SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Students at Agnes Stewart Middle School raced for a good grade as part of their Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) class.

Their carbon dioxide-powered cars went neck and neck to the finish line to see which student had the best creation.

The students spent a month designing, sawing wood, sanding and painting their cars, learning aspects of skilled work.

"You have to not procrastinate," student Aubrey Omeara said. "You actually have to get it done in the beginning. You can't just sit there and be like, 'Oh then I'll do it tomorrow, or I'll do it the next day.'"

They received 50 points for the design and 50 points for acceleration, and at the end of the race, their teacher took the winning car and compared the data to the other cars to see what caused it to win.  

"I didn't think my car was going to go," Omeara said. "But then I was in the last of the races so I was like, 'Oh my gosh, my car made it. I actually did something and now my car is going.' So it was pretty awesome."

The race is just one of many Career Technical Education (CTE) projects students will take part in.