AULANDER – There were moments at the Northampton East Automotive Team (NEAT) Rally that looked like an old NASCAR race.

During the Range event held on Saturday, instructors from different schools stood on the edge of the course communicating with their students using hand signals.

In this competition, which students had to maintain a certain speed so not to be passed by a pace truck, some signaled on how low the voltage could go on their electric vehicle, while others took a more straight forward approach.

When a student slowed down with an open window to hear what directions he should follow, he received the message loud and clear.

“Pass them!” yelled a passionate teacher, directing his pupil to go around slower vehicles ahead.

It’s that kind of zest that motivated the students who brought their electric vehicles to compete in the NEAT Rally held at the Tri-County Airport on November 2-3.

Northampton County High School—East’s NEAT vied against several other schools from around the state and Virginia, including Roanoke Rapids High School, West Wilkes High School from Millers Creek, James B. Dudley High School of Greensboro, Topsail High School of Hampstead, Northern Vance High School of Warrenton and Central Shenandoah High School from Virginia.

The rally, which was planned and executed completely by students from Northampton-East, featured different competitions, including an autocross, pit crew competition, acceleration event, trouble shooting event and a range event.

Before the autocross competition, the Northampton-East students that make up NEAT were eager to get the competition going.

NEAT student Richard Beam, 17, of Rich Square, was excited to see the event arrive; promising NEAT and other teams had some “stuff up their sleeves.”

Other students looked at the event as a sure win for NEAT.

“We’re going to dominate,” said NEAT student Kimberly Smith, 17, of Conway.

With their speed demon instructor Danny Johnson by their side, NEAT managed to collect three first place finishes.

The event drew parents, car enthusiasts, school officials, Senator Ed Jones, Lotus Representative Simon Cobb, Northampton County Economic Development Director Gary Brown and even a woman who was waiting on a plane.

Jen McNamara of Richmond, Va. was waiting for her flight when she decided to see what all the commotion on the airstrip was all about.

“It’s pretty wild,” she said after learning it was an electric vehicle rally.

“This is extremely important,” said Northampton County Board of Education Chairman Bill Little. “It gives the students an opportunity to display their talents and skills.”

Little, who attended both days, also noted the importance of the technology utilized in the electric vehicle class.

“These young people are on the front lines of cutting edge technology,” he said.

Senator Jones also noted the significance of the effort by the students and the program in relation to NCCAR (North Carolina Center for Automotive Research), which is being developed by Northampton County.

“We have to plan for future jobs,” Jones said. “It gives them a start.”

Cobb, who is involved with NCCAR, also checked out the event.

“It’s good to see the enthusiasm,” he said about the students. “The day of gasoline dominating is no longer….Electric vehicle challenges don’t have to be boring.”

Winners are as follows:

Autocross

Car class:

Northern Vance High (1st)

Truck class:

Topsail High (1st)

Roanoke Rapids High (2nd)

Modified:

Northampton-East (1st)

Topsail High (2nd)

Central Shenandoah High (3rd)

Pit Crew Competition

Northern Vance High (1st)

West Wilkes (2nd)

Northampton-East (3rd)

Acceleration Event

Car class:

Northern Vance High (1st)

Truck class:

Topsail High (1st)

Roanoke Rapids High (2nd)

Modified class:

Topsail High (1st)

West Wilkes High (2nd)

Central Shenandoah (3rd)

Trouble Shooting Competition

Northampton-East (1st)

Topsail High (2nd)

West Wilkes High (3rd)

Range Event

Truck class:

Topsail High (1st)

Roanoke Rapids High (2nd)

Modified class:

Northampton-East (1st)

Topsail High (2nd)

West Wilkes (3rd)