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Solar Car Challenge

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solar Car Challenge
Solar Car Challenge
VenueTexas Motor Speedway (even years)[1][2]
Cross-country (odd years)[2]
LocationUnited States
First race1995

The Solar Car Challenge is an annual solar-powered car race organized in Texas for high school students. The event attracts teams from around the world,[1] but mostly from American high schools. Originating as a class competition held in 1989,[2] the first official race was held in 1995. Each event is the end product of a two-year education cycle[3] organized by the Solar Car Challenge Foundation, a non-profit.[4] The venue of the race typically alternates annually between being cross-country races which start at the Texas Motor Speedway and track races taking place solely at the speedway.[2] Currently, this means that track races take place on even years and cross-country races on odd years, but occasionally consecutive track races are held which disrupt this pattern.[5] Most recently, in July 2025, the race took place around Texas Motor Speedway, with a cross country race across the state of Texas scheduled for July 2026.[6]

History

[edit]
End of the 2010 Cross Country Race at the University of Colorado

Founding

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The Solar Car Challenge is an educational program aimed at engaging high school students in designing, building, and racing solar-powered vehicles. It originated with the Winston Solar Car Team, a student solar car team at The Winston School in Dallas, Texas, led by science teacher Dr. Lehman Marks.[7] [8] Multiple sources report the education program was first established in 1993, with the first official national race held in 1995.[9] [10] [11]

According to Marks, the Solar Car Challenge grew out of his frustration with the state of STEM education in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he found that his students were disengaged by learning solely from textbooks.[12] Seeking a way to engage them, Marks accepted an invitation from an acquaintance at the University of North Texas who was building a collegiate solar car for a newly established competition; after visiting the project, his students asked to build a solar car of their own.[13]

Dr. Marks has said he concluded that high school students could not fairly compete against college-level solar car teams because of disparities in technical expertise and funding, leading him to design a separate, lower-cost program built around commercially available solar components.[14]

Growth and format

[edit]

The annual competition grew from its original classroom setting into a national program. As of 2023, organizers reported that more than 75,000 students had participated since the program's founding, with active teams based in 39 U.S. states and in several other countries, including Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica.[15] By 2026, organizers reported cumulative participation of approximately 85,000 students.[16]

The event format has alternated between closed-track races at The Texas Motor Speedway and cross-country races that begin there, though the pattern has occasionally been disrupted by consecutive track-only years.[17] In 2023, the program marked its 30th year with an eight-day, approximately 1,400-mile cross-country race from the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth to Palmdale, California — its first cross-country event since 2018 — with participating teams from Texas, Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.[18] In July 2025, the program held its 32nd annual event at the Texas Motor Speedway.[19]

Solar cars racing on the track at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Media coverage

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In 2007, the competition was featured in a segment on CNN affiliate KLTV.[20] The Solar Car Challenge was named one of America's 10 most innovative education programs by Business Wire in 2003.

Organization

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Structure and leadership

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The Solar Car Challenge is organized by the Solar Car Challenge Foundation, a Texas-based nonprofit recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) educational organization.[21] As of 2026, the Foundation continues to be led by its founder, Dr. Lehman Marks.[22] The Foundation provides participating teams with curriculum materials, workshops, and on-site technical visits over a multi-year education cycle that culminates in a public race.[23]

Funding and sponsorship

[edit]

According to the Foundation, the program has been supported by corporate sponsors including Texas Instruments, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, and Motorola Solutions, with sponsors in earlier years having included Oncor, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and Dell.[24]

Recognition

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NBCUniversal

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In 2024, the Foundation received an NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant.[25]

D CEO Magazine

[edit]

The organization was also recognized in D CEO Magazine's Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards, in the "Innovation in Education" category.[26]

See also

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[edit]

References

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  1. 1 2 Geisel, Hunter (July 7, 2024). "South Florida high school students head to Texas Motor Speedway to race solar-powered cars". CBS News Miami. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Walker, Noelle (April 15, 2024). "Solar Car Challenge Foundation shows how NBCU Local Impact Grant made a difference". NBC Dallas Fort Worth. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  3. ↑ Maugeri, Steve (July 30, 2024). "South Florida high school students shine at Texas competition with solar powered car". Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Solar Car Challenge Foundation". ProPublica. Archived from the original on September 2, 2025. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  5. ↑ "History of Solar Car Racing and the Solar Car Challenge". Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Solar Car Challenge Calendar 2026". Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Plano Green Team to compete in Solar Car Challenge". Plano Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  8. ↑ "1,400-Mile Solar Car Challenge To Roll West from Fort Worth This Weekend". Dallas Innovates. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  9. ↑ "1,400-Mile Solar Car Challenge To Roll West from Fort Worth This Weekend". Dallas Innovates. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  10. ↑ "'Wouldn't you like to harness the power of the sun?' Solar Car Challenge makes a pit stop in the Highland Lakes". DailyTrib.com. July 2026. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  11. ↑ "2026 Solar Car Challenge Underway: 24 High School Teams Race 632 Miles Across Texas". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  12. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew J. (July 19, 2026). "The grueling, 630-mile road race where the only fuel is sunlight". The Verge. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  13. ↑ Hawkins, Andrew J. (July 19, 2026). "The grueling, 630-mile road race where the only fuel is sunlight". The Verge. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  14. ↑ "The grueling, 630-mile road race where the only fuel is sunlight". Wilson's Media. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  15. ↑ "1,400-Mile Solar Car Challenge To Roll West from Fort Worth This Weekend". Dallas Innovates. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  16. ↑ "2026 Solar Car Challenge Underway: 24 High School Teams Race 632 Miles Across Texas". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  17. ↑ "History of Solar Car Racing and the Solar Car Challenge". Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  18. ↑ "1,400-Mile Solar Car Challenge To Roll West from Fort Worth This Weekend". Dallas Innovates. July 14, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  19. ↑ Presswire, EIN (June 26, 2025). "Solar Car Challenge Brings Teens from Across U.S. to DFW for Epic Race". CBS 42. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  20. ↑ Tracy Watler (reporter) (July 18, 2007). Racing on solar power (Flash) (television report). KLTV/CNN.
  21. ↑ "Solar Car Challenge Foundation". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  22. ↑ "'Wouldn't you like to harness the power of the sun?' Solar Car Challenge makes a pit stop in the Highland Lakes". DailyTrib.com. July 2026. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  23. ↑ Maugeri, Steve (July 30, 2024). "South Florida high school students shine at Texas competition with solar powered car". CBS News Miami. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  24. ↑ "SOLAR CAR CHALLENGE FOUNDATION". Benevity Causes. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  25. ↑ Walker, Noelle (April 15, 2024). "Solar Car Challenge Foundation shows how NBCU Local Impact Grant made a difference". NBC Dallas Fort Worth. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Meet the North Texas Students in a Solar Powered Car Race". D Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
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