While the excitement of the greatest spectacle in racing may be over at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the thrill of victory continues to resonate with students at Burnett Creek Elementary School. Lisa Isenbarger’s fourth grade high ability class built their own mini soapbox car from a kit that made its way to victory lane in a statewide competition.

“We did this during our forces and motion unit to learn more about friction, inertia, drag, and air resistance,” says Isenbarger. “My students researched the best places to add weights to our car to make it go as fast as possible. We assembled the car and sent it off for the race.”

The class anxiously waited to see how their car named “Inertia is a Property of Matter” would compete in a field of 48 cars from all over the state. They gathered around to watch a video of the races and were elated to see their car cross the finish line first to win the championship. 

Representatives from the 500 Festival and Indianapolis 500 Education Program came to Burnett Creek to present a trophy to the winning team. The students celebrated with the traditional drink of milk.

In addition, Sandy Fountain’s fourth grade class from Mintonye Elementary School won an award for having the best car name: “Myrtle and Yertle.”