RacinToday.com

FORT WORTH, Texas _ Fueled by a relentless Texas summer sun, the international high school Solar Car Challenge returns to Texas Motor Speedway beginning Friday, July 16 and will continue through Thursday, July 22.

The 25th annual event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Solar Car Challenge (https://www.solarcarch.com) is an education program designed to motivate students in science, engineering and alternative energy. High school students are taught to plan, design, engineer, build, race and evaluate road-worthy solar cars.

Twelve teams representing Dallas-Fort Worth high schools and 11 from across the country currently are scheduled to compete at “The Great American Speedway,” hosted by Texas Instruments.

The Solar Car Challenge has 251 high school solar car projects in various stages of development in anticipation of an upcoming solar racing event. Teams are located in 38 states, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. The Solar Car Challenge Education Program remained active during school closures in 2020 by transforming its top project-based STEM Initiative into virtual learning workshops.

“We have to be extra proud of these racers because they have fought through so many obstacles to fund and build their solar cars,” said Dr. Lehman Marks, Solar Car Challenge founder/event director.

Car breakdowns, variations in weather, track conditions and team experience limit the number of miles a team can drive during the four-day event. The team driving the most miles accumulated over four days will be declared the winner in each racing division. The 2021 race will feature a new division, the Cruiser Class Vehicle, featuring a four-passenger suburban-style entry.

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Teams representing the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex:

Colleyville _ Covenant Christian Academy (2 teams)

Coppell _ Coppell High School

Fort Worth _ All Saints Episcopal School

Greenville _ Greenville High School (2 teams)

Keller _ Keller Center for Advanced Learning

Mansfield _ Ben Barber Innovation Academy

Plano _ Plano Green Team (STEAM Engine)

Prosper _ Prosper High School (2 teams)

Wylie _ Wylie ISD

 Out-of-state teams scheduled to compete:

Lisa Academy _ Little Rock, Ark.

Kent School _ Kent, Conn.

North Tampa Christian Academy _ Tampa, Fla.

Western High School _ Davie, Fla.

Bloomington High School South _ Bloomington, Ill.

Ballard Memorial High School _ Barlow, Ken.

Bath County High School _Owingsville, Ken.

Heroes Alliance _ Detroit, Mich.

Staten Island Tech High School _ Staten Island, N.Y.

Five Schools _ Bend, Ore.

Raisbeck Aviation High School _ Tukwila, Wash.

View all team profiles at: https://www.solarcarchallenge.org/challenge/teams2021.shtml

Science & Technology Magazine named the Solar Car Challenge one of the top Science & Engineering programs in the country. NBC-Universal honored the Solar Car Challenge as a leader in their national Project Innovator Project.

Scrutineering of vehicles participating in the Solar Car Challenge will take place July 16-18 beginning at 8 a.m. Each day of the four-day competition, July 19-22, will begin at 9 a.m.

Due to the speedway’s infield being closed to maintain a rigorous COVID protocol, the race will be live-streamed at: https://www.youtube.com/user/HighSchoolSolar.

 

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