Students’ Baja Racing team roars to series of victories

Three first-place finishes may have earned the Baja Racing team the designation "Iron Team," but its members credit the students who came before them for their success.

"We succeeded on the back of giants," said team leader Casey Savage '25, a mechanical engineering major in Cornell Engineering. "It's all a testament to how well we pass information down, and how much care is taken to build on the prior years."

One of 36 Student Project Teamsin Cornell Engineering, Baja Racingis a group of approximately 60 undergraduates who build an off-road car from the wheels up every year. They compete against other collegiate Baja teams in tests of speed, power, endurance and maneuverability. Judges also evaluate design and business presentations.

Last year's team earned first-place overall at competitions in Arizona, Maryland and South Carolina, making them the first Iron Team at Cornell since 2014. The previous year's team finished second place overall.

"It was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had," Savage said. "The cars keep getting better and better and better."

Baja cars, look like souped-up dune buggies. They have to withstand rugged terrain, traveling over logs and boulders, through mud, and up and down steep hills on dirt tracks. All teams use the same engine, but students design and assemble the drivetrain, suspension, frame and brakes. At competitions, students fill all roles, from driver to pit crew.

New team members join as freshmen and sophomores, and older team members get them involved right away, regardless of experience.

"I remember my first day walking into auto lab as a freshman," said team lead Domi Swedek '25, a mechanical engineering graduate now pursuing her master's in engineering at Cornell. "I knew nothing about cars, and I was handed two wrenches and told to take the rear gearbox out of the car."

The challenge of collaborating over years toward a set of shared goals is hugely powerful, said Lauren Stulgis, the Swanson Director of Engineering Student Teams.

"They are creating a culture within their team where everyone is encouraged to ask questions and challenge design decisions," she said. "It can get stressful because they take the work they're doing really seriously, but at the end of the day everyone is supporting each other and having fun doing the work."

That hands-on experience gives students the opportunity to apply what they're learning in the classroom in a setting where they can make their own decisions and then learn from the outcomes.

Alumni credit Baja with helping them get their first post-graduation jobs.

Mechanical engineering major Silas Wilson '25, who drove the car the past two seasons, landed his job at car maker Rivian through someone he met at a competition.

Savage works at Anduril, a defense technology company, with several Cornell Baja alumni.

And Team Lead Natalie Dowd '25 is a mechanical engineer at SpaceX working on the Dragon spacecraft propulsion system. A Baja alumni referred her.

"It's just an insane positive impact," she said. "What we always tell the freshmen when we recruit them is, this is the kind of thing where the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it. We put in a ton of time, and we've gotten exponentially more out of it."

This year's Baja Racing team is still tinkering with last year's winning car, testing out new ideas and warming up a new driver.

Current team lead Horatio Cordero '26, a mechanical engineering major, led the suspension sub team last year. He said last year's success was the culmination of years of smart choices and ideas carried forward.

This year the team's goal is to refine.

"The stakes are high to build a car that doesn't compromise on any of the things that we've proven to be successful," he said.

At the same time, they still have some big ideas to try out, though they may not make it to the track this year.

"Starting to test and analyze a change now might set future years up to make that change in the future," he said. "That is a really important part of what we do."