Meet the System Leads Driving Cardinal Formula Racing's Success
At Cardinal Formula Racing, a "System Lead" plays a crucial role in overseeing and managing a specific subsystem of the racecar. This individual guides their team through the design, development, and integration of the subsystem, ensuring it aligns with the car's overall engineering goals each year. Additionally, the System Lead is responsible for balancing these duties with the demands of being a full-time student.
Colin Kaul is the Team Captain and Lead of Business Operations for Cardinal Formula Racing. A dedicated member for the past two years, Colin is pursuing a degree in Marketing with a minor in Professional Sales. As the embodiment of the idea that you don’t have to be a STEM major to make a significant impact in building an FSAE racecar from the ground up each year, Colin showcases the diverse skills that contribute to the team’s success. This is why the team chose him to lead them through the 2024-2025 season. In his role, Colin is responsible for organizing the team, managing planning efforts, and resolving conflicts. He also leads community outreach initiatives, ensuring strong relationships with sponsors and supporters. Additionally, Colin oversees internal operations, fostering clear communication and collaboration within the team to maintain smooth and efficient performance. He continually pushes the team to the redline, driving everyone to shift into the next gear to ensure a race-ready car is built by the end of the school year.
Matteo Capotosti is currently Chief Engineer & Lead of Aerodynamics Systems Engineering for Cardinal Formula Racing. He has been a member of the team for four school years. Matteo is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Saginaw Valley State University. In his role, he established the aerodynamics department from the ground up, focusing on optimizing vehicle performance through advanced design and testing. He collaborates closely with team members on wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, contributing to innovative solutions for vehicle efficiency.
In addition to his responsibilities at Cardinal Formula Racing, Matteo is pursuing academic research at Saginaw Valley State University, studying the efficiency of electrohydrodynamic gas pumps, which added to his knowledge of fluid dynamics.
Bobby Kietzman is a dedicated member of the Cardinal Formula Racing Team at SVSU, having joined in January 2022. Currently a 5th-year student majoring in Engineering Technology Management with a minor in Management, Bobby brings extensive experience in automotive manufacturing, assembly, and machining/welding to the team. As the Chassis System Engineering Leader, he leverages his expertise in teamwork, innovation, and leadership to ensure the success of the project. The role involves significant CAD design, machining, and welding, with the team building a new chassis every year in accordance with Formula SAE regulations. Bobby's work is essential, as the chassis serves as the car's structural core, requiring close collaboration with all other system teams. Bobby’s leadership, technical knowledge, and passion for innovation continue to drive the team's success, ensuring they remain competitive in the ever-evolving world of motorsport engineering.
Tobias Pfeiffer is the Lead Machinist at Cardinal Formula Racing, currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He has been part of the team since 2019 and has held a leadership role since 2021. Tobias has experience with nearly every system in the car, from designing critical components to mentoring junior team members in manufacturing, vehicle maintenance, and operations. He collaborates with external sponsors to enhance the driveline and is focused on developing new fabrication processes to make the car lighter, more cost-effective, and easier to build. Tobias also works closely with the Aero team to optimize manufacturing and computer modeling, using his driving experience to improve the car's speed and handling.
Since Marcus Kainhofer joined Cardinal Formula Racing in the fall of 2022, he has been a prominent member of the team actively collaborating with various systems within the team to pursue overall success. Marcus is the Powertrain Co-Lead for the 2024-25 season, in this position he is responsible for the generation of power sent to the rear wheels. Marcus is at Saginaw Valley State University studying Engineering Technology, Management and Business. Since joining Cardinal Formula Racing Marcus has been a great asset to the team by finding new ways to push the car to its limits while also pursuing high levels of safety and keeping costs down.
Sydney Cairns is currently the Powertrain System Engineering Co-lead for Cardinal Formula Racing and has been a dedicated team member for two school years. She is pursuing a degree in Engineering Technology Management with a minor in Electrical Engineering. In her role, she primarily focuses on the design, optimization, and integration of the engine, ensuring it delivers peak performance and reliability for the team’s Formula SAE race car. Sydney’s work is integral to maximizing engine efficiency and power output, helping the team achieve their performance goals on the track.
