Solar Car Challenge Brings Teens from Across U.S. to Texas for Epic Race

Twenty-seven teams of high school students from across the United States are preparing to head to Texas for the 32^nd annual Solar Car Challenge, when they will race around Texas Motor Speedway for four days to see which team’s car goes the greatest distance. The race begins Sunday, July 20.

The Solar Car Challenge, which won the 2024 D CEO Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards’ Innovation in Education category, was established in 1993 by educator Dr. Lehman Marks. The program is designed to motivate students in science, engineering and alternative energy. Preparations for this year’s race began with educational workshops last September, though it can take teams two to three years to see their ideas come to fruition. 

Students built these cars using their own ideas and starting from scratch. Before the race, their cars will face “scrutineering” – rigorous evaluation by a panel of experienced judges – at the speedway from July 17-19. 

During the race, car breakdowns, weather conditions and team experience will limit the number of miles a team can drive each day. The team driving the most miles accumulated over the four days of racing at Texas Motor Speedway will be declared the winner.

“The Solar Car Challenge has been named one of the top Science and Engineering programs in the country by Science & Technology magazine,” Marks said. “We teach the kids how to build a plan, come up with a budget, fundraise, how to engineer the car and manage the project, all while they’re learning about how to harness energy from the sun to make a car go down the road.”

This year’s Solar Car Challenge will feature 27 teams from nine states, including 13 teams from Texas, six teams from California, two from Kentucky and one each from Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and Washington. The Challenge has 261 high school solar car projects in various stages of development in 39 states, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Spain and Singapore.

Continuing its global efforts, Solar Car Challenge will have observers from China attending the 2025 race with the intention of participating in 2026. Solar Car Challenge also has a cooperative effort with the Arab Renewable Energy Commission, which represents 22 countries in the Middle East.

A cross-country version of the race occurs biannually, with alternating years showcasing cars on the track at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 2025 race will feature a new racing division – Cruiser – which requires cars to have four doors with the solar array embedded in the body of the solar car. 

“This is the brain sport,” Marks said. “It’s not just about building the car, but how to drive that car, solve the inevitable problems that happen with the car, and keeping your team intact through four grueling days of racing. Doing the Solar Car Challenge makes these students better equipped to face the challenges they’ll have in life.”

Solar Car Challenge | https://www.solarcarchallenge.org/challenge/media.shtml.