Race Blog

Every two years, our solar car project culminates in a cross country race called the American Solar Challenge where we compete against various other solar car teams from around the world. The competition begins with Scrutineering where race officials inspect all the vehicles to ensure that they comply with race regulations and are safe to operate. Next, the teams go head to head in the Formula Sun Grand Prix, which is the qualifying track race. The goal is to get as many laps in as possible and to give all the drivers experience with the car's handling before the cross country event. This qualifying race determines the starting position for all the teams that are allowed to move on to the main event. The American Solar Challenge is a staged race on normal roads under standard traffic conditions.

Teams that can successfully finish this competition demonstrate that their cars are indeed road worthy vehicles with sufficient reliability and range to travel hundreds of miles every day without burning a single drop of fossil fuel. Team PrISUm is proud to have qualified a brand new solar car for every major North American solar race since they began in 1990. We are ever grateful for the Innovators Education Foundation, which is the non-profit organization that hosts the American Solar Challenge. Below you'll find an archive of our race blogs that we do our best to update daily during the duration of the competition.

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