Grace College Engineering Competes at Baja SAE Arizona 2025

Grace College’s ABET-accredited engineering program recently returned from Marana, Arizona, for its first competition with the Baja Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), an intercollegiate design competition where students design, build and race off-road baja cars. The team of five passed all four parts of its tech inspection and completed the main event: the four-hour endurance race, where they finished 37 out of 67.

“I am proud of our Baja team’s efforts,” said David Ray, the team’s faculty advisor and an assistant professor of engineering at Grace. “They worked as a team to get the car in the race and keep it there. To have the car finish the race and place as well as they did amongst stiff competition was a big accomplishment!”

The project simulates real-world engineering, requiring students to meet deadlines, manage a budget, and complete testing. For first-year teams like Grace, it’s often considered a success just to pass the inspections.

The team started their preparation 18 months ago, spending several months conducting research and studying the 132-page document of standard requirements.

In the fall of 2024, the crew began building, putting in 50+ hours each week.

“It was a lot of work, and we spent a tremendous amount of time in East Hall,” said Nate Rulli, a senior mechanical engineering student. “Many nights, campus safety would come by at 2 a.m. and kick us out.”

All of the hard work culminated in the four-day competition in Arizona. The first three days, the team went through the tech inspection and general inspection, ensuring the engine, frame, brakes and four-wheel drive passed the competition’s rigorous standards.

On the fourth day, the team was cleared to enter the main event: the four-hour endurance race. Grace was seeded in the back of the pack, and early on, the team had a few major breaks to repair, including the CV axle and the upper and lower rear control arms.

“After nearly an hour and a half, we got back out there and put up some solid laps,” said Graydon Brath, a senior mechanical engineering student. “Nate was able to pass a few people. We came back from two major breakdowns and still ended in the middle of the pack, which we were super, super happy about.”

According to the team, the 2025 endurance track was one of the most challenging the competition has had yet. The course focused on suspension and ground clearance, featuring dugouts in the ground, two-foot holes, and round concrete barriers throughout.

By the end of the race, Grace’s team was still competing with some of the most experienced schools, such as Michigan, Cornell, Case Western, Ohio State, RIT, Purdue, and Virginia Tech. Grace finished 37 out of 67.

“I think it’s a testament to our vehicle that we stayed in the race, when pretty much all of the big schools were left in there with us,” said Joshua Nakasone, a mechanical engineering senior at Grace. “A lot of the smaller schools had broken down and were packed up by the end of the race.”

As one of only three Christian schools in the competition, Rulli, the team’s driver, said one of the team’s goals was to reach as many people as possible.

“God’s way of fulfilling that might have been that we needed a lot of parts, which required us to talk to a lot of people,” said Rulli. “I was surprised by the strong sense of community at the competition and other teams’ willingness to lend us spare parts. Everyone wants everyone to succeed while still being competitive.”

Several underclassmen came along on the trip, giving seniors confidence that the foundation laid this year will be built upon.

“It’s great knowing that Grace will have a team in the future, and that we got to start something up for our school,” said Kelden Coccia, a senior mechanical engineering student at Grace. “I take a lot of pride in that. What we accomplished this year was special.”

Dr. Fred Wentorf, chair of the department of engineering at Grace, agrees that the Baja SAE team is a significant advancement for the department.

“This opportunity provides our students with experiences typically found only at larger institutions,” said Wentorf. “The Baja SAE team not only elevates the quality of our program but also strengthens our ties to the automotive industry. We’re proud to offer the close-knit, personalized environment of a small school while increasingly providing hands-on experiences and industry connections comparable to those at major universities.”

To watch the journey to Arizona, watch the Baja docuseries on Grace’s YouTube channel. To learn more about Grace engineering, visit www.grace.edu/academics/academic-schools-departments/school-of-science-and-engineering/department-engineering/.