OSU Cowboy Racing team member and race car coated in mud with race track in the background — Photos by Jami Musshafen

OSU hosts successful 11th annual Fall Frenzy Race

Monday, November 18, 2024

Media Contact: Desa James | Communications Coordinator | 405 744 2669 | desa.james@okstate.edu

Cowboy Racing teams at Fall Frenzy 2024 — Cowboy Racing at Fall Frenzy 2024

There was no limit to the amount of mud at the annual Fall Frenzy Race.

Baja and Bullet Racing — Oklahoma State University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Competition Hub Baja and Formula SAE teams — joined together for the offroad based, annual Fall Frenzy Race on Nov. 9, bringing together over 120 students from OSU, the University of Oklahoma, Kansas State University and Wichita State University for a day of racing and hands-on engineering.

This year’s event, the 11th in OSU’s history, marked the second time it was open to the public, drawing around 50 spectators at the Cowboy Racing Testing Facility.

The Cowboy Racing event led by Cowboy Racing President John Musshafen and his team attracted participants from engineering, business, marketing and agricultural disciplines.

“The OSU teams were excellent hosts and ran the event like pros,” said Dr. Daniel Fisher, mechanical and aerospace engineering professor and Zink Center director. “Students from four universities showed up with their vehicles to compete on a very tough and muddy OSU Baja track.”

Attending teams brought vehicles to test their competitive capabilities on the challenging track, which allowed them to push their cars’ endurance and handling to the limit. Additionally, this provided the chance for teams to put newly developed technologies to the test.

The event is unique as it gives the teams a chance to evaluate past competition cars while experimenting with new designs and components.

Ray Lucas, Zink Center competition hub manager, noted the impact the collaborative effort had this year with Bullet Racing President Aidan Rogers and her team helping with the event’s success.

“This did mark the first Fall Frenzy where more than OSU Baja students were running the event," Lucas said. "We had over 20 members from the Formula SAE team that helped with track safety. Overall, it was very nice to see the teams combining forces and making such a successful event.”

Two members of Cowboy Racing talking to each other. One is sitting in a Baja racing car. The other is standing next to the vehicle.

A one-hour endurance run is the highlight of Fall Frenzy. In this race, teams must have one driver change and last as long as possible. By the end, only two cars were still going — proving that the track created by OSU had adequate obstacles and required technical skill.

With KSU bringing four vehicles, the race had eight vehicles competing. Final placement for the teams was KSU in first, OSU in second and OU placing third.

Fall Frenzy reflects the importance of hands-on learning for engineering students, allowing them to not only test their vehicles but also gain insights into their designs before they begin manufacturing next semester.

Follow these links to learn more about Fall Frenzy and Cowboy Racing.