17 teams were vying for the top spot in the Electrathon Alabama high school race, but only one was crowned victorious. Decatur High School took home the overall prize in the third annual electric vehicle racing event held at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds Monday, April 7.

The racing pool included high school, college and professional teams from Alabama and neighboring states.  The students assembled, charged and raced their vehicles.

After participants completed registration, they lined up for the first round of competition, which began at 11 a.m. featuring only high school teams. After an hour of racing on a closed loop track, the winner was determined.

While Decatur High School emerged as the first place winner, Mary G. Montgomery High School, out of Semmes, near Mobile, was a close second. “It was an adrenaline rush, even before the race began, said Noah Dryton,” high school driver of the second race for the Mary G. Montgomery team. “It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling 3 miles an hour on that track, you just keep telling yourself – I’m going to win.”

After breaking for lunch and re-charging their batteries, drivers and their teams came back for a second round of racing at 2 p.m., which included college and professional teams. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) finished as the runner-up to Tiger Racing, a professional group that completed the most laps around the track at Barber Motorsports Park. A slim margin separated the winner from the runner up in this competition, with UAB’s driver completing 17 laps and Tiger Racing’s driver completing 19 laps.

When Electrathon Alabama came to Leeds in 2013, it featured only four teams – three high schools and one college. This year’s lineup increased to a 17 teams and included students from Calera, Decatur, Hewitt Trussville, Parker and Sweet Water high schools.

“Alabama Power is not only proud to be a supporter of Electrathon, but we are excited that this event keeps growing each year,” said Robin White, who works in Energy Sales and Efficiency for Alabama Power. “It’s pretty incredible to think about how these students will benefit by simply being exposed to electric vehicle transportation technology at such an early age.”

Alabama Power partnered with Zoom Motorsports and Skilled Knowledgeable Youth (SKY) to bring Electrathon to Barber Motorsports for a third year. Electrathon races are held all over the country. For a schedule of events and more information, go to www.electrathonamerica.org.