For the 31st annual Solar Car Challenge this week, 32 teams of nearly 600 high school students from across the country will see which student-built, solar-power...
High schoolers from across the U.S. will compete in the 31st annual Solar Car Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway this week.
The competition is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday at the Texas Motor Speedway. Visitors are welcome to cheer on the teams and see the fleet of solar cars up close.High school students prepare to test their solar-powered vehicle on the track during the Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.The challenge isn’t necessarily about speed. The teams compete to see which car can loop the track the most. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.
They also have to pay their own way to compete. Teams collect donations and sponsorships to fund the construction of their car and their trip to Texas. Some teams estimate their cars are worth around $100,000 in materials, and many spend additional tens of thousands of dollars on the trip.students are one of a dozen solar car teams in North Texas.
Sometimes, Marks said it’s a rabbit and tortoise situation, where a team will drive very fast and then run out of power, and end up losing to a team that went slower but for longer.The record is about 1,300 miles over the course of four days, accomplished in 2022 by a team from Washington. Cars have reached speeds as high as 72 mph, but most solar cars travel around 35, Marks said, to optimize the car’s power.
Driver’s feel the heat, not just from the glaring sun, but from the responsibility they take on behind the wheel.
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