As the team comes off a highly successful completion of scrutineering on day two, the focus has shifted to finishing touches, final replacements, and practice leading up to race day tomorrow. 

As usual, most of the electrical group started early in the pits, testing and logging solar panel data. This information – sorted, calculated, and interpreted with programs and calculations created by students – is crucial to overall team strategy. The brainchildren of Larsen Mendoza (10), his menagerie of Google Sheets calculators, are the masterminds behind any decision the strategy team makes, whether related to car speed, driver efficiency, or PV performance. 

The rest of the team was treated to an additional hour of sleep and breakfast at the condo – another benefit of early scrutineering completion. We enjoyed waffles, fruit, and yet another load of clean laundry done by our wonderful chaperones whose support has been the cornerstone of our time here in Texas. 

Following breakfast, we moved down to the pits, where Zach Olsson (12) led car recovery practice. In the event of a breakdown during racing, it’s imperative that we’re able to extricate the car from the track in both a safe and timely manner. A group of 6 ran through the procedure: cones, flagging, trailer adjustment, ramps, and car securing until each member was comfortable and the transition was smooth. 

A distinctive element of the Solar Car Challenge, one that is also focal to the RAHS Green Energy Team is its emphasis on collaboration over competition. Throughout the day, members worked with other teams to share materials, expertise, and morale in order to work through scrutineering issues. Not only is this another opportunity for the team to get further involved, but it allows us to embody the core principles of our team, and what the challenge is all about: learning through teamwork. 

Wheel adjustments, tire changes, array testing, and other modifications concluded our day in the pits as we wrapped up with another team dinner. At the condo, we took time to further reflect on our progress as well as where we hope to be.

On the agenda for tonight: lots and lots of rest! As we prepare for our first day of racing tomorrow, we look forward to watching the car perform and are excited for the challenges that come with it. 

Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow (race day one) for live streaming of the race on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@SolarCarChallenge!