Teams

WhatWorks

Garage Headquarters: Falls Church, VA

Driver: Jake Cohen

Mechanics: Robert Sullenberger , Michelle Sadiarin , Michael Taft , Chris Broz

Nuts and Bolts:

Chris Broz, Jacob Cohen, Michelle Sadiarin, H. Robert Sullenberger, and Michael Taft have a lot in common. For a start, they're all graduates of James Madison University. And now that they're edumacated and have the sheepskin to prove it, they're business partners who work together as designers (industrial, that is, except for Broz, who is a designer of the graphic sort) under the company name WhatWorks. Finally, of course, they share the dream of soapbox dominance, which they'll try to fulfill on October 13 as Cohen steers their hand-built racer down College Hill.

Under cover of darkness, the five designer teammates are building their vehicle out of materials including old bike parts, wood, metal, and bamboo. "We have an abundance of bamboo," sighs Cohen, the team's captain. They're also planning a skit based on the Oregon Trail that they'll perform to the strains of Aaron Copland's "Rodeo," which should appeal to onlookers whether they're fervent fans of the ballet the piece was originally written for, or carnivorous connoisseurs of the music's reincarnation as the theme for beef commercials. So far, all seems to be going relatively well. "We've never built soapbox racers before, but we've made beer before," says Sullenberger matter-of-factly. "How hard can it be?"