated in Electrathon Alabama's third annual competition at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds April 7. The racing pool included high school, college and professional teams from Alabama and neighboring states. The students assembled, charged and raced their vehicles. After participants completed registration, they lined up for the first round of competition featuring only high school teams. After an hour of racing on a closed-loop track, Decatur High School emerged in first place. Mary G. Montgomery High School of Semmes, near Mobile, was a close second in the competition. "It was an adrenaline rush, even before the race began," said Noah Dryton, high school driver for the Mary Montgomery team. "It doesn't matter if you're traveling 3 miles an hour on that track, you just keep telling yourself, 'I'm going to win.'" "Seeing that this was my first time driving a three-wheeled car around an Indy track, I think that was pretty good. I liked it," Mary Montgomery driver Matthew Johnson said with a smile. Both Johnson and Dryton said despite falling just short of victory, they enjoyed their experiences at Barber's. Rounding out the competition, the Hewitt-Trussville boys tied with the Hewitt-Trussville girls' team for third place. After breaking for lunch and re- charging their batteries, drivers and their teams came back for a second round of racing, which included college and professional teams. The University of Alabama at Birmingham was runner-up to Tiger Racing, a professional group that completed the most laps around the track. UAB's driver completed 17 laps and Tiger Racing had 19 laps for the win. When Electrathon Alabama came to Barber's in 2013 only three high schools and one college team raced. This year's lineup included students from Calera, Decatur, Hewitt-Trussville, Parker and Sweet Water high schools. "Alabama Power is not only proud to be a supporter of Electrathon, but we are excited that this event keeps growing each year," said Robin White, Energy Sales and Efficiency Program manager. "It's pretty incredible to think about how these students will benefit by simply being exposed to electric vehicle transportation technology at such an early age." Alabama Power partnered with Zoom Motorsports and Skilled Knowledgeable Youth (SKY) to bring Electrathon to Barber Motorsports. Electrathon races are held across the country. For a schedule of events and more information, go to www. electrathonamerica.org. By Keisa Sharpe Third Electrathon biggest race yet 100% CONNECTED High school, college and professional teams took part in event at Barber Motorsports Park. Decatur High School won its competition, while UAB was runner-up to pro Tiger Racing. Photos by Christopher Jones

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