THE CARS

HISTORY
The YIELD program began by taking an old Chevy Caprice highway patrol car to a racetrack to race against kids.  Over the years, YIELD has converted a number of vehicles to become drag race cars. The vehicle we bring to presentations is Canada’s first officially recognized RCMP race car.

“First of all, we get the attention of our audience with the car,” says YIELD President Gord Buck, “then we add a variety of media such as videos and classroom instruction.  We encourage questions, and talk with them not at them, to get them as engaged as possible.”

“We talk about the mechanics of a collision, how and why they take place, and what happens during a collision,” says Buck. 

The program has grown to encompass In the School/ Community presentations, At The Racetrack program and The Electric Mini Cooper race car - a component that shows the real-world results of combining a love for cars with the value of a post-secondary education.

BUILDS/INNOVATIONS
The success of “Street Legal” at many of the Junior and Senior High Schools in Alberta in 2012 and over 16,000 races at Capital Raceway is due in large part to the response from youth when they see the real-world results that a post-secondary education in the automotive & engineering can provide - they appreciate the efforts of youth (like them) who have graduated High School then moved on to the ‘trades’ (automotive mechanic/technician) or graduate studies (engineering).

To underscore the importance of a post-secondary education, YIELD worked with the Senior Engineering Class of the University of Alberta in the original design phase of an electric-powered Mini Cooper and ultimately to race the mini “Street Legal” against traditional gas-powered vehicles.

YIELD will be using commercially available electric motors as recommended by the engineering team:  an 9" warp and trans warp set up end to end coaxial and hooked to a two speed power glide transmission, and then to a 9" rear differential and 10" wide drag slicks. There is a full four link racing suspension in the rear and full tubular chassis. The Mini is expected to make the 1/4 mile run at 130 MPH in 10 seconds. This vehicle only highlights some of the things that can be accomplished with continued education. YIELD continues to evolve programs to suite youth education from on the track to in the schools and other community events.