On April 29, the VU Racing Team hosted its annual car reveal in Drosdick Hall.
The event started with members of VU Racing and other Villanova students, faculty, staff and family eating food, mingling and taking pictures with the mascot Will D. Cat.
Beyond those who are involved, students from the university came out in support for the VU Racing Team.
The VU Racing Business Lead, Christian Tsai, first came up to the stage and introduced the event and all the elements that will commence over the next hour, and finally introduced Dr. Michele Marcolongo, who is the Drosdick Endowed Dean of the College of Engineering.
“The team let me sit in the car but wouldn’t let me drive it,” Marcolongo said.
The speech was full of humor, remarks about the year, and many thanks to all the members and countless sponsors who helped make the car and the program possible.
The sponsors include companies such as BOSCH, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
Additionally, Marcolongo shared that this year, the program had a “record-breaking number of students,” with more than 100 members who are a part of the team.
Seniors Joe Koebbe (Chief Engineer) and Matt Silvi (Project Manager) highlighted their experience building VU 16.
One of their biggest achievements was building the car from entirely new parts, including a brand-new intake and exhaust system.
Students who worked on the racecar discussed the hardwork and dedication it took to bring it to fruition.
“I hope you can see it has truly taken everything we got,” Silvi said.
A project that has been in the works all year, the car reveal allows for celebration of the effort of the team.
“The new car was built from blood, sweat, tears and a little bit of sleep,” Koebbe said.
Micheal Blaney, the VU 13 Teamcaptain, spoke about his experience from a couple of years ago.
“Very few students understood the intensity of the project,” Blaney said.
He shared that in 2018, there were only 20 members on the team.
Blaney continued to discuss the two pillars that are the team’s literal driving force: passion and dedication.
“Passion is stronger than technical knowledge,” Blaney said. “Nova Racing members are passionate about each other,”
Tommy Lovito, the VU driving controls lead, introduced the seven seniors who made up the team this year.
Many seniors go on to work for big companies such as Lockheed Martin after they graduate.
Last, Luke Truscott, the VU 16 Team Captain, talked about the journey of building the car over this past year and the resilience of the team members, which helped transform the club.
“Each number [referring to the cars] represents a generation of Villanova students,” Truscott said.
Then, the moment everyone had been waiting for, the car was revealed.
The reveal was a sight to behold, with fog sprouting from the base and lights shining on the car.
The car is painted with blue and white stripes, paired with different logos and sponsors all around the car, and finished with a clean black paint coat.
VU 16 has a total of 450 miles, which is triple the number they had last year.
First year student Juliet Cimaglin shared about her journey with the team and how she contributed to the project.
“The second I came here, I was, like, I’m joining this team,” Cimaglin said. “Getting to work on parts that actually ended up being very visible on the car was very exciting to me.”
Cimaglin highlighted the contributions of the team, and how enthusiastic she was to play such an integral part in the project.
Sophomore Meg Wolf also shared about her time as the aero manufacturing system lead for the team.
“It has been nothing but the utmost support from everyone on the team,” Wolf said.
Wolf shared that “seeing everyone being really proud of the work we put in” was her favorite part of the whole experience.
Nova Racing will head to Michigan on May 17 to race the VU 16 car. The team discussed how excited they are to see their hardwork come to life in competition.
The VU Racing Team encourages students to follow along on their endeavors.
To stay updated on the rest of its journey, follow its Instagram, at @novaracing_vu.
