2. Walls

Vehicles had to navigate around cement and metal walls. Not all of them were successful.

Cement Walls

Team Underdawg slams into a wall.

Cement walls or "k-rails" as some call them should be easy to avoid as they are nice dense objects of uniform size and shape, but they disabled several vehicles during qualifications. Team Underdawg's vehicle stopped about ten feet away from a wall near the starting line. After several seconds, it gunned the engine and slammed into the same wall with a satisfying crunch. Upon impact, I saw the wall heave and move back a few feet.

Indiana Robotic Navigation's car "Spirit of Christianity" is transported away, after smashing into a wall.

You can't miss Indiana Robotic Navigation's vehicle, "Spirit of Christianity". The nicely red painted SUV has a large wooden cross mounted on the front bumper. Just before their qualification run, an unnamed competitor joked, "That's not fair - they have God as their co-pilot. We can't compete with that." Unfortunately, the vehicle was led astray and veered right into a cement wall. The loud impact caused the car horn to sound, but thankfully the cross survived. A tow truck transported the car off the course.