“I don’t know anything about cars, can I still join?”

Yes, everyone at Sacramento State University is welcome to join the team.  This includes non-engineering majors, people with little or no knowledge and experience with cars.  As long as you have either a passion or an interest in Hornet Racing, then you will be able to join and have fun with the team.  So come and sign up as soon as you can!

“Can I drive it?”

Perhaps the most asked question we always get at every event.  Generally speaking we do not allow people outside the team to drive the car.  This is largely due to safety.  We are highly confident in our design and manufacturing; however, there is always a possibility of random issues arising.  Not only that, this is a race car!  Make a wrong move and the car could malfunction, break something, or worse, cause an accident.  Each person on the team who had a part to play in making this car understand what the car is capable of, what it can and cannot do, and the potential risks all race cars have.  Each year, all students who actively participate in the club are offered the chance to drive the car for fun, practice, and testing.  Drivers fill out an application for competition are chosen based on their team contribution, driving performance, and past driver experience.  That being said, when we do allow a person outside of the team to drive the car, it is done under careful supervision with the school’s permission.

“How much does it cost?”

The average yearly budget to compete is over $50,000.  This is raised through campus grants, sponsorships from local companies, and personal donations.  Hornet Racing is a 501(c) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.  As a student run club, we're offered the chance to petition for money from campus organizations and grants.  However, a large portion of our funding comes from our sponsors.  Each year the team has to market itself and raise funds to support materials, parts, manufacturing, and testing costs along with the competition travel costs.  The team is always seeking sponsors and donations in the form of money, parts, manufacturing, and materials.  Since the team is tasked with engineering a race car, we're also interested in involvement by professionals who can further educate and enhance our abilities to design, manufacture, test, and drive the car.

If you would like to help and support our cause then please contact us by email at ecs-hornetracing@csus.edu.

“I may not be able to sacrifice a lot of time, can I still join?”

The team wants you to be as involved as possible to help both you and the team succeed.  Most of the current and past design leads have had jobs and relationships on top of their coursework and Hornet Racing.  If you don't think you can be as heavily involved, you're still welcome to show up and help out when possible.  Every little bit helps the team accomplish the project from designing parts to machining simple parts or showing up and talking to potential members and sponsors.