Hidden in the garage of the metallurgy building sits the frame of a Mercedes 190, soon to be the crown jewell of the University of Denver (DU) Time Attack Racing team, and with it a group of dedicated engineers. 

“We almost put 1,000 hours in here, just last quarter,” said senior Jackson Bolinger, DU Time Attack Racing’s shop manager. 

The club was founded by junior Remington Stagg during his freshman year at DU. He felt that DU was lacking experiential learning opportunities for engineering majors, which are key to have on a résumé. 

“Most other major engineering programs have Formula Student or solar car racing,” Stagg said. “DU had none of those mainstream programs.” 

This, alongside his interest in motorsports, led Stagg to try to start a car racing team. After some research, he settled on attempting the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, a professional motor race to the top of Pikes Peak. 

This race features some of the top auto companies in the world, with its course record being set by Volkswagen. However, it is also defined by upsets. The winner of its first race in 1916 was Rea Lentz in a homemade car. DU would be the first student team to race a car to the top of Pikes Peak. 

“If I’m going to do all this work to start a student project, why not shoot for the clouds?” said Stagg. 

Bolinger, a founding member of the club and one of the first people Stagg approached with the idea, shares this mindset. 

“The execution of it is hard, it’s not unfathomable,” Bolinger said. “It’s just a very expensive and very tedious process because somebody’s life is on the line if we get it wrong.”

With this goal in mind, Stagg approached Matthew Butson, a DU alum and a professional race car driver, who agreed to drive for DU Time Attack Racing in the Pikes Peak Hill climb. 

Butson has been a key asset for the club so far, offering his racing expertise every step of the way. 

“I joke that he’s one of my pinned text messages, right next to my family and close friends,” said Stagg. “Every couple of weeks I try to shoot him a text message about what we’re doing.” 

Alongside a driver, DU Time Attack Racing Club has around 30 active members who come from different areas of study and cover all aspects of the club, from business to engineering to advertising. 

DU Time Attack Racing is aiming to race for the first time in June 2027, having recently been forced to push their race day back by a year. 

“It’s a bummer,” Bolinger said, who will now have graduated when they race. “But it was the realistic option.” 

The main setback for Time Attack Racing so far has been funding. Stagg and his business team have raised around $50,000, but he feels they need at least $70,000 to get the car driving and it would take $150,000 to build the car they have planned. 

So far, almost all of this money has come from outside donors and sponsors, with some coming from the Undergraduate Student Government (USG). 

Time Attack Racing has not received any funding from the university itself, but Stagg has not given up hope. 

“Pikes Peak is seen in the engineering world and the automotive world as a massive proving ground. Volkswagen spent $3 million to develop a car just to set the record up there. Hyundai, Ford, Rivian, you name the program they have raced at Pikes Peak before, just to see if they could do it,” said Stagg. 

He wants DU Time Attack Racing and DU’s engineering program to compete alongside these huge companies. 

“It would draw attention to the university on an engineering level never before seen as soon as we cross the finish line,” Stagg said. 

Through this dedication, they secured Mercedes-Benz of Denver as their title sponsor. This helped them get both their engine and brake kit. 

In their first race, their main goal is to cross the finish line, but they can use the same car and continue to develop it year after year, giving them the potential for huge success. 

Within the club, there is a steadfast belief that one day, they could win the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. 

“Regular people win this race. It happens,” said senior Malcom Morris-Berlin, who will serve as shop manager in his fifth year at DU. “I think the club ten years from now has a real shot at winning.” 

All of Time Attack’s officers are working towards success that would be years beyond their time with the club. 

“It’s just about teaching people what I know about fabrication and it just happens to be in the practice of building this race car,” Bolinger said. “Knowing how to build something is invaluable when it comes to being in the engineering world or in motor sports.”