Lilian Le, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, remembered her first few days on the USC Racing team when she said she thought she accidentally threw out pieces that were needed for the car and had to dig them out of the trash. Then she realized the parts she already had were the right parts, just flipped. Now, she’s their composites lead.

The USC Racing club is more than just having a car blaze first through the finish line. According to Lucas Dudley, USC Racing’s chief engineer, it is about improving each year. 

“It’s simply not possible to become a competitive team in a year,” said Dudley, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. “It takes year on year progress, building on the knowledge base that you’re expanding, the personnel that you’re training, the physical assets and the actual designs that you have. It requires, in many cases, decades, to become a race-winning team.”

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The team has changed workshops four times since 2017, Dudley said, giving them new opportunities to reach their goal each year. With their latest workshop, he said the team now has the ability to create pieces and tools in-house that were previously outsourced. 

In 2023, the USC Racing team was the first and only collegiate racing team to receive an award from NASCAR in their race against UCLA in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. 

Since then, their 2024 racecar, named Sassi, finished 11th in design and top 20 in business presentation at last year’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers Internal Combustion competition. Contestants were judged by employees of engineering companies, including SpaceX and Ford, according to the club’s official website.

Daulton Hunter, one of the car’s drivers, says their goal this year is finishing in the top 10 at the Formula SAE IC competition. 

Swen Severson, one of the car’s drivers and a master’s student studying aerospace engineering, said around 95% of their car is made in-house, including their frame, something other teams usually outsource.  

Attention to detail extends to the road, said Hunter, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering. During test days, when the team brings their car to a real racetrack to see how it actually performs on the road, Hunter not only has to drive as fast as possible but also diagnose which mechanics can be improved. 

“There’s a lot to balance, but definitely never nerves from the engineering side of things,” Hunter said. “I have 100% faith [in the car’s engineering].”

Test days are where members shine, Kanaley said. The members get to see their car run at Willow Springs, the same track where the popular movie, “Ford v Ferrari” (2019), was filmed. Hunter said that these days — whenever he’s on the track late at night, trying to fix something small — are his favorite.

“I think moments like that … is my favorite part, where in the middle of frustration or a big challenge, you kind of step back and you’re like, ‘How lucky are we to be able to just [hang] out with friends, working on a racecar project and getting this experience?’” Hunter said. 

Dudley said improvement did not come without struggle. During the pandemic, the club was not only unable to race, but also had a complete change in leadership that affected their production practices. Since then, Dudley said he realized the club’s members make it successful, stressing the importance of training new members to be the best they can be. 

Severson said the club meant so much to him that he skipped his undergraduate graduation to drive for the team, even getting into an argument with his mom over it. Severson said he hopes to get more people to join the club to have a similarly positive experience.

“It’s just a super great team, a lot of smart individuals on the team, and hopefully it continues to grow,” Severson said.

Except for the rear wing, everything in their 2025 car will be brand new, Le said. The team’s next competition will be the 2025 Formula SAE IC competition in Michigan this May.