The objective of this study is to present a simple, practical and comprehensive project to teach dynamics of mechanical systems in undergraduate level engineering courses. For that purpose, the dragster car challenge is utilized as a practical application example, for which a pedagogical activity where the students, organized in groups of five and supervised by tutor, design, model and analyze the dynamic performance of a minicar propelled by a tension helical spring. The dragster car challenge engages students to quite complete project, since it includes a good number of aspects related to teaching dynamics, namely the elaboration of free body diagram, application of Newton’s laws of motion, resolution of the equations of motion, as well as the identification of the dominant and secondary variables related to the performance of the car. Aspects associated with the machining and building of physical prototypes of the dragster car are not focused in this study. This work deals with the formulation and resolution of the equations of motion of the dragster car, including dissipative effects, such as air drag resistance, friction existent between the axle and bearings and between the wheels and ground. The obtained solutions are implemented in computer codes, which allow students to analyze the dynamic response of the car in terms of its performance. This study demonstrates that the proposed challenge approach is effective in teaching dynamics of mechanical systems. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.