Racing Mocs

Racing Mocs - SAE Baja Competition

About the Group

The SAE^® Baja Competition is Collegiate Design series hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE^®) and other industry leaders such as Honda, Polaris, Cummings, Briggs & Stratton, and many others depending on the location of the competition. Baja SAE^® consists of competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges. Engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. The objective is to provide students with a challenging project that involves the designing, planning and manufacturing tasks required when introducing a new product to the consumer market. The goal is to design and build a single-seat, all-terrain, sporting vehicle that will be judged by engineering professionals and compete against other universities, both nationally and internationally, to have their design accepted for manufacture by a fictitious firm.

 Students are surrounded by professional mentors, recruiters, and faculty that assist in brainstorming, designing, prototyping, testing and refining. This all leads to the team representing the university at competition with a single person off-road race vehicle — all in one caffeine-filled, sleepless weekend as the team and their design are put to the ultimate test. Participating universities from around the world bring the brightest minds in engineering from multiple disciplines together, and with a fusion of different talents, students form teams that innovate and create new ideas using their combined skills. Typically, students are broken into specific sub-system teams, administrative leads, and fabrication roles based experience. The SAE^® Baja Project encompasses over a years’ worth of hard work, mental fortitude, and sleepless nights to prepare for the three summer competitions that span only a weekend. Each senior team member stands in the spot light after graduation when looking to start their successful career as a professional engineer.

The UTC Racing Mocs have been to numerous SAE^® Competitions over the last 12 years of and have observed what is effective, as well as what previous teams could have done differently. We’re ecstatic to continue the progress made by the UTC Racing Mocs teams of the past. The Baja team is open to all students ranging from the many engineering disciplines to business and marketing! We would like to partner with the major players not only in the engineering world but with other business professionals as well to ensure that the UTC Racing Mocs and our future SAE^® competitions run seamlessly and fruitfully. We would love our success to be from the years of experience and vast knowledge that lead the engineering and automotive industry expertise backing our program.

Titles and Position of Club Member

Kile Clark

I was born and raised in Cleveland, TN in just enough time to be a ninety’s kid. Growing up I was very active playing soccer year-round, so I grew to love a calm weekend at home. I remember learning so much common knowledge about things, often the hard way, from my adventures as a teen. My favorite subject in high school was math and physics, shocking for an engineer. This appreciation for those subjects, along with the learned practical knowledge, pushed me into the engineering field. Currently my favorite subject in college is thermodynamics.

Derek Beacham

My name is Derek Beacham and I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I always knew that I wanted to serve in the military since I was a young boy so I enlisted into the Marine Corps where I was trained as a diesel/hydraulics mechanic. I decided that I wanted to do something different and after much debate I chose engineering. I started my education at Chattanooga State where I earned an Associates of Applied Science and then transferred to UTC to obtain a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. I’ve always enjoyed helping others and working with kids so naturally I have decided to promote STEM education by getting our team more engaged at the local schools. I look forward using my experience and knowledge to help the team succeed at competition and here in Chattanooga.

William Leamon

William Leamon was born and raised in New Jersey.  In high school, he participated in volleyball and was captain of his swim team.  Will first went to college in Pennsylvania, trying to become a physical therapist, but transferred to UTC to study mechanical engineering.  Will enjoys swimming in his off time, and spending time with his fiancé and friends.   

Ethan Shotwell

Hi I’m Ethan Shotwell and I’m from Franklin, TN. I’m a mechanical engineering major and enjoy working on cars. This is my first year in Baja, and I am the shop foremen. I have begun to learn how to weld through Baja and I have also learned a lot about front suspensions and how the geometry affects the way a car will handle. I have been helping with designing the front suspension of the car as well as inputting the vehicles suspension into programs like Optimum K. I am hoping that this year we have a great car and we can do well at competition.

Ty Waggoner

Hey guys, my name is Ty Waggoner and I was born on July 5, 1997 in Apple Valley California. In case you’re wondering, yes I’m disappointed that I wasn’t born on July 4^th.  I’ve worked hard to make the honor roll every semester of college and that hard work paid off when I was inducted into the engineering honor society of Tau Beta Pi. I am involved in BYX fraternity as a brother, and the Racing Mocs, where I have used my experience as a design engineering intern for Miller Industries to help the team create a new front suspension. I grew up in a mechanical oriented household (my dad has been in the locomotive industry for the better part of two decades) and can fondly remember my dad and I working on cars together from a young age. I am a senior studying mechanical engineering and can’t wait to start my career working towards getting my PE license.

Samuel Milligan

My name is Sam “Milly” Milligan and I am currently a Super Senior at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.  I am from Hendersonville, Tennessee and I have loved living in Chattanooga for the past 5 years.  Coming out of high school and into my first year of college, I was skeptical about choosing mechanical engineering as my major, as I did not think I would be able to handle the workload.  Once I did choose, however, I have never looked back, and I have loved being involved in the engineering program here at UTC.  It has given me many opportunities to progress my engineering career, with one option being involved in the SAE Baja team.  I have been involved in the SAE Baja program at UTC for almost 2 years now, and I believe that Baja has given me many opportunities to learn and grow in many areas of engineering such as designing, fabricating, machining, and testing.  Outside of engineering, I play for the UTC Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team, and enjoy watching sports, working on my cars and going to car shows, and being outdoors.

Jerrod Niles

Hello World! My name is Jerrod Niles and I was born on September 7th, 1999. I’m a freshman and I’m from Knoxville Tennessee. I’m a communications major and I help run the social media for the UTC Racing Mocs. My favorite hobby is videography and I have filmed for clients such as Porsche. I also have a passion for cars and anything mechanical which is what lead me to joining Baja in the first place. Ever since joining, I’ve felt right at home and have made some amazing connections and friends that I couldn’t have made anywhere else!