Starting a high school solar car program in 1990, and enduring two major solar car races (the Phoenix 500 and the 1993 SunRayce), taught me that the Winston students couldn’t successfully race against college or corporate entries. How do 16-year old kids compete with college undergraduate and graduate students, and the huge funding opportunities for universities?
What we needed was a new high school solar car event that would challenge high school students to do something that no one expected: build a roadworthy solar car.
I knew the Winston Team would never reach its full potential unless they had other high schools to race with them! That’s why in 1993 I began the Solar Education Program designed to provide guidance to new teams, and help mentor their teachers.
Since its inception, the Solar Car Challenge has worked with more than 65,000 students and has 251 on-going high school solar car projects in 38 states, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. I am proud to say that 23% more of our students actually enter a Science or Engineering Profession when compared with similarly-situated students.
I loved the friendships developed through the Solar Car Challenge. Fellow teachers who had the guts to leap into this program found a common bond in the bumps and bruises along the way.
No single teacher would have all the skills to complete a project, so the name-of-the-game was networking with specialists in the community. These volunteers would help teach students (and teachers) those thorny specialties that were crucial to building a solar car: electronics, welding, amateur radio, aerodynamics, battery technology, coding & programing, mechanical and electrical engineering, CAD, and many more!
We also learned all those other “life skills” like dedication and commitment to a project. Students learned the value of developing a budget, setting out a marketing strategy, how to fundraise, and how to talk about their project. They learned the importance of a good handshake, standing up straight, and looking others directly in the eye when speaking to them! So many Challenge participants continue to tell me how much these life skills helped them.
I knew I wanted to develop a truly student oriented program where every student would be treated with respect. Every solar car would have to be designed and built by the students; every solar car would be respected for the hard work that went into it.
Our first Winston Solar Car Team had been treated fairly by the college solar racers at the end of the 1993 SunRayce. There was a mutual respect for the high school students’ hard work. The second Winston Team would not enjoy that kind of courtesy. The 1994 Winston Solar Team decided to take part in the Tour de Sol, an event held in the Northeast for both solar and electric vehicles.
The Winston Team arrived in New York City’s Battery Park to undergo scrutineering (qualifying). Race Judges came over to inspect the solar car, and started touching and “fiddling” with the solar array. One judge grabbed the front of the solar car and started pushing it up and down allegedly to evaluate the suspension. He broke some of the solar cells with this rough treatment.
It was all I could do to stop the Captain of the Winston Team from assaulting the Judge. The Race Official took a screw driver to the steering system, and started prying up parts of the car without saying anything to the team. The Team Captain jumped up and started running towards the judge mumbling: “How can you do that to our solar car?
Luckily, I was in a position to lunge at the kid bringing him down like a football tackle. Several of the other team members helped me restrain him. The issue was the Judge showed no respect for the students or the solar car. These inappropriate and disrespectful actions burned themselves into my memory. I was determined this would never happen to anyone taking part in our racing event.
They ruled us “unqualified” for the race because they didn’t approve of our secondary braking system.
The students were in a deep “funk” and must have looked like poor, pathetic kids. They were somewhat justified because we had traveled over 1500 miles to get to New York City, been chased by a Vietnamese Street Gang in downtown New York, and were not treated very nicely by the hotel. Even so, we felt our racing opportunity had evaporated.
But out of nowhere, two men came by our make-shift shop and asked why we looked so sad. The team captains stood up, introduced themselves, and explained we had been disqualified because we didn’t have an acceptable secondary braking system. We explained how we tried to find parts to build a new braking system, but we got lost trying to find the shops in New Jersey! If I remember right, we sounded a bit inexperienced!
The two men said: “Not a problem! I need you guys to load your solar car into your trailer and follow us back to Stamford, Connecticut!” They explained they had a repair shop and could help us engineer a second braking system. We greeted this great news with whoops and hollers! We weren’t out-of-the-running!
We trailered the solar car following these guys back to Connecticut. That’s when we learned these fine men were part of the Ferrari Racing Team’s Repair Crew.
We devised a brake plan, and got to work! It was now 9:00 PM. The local radio station sent a crew to check-out our progress and operated a “live” broadcast from the Ferrari shop all evening. This brought out dozens of curious citizens and supporters.
I remember one of the team members saying “on air” that we sure were hungry because we hadn’t had dinner. Within minutes, six large pizzas miraculously arrived and just evaporated in the mouths of these hungry students. We loved the hospitality of this wonderful community!
By 2:00 AM, we had a new secondary braking system and were on the road back to New York City. There wasn’t much sleep that night but there was no lack of enthusiasm when we again applied for qualifying the next morning.
The judges came out and again started poking around on the car, jabbed the side of the car with a screw driver, and started counting the solar cells by thumping each row of solar cells. I held my breath hoping none of the students would say something offensive. The students were irate that any judge would treat our car (or the team) with such disrespect. The judges again disqualified our solar car.
This whole process was disheartening to everyone, but there were a few good things that came out of this experience. First, we made a new friend in Lee Cabe, a Public School teacher from Newburgh, New York. After seeing our solar car, Lee wanted to jump into the project. We have been great friends ever since, and the Newburgh Solar Cars won many Solar Car Challenge racing events.