Asher Wilton is the co-lead of Suspension Systems Engineering for Cardinal Formula Racing and has been a dedicated member of the team for two school years. Currently pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Asher oversees the manufacturing, assembly, and tuning of the FSAE car’s suspension. In addition to his primary responsibilities, he is learning chassis engineering from his mentor, Bobby Kietzman, and contributes to the assembly of various other systems on the car. Reporting directly to the team captain, Asher also plays a key role in mentoring junior team members, helping them understand the car’s different systems.
Johnathan Stack is a co-lead of Suspension Systems Engineering for Cardinal Formula Racing. He has been an active member of the team for two school , and is currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. Johnathan oversees the manufacturing, assembly, tuning and testing of the FSAE car’s suspension system components. Aside from this, he is also working to learn about the other systems and their integration in efforts to gain better understanding of the car as a whole. Johnathan works with Suspension Systems Engineering co-lead Asher Wilton as well as the other team leadership to guide newer team members as they learn about the systems and processes involved in building a racecar.
Nathan Niestroy is currently the Lead of Control System Engineering for Cardinal Formula Racing. He has been a member of the team for 2 school years. Nathan is pursuing a degree in Computer Information Systems with minors in Cybersecurity and General Business. In his role, he leads controls engineering for braking, steering, and shifting systems for the FSAE car. He designs and optimizes control systems to enhance vehicle performance and safety while developing ergonomic solutions to improve driver comfort and control. Nathan reports directly to the team captain and mentors junior race team members in understanding control system engineering. He collaborates with other team leads to integrate the control system with the car’s various systems and conducts testing and troubleshooting to ensure system reliability.
Owen White is currently the Lead of Data Acquisition System Engineering on Cardinal Formula Racing. He has been a member on the team for 3 school years. Owen is pursuing a degree in Computer Science. In his role he's leading the development of a data collection system to improve performance of the FSAE racecar. Using techniques learned in class and from former teammates, Owen strives to develop an intuitive and efficient system for data collection over the entirety of the race car. Owen reports directly to the team captain and mentors junior race team members in understanding the importance of data acquisition to a well performing racecar. Owen collaborates with other team leads to integrate the data acquisition system in a robust manner while also testing and troubleshooting to ensure proper collection procedures.
Jacob Johnson is the Lead of Composite System Engineering for Cardinal Formula Racing. A member of the team for the past two school years, Jacob is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In his role, he is responsible for designing, manufacturing, and implementing composite materials used in the FSAE car’s body and structural components. Jacob also collaborates closely with other engineering teams to ensure the seamless integration of composite systems. In addition to his leadership role, he mentors junior team members, sharing his expertise in composite design and fabrication. Jacob reports directly to the team captain and plays a key part in the car’s development and look as it flies across the finish line.
Flora Szklenar is currently in her senior year majoring in Electrical Engineering at Saginaw Valley State University, where she’s been a member of the Cardinal Formula Racing team for 2 and a half years. As the Lead Electronic Systems Integration Engineer, she leads the design and implementation of the electronic systems of the car. She works closely with other system leads to ensure the car is safe and reliable. She collaborates most with the Data Acquisition team, collecting valuable data, which facilitates improvements and the optimization of the car’s performance.
Flora Szklenar - Lead, Electronic Systems Integration Eng.
Get to Know the Rest of the Team
Meet the dedicated team members who burn the midnight oil, driving Cardinal Formula Racing to success year after year. Our System Leads are just one gear in the engine that powers Cardinal Formula Racing. Every member brings unique skills and expertise, ensuring peak performance from design to race day. Fueled by passion, precision, and teamwork, our team rises to the challenges of Formula SAE competition, making every lap a testament to our collective effort.
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