Oxford Mayor Alton Craft proclaimed November 8th as Big O Racing Day in a ceremony at City Hall in November. Big O Racing is the Oxford High School Greenpower USA team. The honor was bestowed upon the team for its achievements in Greenpower STEM as two-time Greenpower USA National Champions.
Big O' Racing is currently ranked 1st nationally as it competes in its 7th season. Led by Mr. Britton Young and Mr. Phillip Jones, Oxford teams earned national titles in 2020 and 2022. The most recent title was at the National Championship race hosted at Talladega Superspeedway. This year, Oxford City Schools launched a Greenpower team for 5th and 6th graders at its C.E. Hannah school in an effort to get even more grade levels involved.
Greenpower is a STEM-based program that focuses on hands-on learning with real-world applications and emphasizes innovation, problem solving and critical thinking. The OHS program has grown and developed along with the students' skills, the pinnacle being the creation of car #99. The car was a white sheet design that began as rough drawings on paper and was then rendered in 3D using Solid Works before being built. During this process, students had to design and manufacture custom parts in class. These skills have translated into opportunities for the students. "Big O Racing alum have taken the skills they have developed and directly entered the workforce in drafting and additive manufacturing, propelled themselves to success in the FAME program and entered engineering programs at Auburn, Alabama, the University of Alabama at Huntsville and Clemson," says Coach Britton Young.
Team members at the high school level engage in more than just the car and racetrack. They also participate in partnerships with area industries and city leaders in a program called Vis1on (Vision One) where they share ideas and cultivate skills needed for the future workforce. Team member Conner Heaton summarizes the impacts of the programs in his life, "My experience with both Big O racing and Vis1on have allowed me to become more prepared for my future career through developing public speaking skills, learning how to better interpret industry terminology and also how to better become a more active member in my community."
This team understands the assignment. Congratulations, Big O Racing!
