MELBOURNE, Fla. – A unique partnership was unveiled Thursday afternoon on the campus of Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.
For the past 57 years, Florida Tech has been know for their expertise in aerospace and aviation, but now they're going racing.
FIT and Florida-based Larsen Motorsports on Thursday unveiled a 5,500 horse power Florida Tech-branded jet dragster. The 27-foot long race car has a General Electric jet engine and produces 5,000 pounds of thrust. And it can reach speeds of 280 miles per hour in about five seconds.
Elaine Larsen, along with her husband Chris, owns world-renowned Larsen Motorsports and says they've been looking to team up with Florida Tech for quite sometime because of the school's rich engineering and science background.
"Not only are we going to be able to get the branding out there by going to the racetracks, we're also going to afford opportunities for some of the existing students that go to FIT to come out and work on a world championship race team," Larsen said.
Florida Tech President Anthony Catanese thinks it's a logical next step for the students and the school. He points out that Larsen motorsports is an all-women driver team, which is a gender that lacks at Florida Tech.
"This will be a great way for us to interest high school students and young women to coming into science education," Catanese said.
The dragster will be touring the country as part of the International Hot Rod Association Nitro Jam with driver Shea Holbrook at the wheel. The team will compete in 12 events this season starting Feb. 6 in Tucson, Arizona.