2009 Drivers

[Adam Freeman]

Originally Posted by AustinSchuh

I still don't know how they do it.

Drivers, its all drivers!

Usually I am not a fan of people nominating their own team, so I will use objective data to back up my claim.

Our driver (Nick Orlando) this season, is one of the most talented student drivers I have seen in my 5 years in FIRST. Not sure it has been realized the success that he has accomplished in his short career as a FIRST driver.

As the Arm Operator in 2008 FIRST Season:
- Part of Great Lakes Championship Alliance (67, 326, 503)
- Part of Curie Division Championship Alliance (67, 16, 348)
- Part of Einstien Championship Finalists Alliance (67, 16, 348)

As Driver 2008 off-season
- Part of MARC Finalists Alliance (67, 910, 226)
- Part of IRI Championship Alliance (67, 330, 987, 68)
- Part of Kettering Kickoff Championship Alliance (67, 910, 1075, 2619)

As Driver 2009 FIRST Season
- Part of Cass Tech District Championship Alliance (67, 217, 3098)
- Part of Lansing District Championship Alliance (67, 68, 358)
- Part of Troy District Championship Alliance (217, 67, 3095, 3119)
- Part of MSC Championship Alliance (217, 67, 65)
- Part of Galileo Division Championship Alliance (111, 67, 971)
- Part of Einstien Championship Alliance (111, 67, 971)

In summary that is a total of 10 Golds and 2 Silvers in 13 events. 150+ wins, and over a 0.860 winning percentage.

Obviously winning is not the only judge of a driver, but just as in NASCAR its the only way to objectively judge driver success.

I think that the only other driver that has statistics comparable to this is Brandon, the driver for 1114. These two drivers set the current standard in FIRST for driver ability.

I realize that we give our drivers effective and reliable robots. But, there is a common thread through all that success and Nick is it. In my opinion these robots would not have been nearly as effective without him behind the controls.

In the end you can have a great design, pit crew, coach, etc...but the student drivers behind the controls are the ones that determine how the matches are won or lost.

The point of my post is to honor this incredible student, not to diminish the accomplishments of other teams/drivers. Hopefully, it is taken as that....

Being a senior this year, we will not have him next year and we will have to depend on another talented student to fill his shoes....good luck!