[Al Skierkiewicz]

It doesn't sound like a totally bad idea to me. There are significant problems to face, one being just cutting the track. I don't know what the size/weight of your vehicle but you need to consider that a tracked device with no other steering requires a lot of power for turns. As for speed controllers, I believe IFI does make another line of controllers designed for a higher voltage. If they don't, search around, there are other companies building controllers. In your application, tracks may be better at distributing the weight of your vehicle on the surface it drives across. The down side of using tracks is that they fall off if the design doesn't account for the side forces in turns. Once you lose a track, you're done. Obviously, there are designs that keep all of these issues in check and work perfectly OK. I wouldn't turn down the idea just yet. A little investigation is in order. BTW, where exactly is the competition going to be held? I spent a few days around Anchorage this summer.