American Solar Challenge

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The North American Solar Challenge (NASC) is a solar car race across the United States and Canada. In the race, teams from colleges and universities throughout North America design, build, test, and race solar-powered vehicles in a long distance road rally-style event. NASC is a test of teamwork, engineering skill, and endurance that stretches across thousands of miles of public roads.

Format and Organization

Solar race cars and crews at the start of the 2005 race in Austin, Texas. Photo: Stefano Paltera/North American Solar Challenge.

Rules

• Race consists of a series of timed stages between predetermined locations; all teams begin and end each race day in the same location
• The team with the lowest overall elapsed time wins
• The total area of all solar cells and related reflectors, etc. must not exceed 6 square meters
• When the vehicle has stopped, the solar array may be reoriented toward the sun for charging batteries
• Strict specifications and engineering scrutiny process is provided for vehicle configuration, safety requirements, and other standards
• Teams in the race are divided into two categories; open and stock

• Open class — Solar cells over $10 USD per watt (higher efficiency)
• Stock class — From a pre-approved list of cells that are under $10 per watt

(Previous races also specified different battery technologies for the classes)

Race route

The 1990 and 1993 races had a south-north orientation, intended to roughly match the Darwin-to-Adelaide, Australia, route of the World Solar Challenge. In 1995, race organizers opted for a mostly east-west route from Indianapolis to Colorado. In 2005, the ASC adopted its current route that follows a south-to-north orientation across the United States, then turns to the west upon reaching Canada.

Since 1995, the Race Director has been Dan Eberle, a professor at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri.

History

Originally called Sunrayce USA, the first race was organized and sponsored by General Motors in 1990 in an effort to promote automotive engineering and solar energy among college students. At the time, GM had just won the inaugural World Solar Challenge in Australia in 1987; rather than continue actively racing, it instead opted to sponsor collegiate events.

Subsequent races were held in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999 under the name Sunrayce [year] (e.g. Sunrayce 93). In 2001, the race was renamed American Solar Challenge and was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Beginning in 2005, its name changed again to its present form to reflect the border crossing into Canada and the addition of co-sponsor Natural Resources Canada.

After the 2005 race, the US Department of Energy discontinued its sponsorship, resulting in no scheduled race for 2007. The race is now sponsored by Toyota.

University of Michigan's Sunrunner, winner of the inaugural Sunrayce USA in 1990.

1990

The original, 1,800 mi (2,900 km) Sunrayce USA route started at Disney World in Orlando, Florida and ended at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan.

The winner of the first race was the University of Michigan Solar Car Team's Sunrunner, with an average speed of 24.7 mph (39.8 km/h), followed by Western Washington University's Viking XX.

1993

Sunrayce 93 was held June 20-26, 1993. The race route covered over 1100 miles starting in Arlington, TX and ending in Minneapolis, MN. The first place car was Maize & Blue from the University of Michigan followed by Intrepid from Cal Poly Pomona and Solar Eagle II from Cal State LA.

1995

Sunrayce 95 ran along a 1600-mile route from Indianapolis, Indiana to Golden, Colorado. Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the race with an average speed of 37.23 mph (59.92 km/h), followed by the University of Minnesota just 18 minutes behind.

1997

Cal State LA won the nine-day Sunrayce 97. Cal State's Solar Eagle III averaged 43.29 mph (69.67 km/h), followed by MIT's Manta GT in second place.

Stanford's Solstice team in 2005.

1999

Sunrayce 99, running from Washington, DC, to Orlando, FL, was notable for its lack of sunshine. The University of Missouri-Rolla's Solar Miner II won the race with an average speed of 25.3 mph (40.7 km/h). The car from Queen's University placed second.

2001

In 2001, the race took on its new name, the American Solar Challenge, and followed a new route from Chicago, Illinois to Claremont, California along much of the old Route 66. The University of Michigan won the overall race and the Open Class with a total elapsed time of 56 hours, 10 minutes, and 46 seconds, followed by the University of Missouri-Rolla. The University of Arizona team won the Stock Class event.

2003

The Solar Miner IV from the University of Missouri-Rolla won the 2003 race overall, as well as the Open Class; the Stock Class was won by the Prairie Fire GT from North Dakota State University.

Minnesota's Borealis III crosses the border to Canada on July 21, 2005.

2005

The 2005 race, renamed the North American Solar Challenge, was the longest and most hotly contested race so far. The route covered 2,494.9 mi (4,015.2 km), taking the teams from Austin, TX, USA to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The race was won by the Momentum from the University of Michigan, that school's fourth victory, with an average speed of 46.2 mph (74.4 km/h). The University of Minnesota's Borealis III followed in second place. The lead teams often drove 65 mph (105 km/h) (the maximum allowed), but were slowed by rain in Kansas and 20 mph (32 km/h) headwinds in Canada. Stanford University's Solstice won the Stock Class in 2005.

2008

The 2008 North American Solar Challenge will take place on July 13-21, 2008, along a route from Dallas, Texas to Calgary, Alberta.

As many of the top cars were bumping up against the 65 mph (105 km/h) race speed limit in the 2005 event, race rules were changed in order to limit performance. Open class cars are now only allowed 6 square meters of active cell area, and upright seating is required for both open and stock class cars. The same changes were made for the 2007 World Solar Challenge.

See also

• Solar car racing
• World Solar Challenge
• South African Solar Challenge
• List of solar car teams

External links

• North American Solar Challenge
• Formula Sun Grand Prix
• CSTV Video Documentary of 2005 NASC