After kicking off the Solar Car Challenge and in the lead with 200 laps, we were ready for another high performance day. Utilizing lap data from the first day, the strategy team worked tirelessly beforehand to create a plan that conserves our energy but also gets us the most laps. An incredible amount of calculations […]
Today was the first day of the racing portion of the challenge. Over two years of design and build begin to be put to the test on this day. With scrutineering done and strategy working nonstop to make sure that their calculations are correct for the drivers, all the rest of the team could do […]
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 […]
The team had a very early morning today; members Zach(12), Caden(9), Hagen(12), Jude(9), and Larsen(10) left the hotel in the early morning to test the solar array to see how many watts it generates. From this testing, we started at about 300 watts, and it increased about 60 watts every 10 minutes, with about a […]
Today was the first day of scrutineering and the team was well rested and prepared. They needed the rest for the very busy day ahead. Upon arriving at the speedway and unpacking, we started our first section of scrutineering: General (aka Mechanical). It started with simple questions. The judges were impressed with the car, and […]
On July 9th, 2024, the RAHS Green Energy Travel Team got out of bed bright and early to fly out to Texas for the Solar Car Challenge. After a smooth flight, they met Zach and Josh, who had trailered the car, at the hotel. Travel Team Prepares for Flight On the way to Texas, SOCKEYE […]
Texas is only a week away, and the RAHS Green Energy Team is in a rapid scramble to put the finishing touches on Sockeye and pack the trailer for the long journey. Over the past few weeks, the team has been refining and testing the car at the PACCAR Technical Center in Mount Vernon to […]
Waking up at 5:45 a.m. is never easy. But especially for a group of highschoolers who have fought jet lag, the intense Texas heat, and the accumulating fatigue after a week of solar car racing. Usually, we were practically dragging each other out of bed to arrive at the speedway on time, yet Race Day […]
One of our horns literally blew out yesterday — so we’re definitely on the right track. (Quick rule clarification for our viewers not familiar with the race rules: solar cars racing on the Texas Motor Speedway are required to sound their horn when they pass a slower car.) Yeah. We were passing so often on […]
Race Day One is officially done! Over the course of the day, we performed more than 100 laps, and achieved a top speed of fifty-three miles per hour during the later hours of the race. The day’s success was met with multiple high-fives and passionate cheers from behind the pit wall. After the official lap […]