The second good thing was I realized how important it was to treat everyone with respect. I have tried to inculcate this principle into the Solar Car Challenge so win-or-lose, every student goes home feeling like they were treated fairly, equally, and with respect.
In 1996, the Winston Team traveled to Australia to race in the World Solar Challenge. During that visit, I had the opportunity to meet their amazing Race Director who shared a few laughs with me. The best “laugh” was Chris asking me about our taking part in the 1994 Tour de Sol. I asked him how he knew we attempted to join that race. He smiled, and said: “Everyone” knew Winston was hoping to take part in that race.
Then he said something that rocked me back on my heels. He said: “You know, they were never going to let you enter that 1994 race!”
I must have looked stunned because of my dropped mouth and bulging eyes. He went on to explain that some of the same people involved in the 1993 SunRayce were also helping judge the 1994 Tour de Sol. He heard they were never going to allow Winston to qualify for that race. I was shaken to think how vindictive these people were, and that I had absolutely no knowledge of this.
I realized early that a high school solar car team could not compete with college or corporate solar cars. I therefore set out to develop a Solar Car Education Program in 1993 which would be designed to help form new teams, help them plan and build their own solar cars, and to provide some kind of decent “racing” environment. An event that would treat every student and teacher fairly!
The Solar Car Challenge Education Program reached out to several schools across the country and was met with favorable responses from schools in Hacienda Heights, California and Carthage, Missouri. Now, with the Winston Team, we would have three high school racers ready for a 1995 Solar Car Challenge, our first racing event!
Over the years, we promoted the Solar Car Challenge by saying: “Everyone knows that college students can build solar cars, but did you know that high school students could too!” This proved very successful! Sponsors were excited to have an opportunity to do something so meaningful. Remember, this was long before the word “STEM” became popular in Education!
High School Students (and their teachers) were hugely excited about joining the Solar Car Challenge. I heard a million times from teachers and parents that they only wished they had this kind of opportunity when they were in school. The hook: Give students an opportunity to build a roadworthy solar car, and then offer them a safe opportunity to race that vehicle at a world class NASCAR racing facility.
In our case, NASCAR built a new racing facility in North Texas: the Texas Motor Speedway, a world class facility. I approached this new TMS organization and asked if we could be the “education outreach” for the speedway. They agreed and have generously worked with us ever since. I deeply appreciate all they have done over the years to both host and help promote the Solar Car Challenge.
The Solar Car Challenge has hosted 24 national high school solar car challenges, mentored more than 251 high school teams, and advanced this great high school solar program into being the top project-based STEM Initiative in the country.
Solar Car Challenge becomes a Foundation
The Solar Car Challenge was originally associated with the Winston School, but this proved to be a limiting factor. Corporations and Foundations were not enthusiastic about donating to a small private school.
When I retired from the Winston School in 2010, the Administration and I agreed that I would take the Solar Car Challenge with me, and turn it into a national non-profit education foundation. The Solar Car Challenge Foundation was incorporated in 2011 and continues to grow and enjoy the support of major corporations, foundations, and individuals from across the country.
Bumps and Bruises
There have been many bumps and bruises along the way, but we have continued to hold true to our basic principle of respecting the individual student and each solar car team. At the same time, we had to fight to maintain the integrity of the Foundation and keep it from being “hijacked” by others seeking to steal our efforts.
2018
I have been surprised by the number of times corporate public relations people, or others have sought to use our event for their own purposes. For the most part, I have no problem with teams being aggressively supported by sponsors, but I have a basic principle that they cannot do this to the disparagement of the other teams.
For example, I remember in one cross-country race when a major corporation set up plans to promote their sponsored team throughout the 10 days of the race, including each overnight stay and display. This was wonderful for that team, but it would have diminished the “luster” for all the other twenty teams racing cross-country.
I informed this corporate media person that it was not appropriate to use the Solar Car Challenge as a vehicle to promote their company, particularly since they did not provide any support for the overall event! The media person said he would have to talk to his superiors.
Thirty minute later I had a phone call from New York. This call was from the head of this national company’s public relations office. This “gentleman” aggressively spoke saying “how dare I interfere with their plans”. I reminded him I totally supported the solar car team in question, and greatly appreciated his company’s support for this team. I then pointed out it was not appropriate for his media people to hijack the race for their own purposes.
He asked what this meant! I explained his media people planned to overtly promote this single team at every stop and solar car display along the 10 days of the race, without promoting the other 20 teams taking part in the race. This selective promotion would diminish the other team’s participation, and give the perception that his corporation was a sponsor of the race. I reminded him his corporation was not a sponsor, but we would appreciate their support in the future.
The head of this corporate public relations office then said something that stunned me. He said: “I represent a $40 billion dollar corporation. Are you trying to intimidate me?”
I assured him this was not the case, but his media people would not be allowed to hijack this event for their own purposes. The phone call was disconnected.
