High School Students Gear Up for 30th Solar Car Challenge in Texas

Washington DC, United States Jul 19, 2026 ALN: On July 19th, dozens of teams of high school students will begin a five-day, 630-mile road race from Fort Worth to Fort Stockton in Texas. But this is not your typical contest. The students design and build the cars themselves, using off-the-shelf parts and 3D printed materials. The winner is the team that accumulates the most driven miles. And the only fuel they can use to power their Frankenstein-looking vehicles comes from that mass of incandescent gas that hangs in our sky: the Sun.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the annual Solar Car Challenge, a contest that brings together high school students from around the country with the one goal to build the fastest, most efficient solar-powered car. The race was founded in 1993 by Dr. Lehman Marks, a Texas educator with a long-held interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Students learn a variety of skills through the challenge, including project management, budgeting, fundraising, and engineering. But mostly, they have to build a race-worthy solar vehicle that can hopefully go the distance.

Dr. Marks, reflecting on the origins of the Solar Car Challenge, explained that it was born out of his frustration with the state of STEM education in the late ’80s and early ’90s. At that time, he was teaching a group of students who were disengaged and uninspired by learning solely from textbooks. Seeking a way to spark their interest, he accepted an invitation from a friend at the University of North Texas, who was building a collegiate solar car for what was then a brand-new competition.

“We went up there and the kids were just mesmerized by the intricacy of the solar project,” he recalled. “And all the way back from Desmond to Dallas, they kept yelling, ‘Doc, won’t you please let us build a solar car?’” This enthusiasm led Marks to realize that high school students would never be able to compete fairly against college teams because they lacked the technical expertise and financial resources available to universities. Thus, the Solar Car Challenge for high school students was born, with the educational program officially kicking off in 1993 and the first national competition in 1995.

Since its inception, the program has engaged over 85,000 students across 39 states and multiple countries, including Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, and Singapore. There are currently over 260 active high school solar projects. The event alternates formats between on-track and cross-country, with this year’s event being a grueling, 630-mile race across Texas. The five-day trek starts July 19th in Fort Worth and travels through the towns of Palestine, Round Rock, Fredericksburg, and San Angelo, before finishing in Fort Stockton. Lehman mentioned that town residents come out and celebrate the teams each time they pass through, creating a festive atmosphere that enhances the experience for participants.

”It’s not just building a car,” Lehman stressed. “It’s learning how to officially drive that car. In this coming event, one of the things I’ve been preaching to the kids is, before you ever get here, you need to put 500 miles in your car. You need to know, will it break? You need to know, even if it breaks, let it break in your own parking lot so you can fix it.” This hands-on experience is invaluable, as it teaches students not only technical skills but also problem-solving and critical thinking, which are essential in any engineering field.

The race typically features three categories of competition: classic, advanced, and electric-solar power, in which the teams race electric vehicles that receive energy from stationary solar power stations. This year’s challenge introduces a new division: cruiser. In this category, teams build four-seater vehicles with solar arrays integrated directly into the car’s body. This innovation reflects a growing interest in making solar cars more practical and appealing to the general public.

The decision to create a new division was born out of years of people questioning whether solar cars would ever resemble actual automobiles instead of flat, highly aerodynamic vehicles with a driver often crammed beneath a wide solar panel. Indeed, many of the cars barely resemble anything you would recognize as road-worthy, appearing more like a mix between futuristic spacecraft and high-tech go-karts. This shift towards more conventional designs aims to demonstrate the potential of solar technology in everyday transportation.

Lehman said the organizers wanted students to build solar-powered vehicles that looked like real passenger cars, with solar cells integrated into the bodywork itself, room for four passengers, four doors, and a trunk. He believes this helps demonstrate that solar-powered transportation can have practical applications, allowing people to imagine what future solar-assisted passenger vehicles might actually look like. “People would say, ‘Oh, this is really neat, but it’s not reality,’” he said. “Now we can show them what it could be. And I think that’s a step up.”

Blake Wood is a 17-year-old rising senior from Benbrook Middle-High School in a suburb of Fort Worth. He’s also one of the captains of the Old Rip Racing solar car team, one of the few independent teams in the race. Their 14-member team includes students from three different schools, something Wood sees as their biggest strength, because it allows students who otherwise would never have met to collaborate on a shared engineering challenge. This collaboration fosters a sense of community and teamwork, essential traits in both academic and professional settings.

Wood says the team began planning approximately a year before the competition. Their earliest work consisted of paper sketches while they studied successful cars from previous years in the Classic Division, which is intended primarily for first- and second-year teams. They analyzed what made those other cars work well and incorporated those ideas into their own initial concepts. This iterative process of design, testing, and refinement is a critical part of engineering, and it mirrors the real-world challenges that engineers face in developing new technologies.

The Solar Car Challenge not only emphasizes engineering but also encourages students to engage in various aspects of project management. Teams must budget their resources, seek out sponsorships, and manage their time effectively to ensure they can complete their vehicles by race day. These skills are invaluable and translate well into any future endeavors these students may pursue, whether in engineering or other fields.

Moreover, the challenge highlights the importance of renewable energy sources in addressing the global energy crisis and climate change. By fostering an interest in solar technology among young people, the Solar Car Challenge aims to inspire the next generation of engineers and innovators who will continue to explore sustainable solutions to energy needs. As the world grapples with the impacts of fossil fuel consumption, initiatives like this provide a glimpse into a future where renewable energy plays a significant role in transportation.

In conclusion, the 30th Solar Car Challenge represents not only a competition but a celebration of innovation, teamwork, and education. It serves as a platform for students to showcase their skills and creativity while promoting the importance of renewable energy. As these young engineers prepare to hit the road, they are not just racing for a trophy; they are paving the way for a more sustainable future, one solar car at a time.