Teams

Mean Green

Garage Headquarters: Spring City, PA

Driver: Andrew Natale

Mechanics: Ryan Fitch, Michael Jenkins, Bill Wacker, Drew Natale

Nuts and Bolts:

When autumn approaches, Philadelphians can feel it in the air: as the advertisements say, “Green is coming.” That’s the green of the Philadelphia Eagles, of course; and no NFL fans are more devoted to their Eagles than Ryan Fitch, Mike Jenkins, Andrew Natale, and Bill Wacker. They’re spending all summer constructing a soapbox racer in honor of the team. “We love the Eagles, we’re good at building things, and if there is a possibility of getting hurt, it sounds like fun to us!” declares Andrew, captain and driver for Team Mean Green. “This is a chance to break away from the normal everyday routine, enjoy being free to create, and have fun while doing it.”

Time has been the biggest challenge for the teammates, who hold down contracting, sales, and electrician jobs. Summer is their busiest season of the year, and on top of that, they’ve designed a stunning but labor-intensive racer. Rather than resorting to cardboard and duct tape, these four are building a steel and aluminum frame that will support a fiberglass shell carefully modeled to look like their favorite team’s eagle-head logo. The whole thing will be meticulously coated with dual-process automotive paint, detailed right down to the bird’s fierce, flared nostrils. So yeah, Mean Green will look good, but can it win? Andrew answers, “There are no limits.”