STEAM Point Racing
Where science and racing meet. We're turning high-performance motorsports into a real-world laboratory, breaking down friction, force, airflow, motion and more!
The Science
We're connecting science and racing! There's a link to YouTube and a blog post under each topic below, so you can learn about science your way!
The Racing
We're a grassroots motorcycle road racing team, with decades of racing experience. The bike is a 2004 Yamaha R6 in a mostly stock configuration.The focus is endurance racing, where the races last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours.(Tentitive) 2026 Schedule:April 11 - ASRA 2 hour race
Carolina Motorsports ParkJuly 11 - WERA 4 hour race
Roebling Road RacewayAug 9 - N2 series 6 hour race
Virginia International RacewaySept 12 - ASRA 2 hour race
Blackhawk FarmsOct 23 - WERA 4 hour race
Barber Motorsports Park
Energy in Motion
You’ve heard me say “The faster you go, the louder the science.” What does that actually mean? Let me explain.KE = ½ mv²This is kinetic energy. Kinetic energy equals one-half mass times velocity squared. Mass and weight aren’t exactly the same but for the forces involved in racing here on earth, we can use them the same way. Mass is actually the volume of stuff that you’re made of, where weight is how hard gravity is pulling on that stuff. Your mass is the same whether you’re on the earth or moon, but your weight is very different.Velocity isn’t just how fast you’re going, it’s also in what direction. You could be walking 4mph north then turn and walk 4mph east. Your speed stayed the same but your velocity changed, because your direction changed.Now let’s go back to our kinetic energy equation, remember how velocity is squared? That part matters. Double your speed, and your energy goes up four times. That’s four times more energy your tires and brakes have to deal with. Let's say your speed goes up 3x, maybe from 50mph to 150. Now your kinetic energy is going up 9x!When grip stays the same, stopping distance follows that energy. More energy in the bike means it takes more distance to get the energy back out. So doubling speed roughly means four times the braking distance. It’s not courage—it’s math. Air works the same way.Fdrag = ½ p u2 cdrag AThe force from air resistance depends on velocity squared too. Let’s put that formula into words.Force(drag) = ½ (air density)(velocity)²(coefficient of drag)(frontal area)When you double your speed, the density of the air, shape and size of the bike all stay the same—but since velocity is squared here too, the air pushes back four times harder. To beat that air, you need power. Power equals force times speed.Power = Force x velocityThe force of drag goes up with velocity squared, then you multiply by velocity again so power needed goes up with speed cubed. Double the speed, you’ll need about 8x the power. Triple your speed, you'd need 27x the power! At low speed power helps you accelerate but once you’re going fast, most of the power you're using is so you don’t slow down.Distance = speed x timeEven mistakes scale with speed. Distance traveled is just speed times time. Take a reaction time that's 0.1 second too slow , and you might have missed a braking point or apex by a few feet. Same reaction time at double the speed, doubles the distance—all while having four times the energy.So at low speeds, all of the grip, power, and science is still there, but it's quiet. They all go up with speed, and that's what we mean by the faster you go, the louder the science.
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