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The Story
On July 15, 2001, nearly 100 high school students from the U.S. and Mexico met in Austin, Texas to begin the first leg of an event that would challenge them mentally, physically, and emotionally.

These students participated in the Winston Solar Challenge, a program designed to teach high-school students the physics and the technology required to build and drive a road-worthy vehicle that is powered by the sun’s rays.

In the months leading to this event, these students got real world experience as they attempted to solve technical problems as a team. The students participated in all aspects of their car’s creation from fund raising to sun racing. Throughout the sometimes exhilarating, sometimes disappointing process they learned discipline, problem solving, and cooperation. They also shared a sense of the environmental benefits that can come from solar technology and its practical application.

The race began in Austin and meandered through the countryside of five states before ending at Columbus, Indiana, on July 25. A chase car and a support team of enthusiastic young welders, electronic specialists, and mechanics followed each solar vehicle as it sped along a predetermined 1200-mile route.

The varied terrain of the course required that the teams develop innovative strategies for dealing with broken axles, blown tires, dead batteries, and cloudy days. However, the real winners were not the students that finish first but those who met people from different cultures and backgrounds who shared a common interest in technology and problem solving.

The race finished in Columbus, Indiana where the teams were honored in a festive ceremony attracting national media attention. At the end of the day the students say their farewells to each other and take home with them an experience of a lifetime. They learn that it was not just the sun that propelled them to the finish line but something within themselves that shines even brighter.

History of the Winston Solar Challenge
In 1993, the Winston Solar Car Team lead by Dr. Lehman Marks launched an education program to provide curriculum materials, on-site visits, and workshop opportunities for high schools across the country. This effort was designed to motivate students in the sciences and to stress the value of alternative energy.

The end product of each two-year education cycle is the Winston Solar Challenge, a closed-track or cross-country race designed to give students an opportunity to display their work. The first such Challenge in 1995 attracted 90 schools leading to nine schools actually building cars for the 1995 race. Three cars qualified to run. The 1997 Challenge grew to over 350 schools in five countries leading to 22 schools building cars for the race. Eight of these cars qualified to run the 1997 race, a 600-mile, cross-country event from Dallas to San Antonio.

The Winston Solar Challenge now hosts annual events with the addition of resources from the Texas Motor Speedway. Even-numbered-year events will be closed track races at the Speedway; odd-numbered-year events will continue to be cross-country races. The 1999 race was a 1600-mile event from Dallas to Los Angeles. Students from over 750 schools participated in this monumental event; nine teams qualified. The 2001 race traces its course from Austin, Texas, to the outskirts of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Click here for more information about the Winston Solar Challenge.

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