Colorado School of Mines had its best overall finish in program history at the 2026 Formula SAE Michigan Internal Combustion Competition, earning 14th place out of 117 teams at Michigan International Speedway.
The student-led team posted an overall score of 662.2 points — a 25 percent increase over the previous season. The program’s previous best finish was 23rd overall.
The annual Formula SAE competition challenges collegiate engineering teams from around the world to design, manufacture, test and race small formula-style vehicles while demonstrating excellence in engineering, performance, cost analysis and business presentation.
The Mines vehicle showed major improvements across both static and dynamic events, reflecting what team members described as an aggressive development timeline, expanded testing efforts and a stronger emphasis on data-driven engineering and manufacturing consistency throughout the year.
Mines Formula team also received the Cummins Sustainable Power and Performance Excellence Award, which recognizes teams that successfully integrate sustainability, efficiency and environmental responsibility into high-performance vehicle design.
The team earned the honor for advancements in data acquisition systems, including new dynamometers housed in Mines automotive facilities and a Linux server infrastructure supporting Grafana analytics and the team’s internal Wiki platform.
“Mines Formula is a truly unique experience at Mines,” said team president Jack Betz, a mechanical engineering student. “It’s an opportunity where you are surrounded with driven, talented individuals all working together to compete at the highest levels of collegiate engineering.”
Lead engineer Brennan Koontz, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, emphasized the broader educational value of the program. Koontz is entering the automotive industry, designing suspension systems for Tesla in Austin, Texas.
“Mines Formula is about more than a competition. It’s about teamwork, hands-on learning and building something bigger than ourselves,” Koontz said.
The team’s success reflects contributions from students across engineering design, manufacturing, testing, business operations, sponsorship, logistics and competition execution. Team members also credited sponsors, alumni, faculty advisors and supporters for helping make the program possible.
Looking ahead, Mines Formula plans to spend the summer completing development of the team’s next internal combustion vehicle, and the program’s first electric Formula SAE vehicle.
About Mines
Colorado School of Mines is a public R1 research university focused on applied science and engineering, producing the talent, knowledge and innovations to serve industry and benefit society – all to create a more prosperous future.
