The RAHS Green Energy Team met bright and early at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on July 12th, 2022, ready to begin the journey to Texas for the National Solar Car Challenge. The team arrived in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas that afternoon, and spent the day unpacking and getting settled in.
The next morning, the team woke up bright and early to get started on unpacking and testing the solar car, in order to be finished and out of the Texas heat by 3pm when peak temperatures reached 105°F. Upon unpacking “Jimmy”—our solar car—we noticed two spots on the left side, upper edge of the vehicle that had been damaged in transit. We checked the solar panels to ensure that none had endured any damage, which they hadn’t, and set to work covering the damaged areas using white gorilla tape. After fixing the damaged areas and ensuring that no damage had been done to the solar panels, we began running tests to measure our solar panel efficiency, before heading out onto the road to test. The remainder of the afternoon was spent taking turns practicing driving by taking laps around the roads surrounding the perimeter of the Texas Motor Speedway racetrack.
After finishing with testing, the team packed up the car and headed to the hotel for a series of solar car challenge meetings—one for all teams, one for all drivers, and one for all advanced-division teams. Finally, after all the meetings concluded, the team finished off the night with some team-bonding through swimming and playing poker by the pool.