Winter 2003

Off to a Good Start – Legends Race Car Driver Lambert Loves the Sport

		Luke Lambert sits behind the wheel of the Wolfpack Motosports Legends race car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. (Photo: Jim Lambert)

	Luke Lambert, a sophomore in mechanical engineering, hails from Mount Airy. His high school graduating class contained 89 students. Besides auto racing, he enjoys mountain biking, water sports and church activities.

Luke A. Lambert, a sophomore in mechanical engineering at NC State University, has always loved race car driving. He started out racing go-karts at age 14; from there he has moved into a unique position at NC State: he is the driver of the Legends race car, a brainchild of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

The Wolfpack Motorsports Legends car competes at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in a June 2002 race.
The Wolfpack Motorsports Legends race car team is composed of NC State engineering students. (Photos: Jim Lambert)

Lambert has been driving the Legends car since fall 2001, when he began his freshman year at NC State. His father, Jim Lambert (BSCE ’81), attends many of the races and photographs the events for the Wolfpack Motorsports program. “I had always considered NC State because of my dad, plus it is close to home and has an excellent reputation as a engineering school,” he said. He enjoyed participating in the Student Introduction to Engineering (SITE) summer program in summer 2000, where he heard about the Wolfpack Motorsports program, an activity that helped clinch Lambert’s decision to attend NC State. “The Motorsports program played an enormous role in my decision to come here,” he said.

Wolfpack Motorsports is a program that gives mechanical engineering students an opportunity to put their classroom learning to practical use. They learn teamwork, project management and the ability to set goals and meet deadlines as well as experience hands-on application of their skills. The race car competes on speedway tracks with other university teams.

According to Lambert, there are three facets to Wolfpack Motorsports: the formula car, the Mini-Baja car and the Legends race car. The formula car is a small, high-performance vehicle designed and built by NC State students. The Mini-Baja car is also student-produced and is intended for off-road competitions. While the Legends race car is not designed or built by students, the adjustments to the car and ongoing research in vehicle dynamics are done by the students. Although the Legends race car activities will not be offered after 2002, the Wolfpack Motorsports program will continue with students designing, building and competing with the Formula car and the Mini-Baja car.

	Luke Lambert, sophomore in mechanical engineering at NC State, examines the Wolfpack Motorsports race car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. (Photo: Jim Lambert)

NC State Legends race cars have seen a lot of action since the maiden run in April 1992 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte. This summer Lambert has driven the car in races in Charlotte and Orange County. Unfortunately the car was damaged in June during a race in Charlotte. “We got a bad starting position, toward the back,” said Lambert. “Then there was a spin and pile-up in front of me that I couldn’t avoid.” Lambert wasn’t hurt in the wreck, thankfully, because the car performed properly and absorbed all the impact. However, the car sustained significant chassis damage and destruction of the suspension components. It took a week of intensive work on the part of the Wolfpack Motorsports team, which consisted of NC State and high school SITE students, to put the car back together in time for another race.

Lambert hopes to keep driving the Legends car during his years at NC State. “I’d love to keep driving the car,” he said. “But I always want to do what’s best for the team.” Indeed, teamwork is a significant component of the Motorsports program. The team members function as a pit crew during races; back at NC State they work together to learn how to prepare the car and tune the engine for maximum performance. The car is an excellent learning tool for prospective automotive engineers.

Lambert may go into automotive engineering, but his dream is to drive a race car professionally or to work for a race team in a crew chief or team manager role. “Any of these jobs would use my engineering skills,” he says. “I’m taking the opportunity at college to learn as much about racing and automobiles as I can.” He’s off to a strong start at NC State.

— rudd —

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