Knights Racing Collection

The Knights Racing Program has been a staple of the University of Central Florida since the creation of the FTU chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1972. Before the program became widely known as "Knights Racing," the racing teams were simply referred to as simply the members of the ASME chapter. The program's name, "Knights Racing," originated with UCF's mascot change in 2007 which shortened the UCF's mascot from "The Golden Knights" to "The Knights." Much of the history surrounding the Knights Racing Program is unknown; however, the Knights Racing Program launched an unofficial effort to recover some of its history in 2021.

The Mini Baja Competition was coined under the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), who began to hold competitions for the Baja carts. This competition consists of students designing, building, and operating a recreational offroading vehicle. The first Mini Baja SAE Competition that UCF, then Florida Technological University (FTU), attended was the Mini Baja competition at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. As of 2021, these vehicles are tested on an off-road track where the car must survive a series of obstacles and a four-hour endurance race. According to the Knights Racing website, UCF has been a part of the SAE Baja competition from the humble beginnings of the competition. It was hosted on the FTU campus first in 1978, and again several times through to 1996. Since 1996, UCF has entered at least one car into the competition per year. According to the SAE website, there are three Baja competitions held per year: the West, East, and Central Competitions. The UCF Baja Racing Team attempts to compete in two out of the three competitions held annually.

The Formula SAE Team was developed later on in UCF's history. According to the 2021 president of the Formula SAE Team, Rebecca Vollmann, the Formula competitions began in 1981, but UCF did not begin to compete until 2000. As of 2021, SAE holds two Formula SAE competitions: the West Coast and the East Coast Competitions. The West Coast Competition is typically held in the California-Nevada region, whereas the East Coast Competitions is typically held in Michigan. The Formula SAE Team attempts to attend at least the East Coast Competition annually.

At the time of their creation, the Baja Racing Team and the Formula SAE team were one team; however, they separated in 2019 due to Student Government Association funding limitations. Since their divorce in 2019, the teams compete, design, and build their cars independently. As of 2021, the Formula SAE and Baja Racing Teams remain under the umbrella of the "Knights Racing Program" though they act independently.