Need For Speed

  During the past year, she has competed in 25 races and won 15. “I race anyone who wants the smoke of the track,” Rodgers said. She and her dad spent a year building her car from the body frame of a Mustang for $3,500 and spent $5,000 on a wrecked donor car for all the parts she needed; this car truly did come from the ground up. She estimates that she has put $10,000 into her car in both modifications and building it. “It was time-consuming, but it paid off in the end,” Rogers said. She plans to continue adding onto her car and hopes that when she gets fast enough she will get a sponsor for her racing. 

   Shifting gears, junior Anthony Krause transitions into the life of a 1998 C5 Corvette owner. He bought his blue beauty two years ago, and since then has put hours of hard work into it. Krause learned how to work on cars from his past experience of working on cars and planes with his grandfather. “It is the last generation of the corvette to have pop-up lights, so we couldn’t pass it up”. “We decided to put blue LEDs in the car to make it flow with the paint better”. With these new modifications to his car, Krause is able to show off his Corvette at Cars and Coffee to other vehicle enthusiasts.

Tightening the last bolt, sophomore Jonathan Sisson finishes rebuilding his suspension after a week of long work. Following first semester of his freshman year, Sisson bought his 2001 Ford Ranger for $7,000. Since then he has poured over 100 hours and $10,000 in repairs for his truck. Although self-taught, he still looks for advice from his co-workers at O’Reilly Auto Parts to help him diagnose the issues in his truck. “So far, I have fixed the heads on its exhaust and some more interior fixes, but I do minor work on it almost daily,” Sisson said. Despite being diligent, he still has time to pursue his passion for off-roading. “The ranger is the perfect size to fit on many of the small roads at Stanley Draper but is still lifted enough to get loads of clearance,” Sisson said.