49ers Racing claims top 2 podium spots at Clemson’s Student Night

Charlotte’s 49ers FSAE Electric Vehicle and Internal Combustion racing teams earned first and second place respectively at the 2025 SAE Carolina Student Night, hosted by Clemson University’s Department of Automotive Engineering on February 28.

These top place finishes highlight the strength and depth of Charlotte’s motorsports engineering talent.

2025 EV Team

Leaders: 

Vinny Cagno (Team Captain)

Aditya Amraotkar (Business Lead), Adam Bartholomew (Brakes Lead), Daniel Beachum (Accumulator Lead), Ryan Brancheau (Vehicle Dynamics Lead), Sam Chandler (Mechanical Powertrain Lead), Donovan Godfrey (Aerodynamics Lead), Lucas Holladay (Low Voltage Lead), Myles Lange (Freshman Project Lead), Ean Bass (Manufacturing Lead), Aditya Nayak (Project Manager), Coltrane Nevruz (Ergonomics Lead), Matthew Shaffer (Captain Elect), Carter Talley (Chassis Lead)

Team members: 

Connor Charette, Ethan Fontanez, Suraj Georg, Evan Ghiloni, Brandon Goldberg, Anthony Grancagnolo, Owen Kimlek, Jacob Kingsbury, Nicole Lane, David Lazaro, Vadim Sahharov, Morgan Scotten-White and Brett Wilson

2025 IC Team

Leaders:

Simon Sanders (Captain and Powertrain Lead)

Baker Cobb (Marketing Lead), Ben Demosthene (Vehicle Dynamics Lead), Henry Kelleher (Chassis Lead), Samuel Kleinschuster (Aerodynamics Lead), Hayden Kupka (Vehicle Dynamics Lead)Rocco Procaccini (Business Operations Lead), Ryan Taylor (Driver Controls Lead) and Alex Volmer (Electronics Lead)

Team members: 

Evan Andersen, Franco Antunez, Marton Bagi, Garett Boone, Jameson Daniels, Cameron Gantart, Lucas Gorman, Drew Jasper, Stefan Johansson, Taylor Keske, Colby Leonhardt, Wilson Sawyer and Colby Trumbo.

Representing the SAE International Carolina Section, the annual event brought together student teams from across North and South Carolina to showcase their 2024-25 Formula SAE, Formula SAE Electric, Baja SAE, SAE AutoDrive, and SAE Aero design projects and their cutting-edge automotive engineering innovations.