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The race will take them 866.7 drivable miles from Round Rock, Texas, to Boulder, Colo.
The Solar Race team is all male students from Houston High School and is competing with Sundancer in the Open Division, while the Houston Lady racers is the girl’s team competing with Sundancer II in the Classic division.
On your mark
After completing the first day of racing from the Texas Motor Speedway to Snyder, both Houston teams garnered first place trophies. Sundancer covered 172.1 of a possible 190 miles while Sundancer II covered 147.9 miles. The only competition for Sundancer comes from Walnut High School, which was behind 102.8 miles after Day One.
The Lady Racers faced much stiffer competition from the South Plantation (Fla.) Solar Knights, who fell behind only 2.9 miles at the end of Day One. The Lady Racers suffered a blowout on the road, but quickly got their game plan in control, changing the tire and regaining the lead for the Day One trophy.
Day Two began better for the girls, but didn’t end quite as well. Instructor Donna Turman had to laugh at the series of events.
“We were doing wonderfully until that last stop,” Turman said. “We took a wrong turn, but turned around and got back on track.”
The team was trailering through town and stopped to unload and put the car on the road when everything seemed to go wrong.
“Our radio wouldn’t work,” Turman said. “We’d try it in the lead truck and it was fine, but put it in the solar car and nothing. You can’t go out without communication.”
Once they got the radio working and hit the road, the solar car performed well, but the lead car had problems.
“The water pump went out,” Turman said. “The truck was on the side of the road.”
The team called adviser Clay McNutt, who was accompanying the boys team ahead of them.
“He came back to us and we set him up as the lead,” Turman said.
The team got back on the road and made up all but three miles of their distance. Suzy Reese said the girls had a positive attitude about their ordeal.
“We didn’t really get that far behind,” Reese said. “We’re pretty much even now so it shouldn’t be too hard to catch up.”
The boy’s team is cruising in the Open division with one lone competitor, Walnut High School (Calif.), and is eating up the miles. Thomas Brown said the team is still concentrating on running smoothly through the race.
“We’ve had some minor problems,” Brown said. “At our first mandatory stop, our steering bracket broke and we had to fix that, but we got right back on the road. Then, we took a wrong turn and had to get back on track, but everything is going good. As long as we keep navigating well, we’ll be OK.”
Brown said the team is enjoying the traveling, but appreciates the people back home who support them.
“Tell them we miss them back there,” Brown said.
Sundancer took first place at the finish of Day Two, and Sundancer II took second place for the day.
R&R day
All teams had a rest day Wednesday in Amarillo, Texas, before heading back out on the open road in their quest to be the first car in Boulder, Colo., with the most miles driven and the least penalties acquired.
The teams have spent many hours on the road, but have managed to enjoy some free time as well. They enjoyed a trip to Six Flags Over Texas and sightseeing during their day off Wednesday. Reese said one of their most enjoyable experiences is close at hand.
“We’re worn out because we don’t know how to leave the pool,” Reese said.
The Hunt-Winston Solar Challenge will conclude July 25 in Boulder with closing ceremonies and overall awards presented at the evening banquet.
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