Teams

Team F.A.F.

Garage Headquarters: Pensacola, FL & Denver, CO

Driver: Sean McAleenan

Mechanics: Rhys Sharp, David Fluitt, Yvan Gaillard

Nuts and Bolts:

If you send text messages, you know what “FAF” stands for. (If not, here’s a hint: The first two words are “funny as,” and the last word isn’t “fudge.”) On October 25, David Fluitt, Sean McAleenan, and Rhys Sharp intend to live up to that acronym as Team F.A.F. takes the starting line.

The trio met during college in Pensacola and soon discovered that they were of like minds. When they couldn’t make it to the inaugural U.S. Red Bull Soapbox Race in 2006, they held their own event on campus. All three have graduated, and Rhys has participated in a Red Bull Flugtag competition involving human-powered aircraft, but the hankering to compete in a Soapbox Race remains. So when they found out that the event is coming to Denver, where Sean now lives, it was game on. They’re even importing a ringer: their friend Yvan Gaillard, who is coming all the way from Switzerland to contribute to the FAF cause. “The People’s Choice Award is what we’re really gunning for,” Rhys reveals. “The other teams can have the finish line; we want to own the crowd.” Incorporating parts fabricated in garages 1,468 miles distant from each other (Rhys and David still reside in Florida), their racer will recreate the famous flying fish sign that welcomes visitors to Pensacola Beach. Rhys explains, “We’re going to dress up like tacky tourists and put on a routine that resembles what we’ve seen in observing first-time beachgoers.” With a chuckle, he advises, “Denver needs to get ready for us.”