Built for Speed, Engineered for Safety

We associate race cars with speed. But speed is a function of safety: a car can only perform at its limits when its mechanical systems are reliable, the driver remains in control, and every critical component has been tested under the loads and conditions it will encounter on the track.

Based within USC Viterbi's Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, USC Racing incorporates safety throughout the annual Formula SAE development cycle. Each year, the student-run team designs and builds a formula-style race car from the ground up, then enters the completed vehicle in the Formula SAE Michigan competition for evaluation through engineering presentations and on-track events. Safety informs every stage, including component design, systems integration, driver preparation and track testing.

The team's experience preparing cars for competition prompted the Auto Club of Southern California to invite USC Racing to act as ambassadors for the campaign "Off the Streets. On the Track." Developed with non-profits and law-enforcement agencies, the campaign encourages young motorsport enthusiasts to race at sanctioned tracks, raising awareness of the dangers of illegal street races.

The campaign followed USC Racing's strongest competition performance to date. In May, the team's 2025-26 race car, SCR26, placed seventh overall among more than 100 teams, including first in Autocross, fifth in Engineering Design and seventh in Endurance. Together, the results reflected the car's speed, mechanical reliability and controllability.

Designing around the driver

More than 80 students from several academic disciplines contribute to USC Racing. The annual development cycle gives them experience with a complete vehicle while allowing each year's team to use data, driver feedback and lessons from the previous car.

Students drive the vehicles themselves, meaning that their design decisions have high-stakes consequences. "At the end of the day, our peers and friends are the ones driving the cars," said the team's lead Ryan O'Gorman, a senior studying mechanical engineering. "It is our responsibility to demonstrate that care through meticulous and safe engineering."

Responsibility for the driver begins at the component level. Students validate each part through simulation and physical testing before integrating it into the car. Multiple team members and faculty advisers review the designs, and the completed vehicle must comply with Formula SAE technical and safety regulations.

Within those regulations, teams are responsible for developing their own engineering solutions. Students interpret the constraints, select materials and mechanisms, consider how parts will be manufactured and integrated, and defend the reasoning behind their decisions. Taking part in competitions also allows them to examine how other teams have addressed the same requirements. "Seeing how other student teams approach the same engineering constraints gives us ideas to bring back, evaluate and potentially incorporate into future designs," O'Gorman said.

From lab to track

Track testing then reveals how the vehicle behaves under operating conditions. Before every run, team members inspect the car's hardware, check critical fasteners, look for leaks and verify that each system is functioning correctly. The engine starts once every team lead has given clearance.

The testing environment is prepared with equal care. The driver wears approved protective equipment, while the course is marked with safety cones and supported by a response vehicle and fire extinguisher. "Over the past several years, USC Racing has completed numerous test days that have provided valuable data for improving both the performance and safety of our race car," said the team's project manager Monica Cendejas, also a senior studying mechanical engineering. "That experience has also helped our ergonomics team and drivers better understand the vehicle."

Engineering the next iteration

Results from SCR26 are now informing the development of SCR27. Students will continue testing SCR26 to determine which decisions should be retained, refined or replaced, then aim to complete more than 150 miles of testing on the new vehicle before the next Formula SAE competition.

Over those miles, they will compare physical results with simulations, trace problems across interconnected systems and evaluate whether each solution can perform reliably throughout a race. The findings will guide the design and manufacture of the next car.

At the Auto Club's Los Angeles headquarters early August, USC Racing students displayed SCR26 and explained the design reviews, safety checks and repeated track testing required before the car can be driven at speed. Their presentation gave young drivers a clear and inspiring example of the systems that distinguish sanctioned motorsport from street racing.

"Many of us share a passion for fast cars, but part of that passion is understanding that high-performance driving belongs in a controlled environment like a racetrack - not on public streets," Cendejas said.

Published on September 11th, 2026

Last updated on September 11th, 2026