I was careful to monitor the race activities over the next days. I am proud to say this major corporation never did anything to interfere with the race, or hijack it for their own purposes. They did a brilliant job helping sponsor their individual solar car team, but did this promotion outside the racing event. This turned out to be a fine example of corporate integrity.
2003 Race to Florida
In another memorable corporate power grab, an Austin-based Utility had secured the Title Sponsorship of that year’s Solar Car Challenge. They were wonderful people who truly believed in solar technology, and the students demonstrating their Engineering skills.
Solar Car Challenge Race Officials decided the event would function more easily if we started the cross-country race from Round Rock, Texas rather than from downtown Austin. Traffic considerations and police supervision created too many obstacles for a downtown launch.
Dell Computers, one of our other major sponsors, offered the use of their Corporate Headquarters in Round Rock for the Race Start. Everyone agreed this would improve safety for the students. Dell had only one requirement: no corporations or businesses would be allowed to promote their organizations at their Corporate Headquarters. This didn’t sit well with the Austin-based Utility.
Race Day arrived! There was lots of fanfare and crowds to see the teams’ Race Start. Then people started pointing to the sky! There, hovering above the Dell Headquarters was a hot air balloon promoting the Austin-based Utility. The Dell representatives were furious.
After the race concluded in Florida, Dell asked what it would take to become the title sponsor of the Solar Car Challenge. They made us a deal we just couldn’t resist!
2001 Race to Columbus
A wonderful Austin-based utility was the title sponsor for the 2001 cross-country race from DFW to Columbus, Indiana. We had an exciting race partially following the old SunRayce route from Arlington, TX to Minneapolis, MN.
Our first “overnight” was scheduled for Ada, Oklahoma. Teams were camped on the parking lot at the Ada High School. We were excited to discover ABC’s Good Morning America was sending a satellite truck to have a “live shoot” the following morning from the high school parking lot. ABC star Lara Spencer would be there to interview the students and look at the high school solar cars.
Everyone had to be on the parking lot at 5:00 AM so they could be in place for the “live shoot”. Lara did a wonderful job visiting with the teams with cameras rolling and lights glaring. Then, our wonderful Houston, MS solar car team invited Lara to drive their solar car. She immediately seized on this idea as “great television.”
The students helped her into the car, and showed her how to drive the vehicle. On live television, Lara Spencer can be seen driving the Mississippi solar car across the parking lot! Then, to everyone’s surprise, you can see Lara standing up in the car and yelling: “No one showed me how to stop the car!” At this point, twenty students took off at break-neck speed trying to catch the solar car. Luckily, the event ended safely! This made for great LIVE TV!
At the end of the race, our wonderful Public Relations People from the Austin-based Utility arranged for us to have an appearance on the NBC TODAY Show! There was one condition: we would have to make this appearance the next morning following the race! They also required us to have the winning solar car there in front of NBC’s New York Studios.
Our brilliant public relations people discovered you could send a solar car “overnight” to New York via FED EX! They also rented a small jet to fly me, several Winston School solar car team members, and representatives from the winning Houston, MS solar team to New York City. The flight would have to take place after the close of the Awards Banquet, and would be an extremely tight schedule.
The next morning, we were on the square in front of the NBC studios. It was rainy! The winning solar car had not arrived yet, but seemingly out of nowhere, a huge 18-wheeler truck pulled up to the square with the winning solar car. The Houston Team unloaded the car and readied themselves for the broadcast.
We were to be interviewed by NBC Weatherman Al Roker. The broadcast time arrived, everyone was ready, and then we faced a downpour! The NBC Producer said our “shoot” would take place during the next half-hour segment! With these few minutes to spare, the Mississippi Team headed inside to get out of the rain. My students and I stood by the solar cars to make sure everything was safe!
Then, the rain just turned off! The NBC Producer loudly announced we were going to do the solar car “shoot.” Al Roker was there to interview me and the winning team, but the Mississippi Team was not there! The camera counted down 3-2-1 and we were on live national TV.
Al Roker asked me about the race and then moved down the line of students asking for their input. Roker knew that Chris was the name of the winning Solar Team Captain. When he came to the kid with the label “Chris” on his lapel, he asked him: “How does it feel to win the national race?” The unfortunate thing was this Chris was a member of the Winston Team . . . . not the Chris from the Mississippi Team.
The Winston Team Chris didn’t miss a beat! He realized what happened, and just decided to pretend to be the “Mississippi Chris.” This would keep Al Roker from looking foolish, and make sure the Mississippi Team had someone there to represent them.
The “Winston Chris” did a great job. As the interview continued, the honest-to-goodness Houston, MS Team finally arrived and lined up behind their car.
For-all-the-world, everyone thought that Al Roker had interviewed the Captain of the Houston Mississippi Solar Car Team. The Producer commended Chris for speaking so nicely . . . . . and then the NBC people realized they had just interviewed the wrong kid. It was too late at that point.
The Houston Solar Car Team did not seem upset. They realized they had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Winston Chris thought he was doing the best thing to help protect the Race, while still giving the Houston Team recognition for their race-winning performance.
Of course, I could see what was happening at the time Al Roker misidentified Chris. Thoughts raced through my mind! Should I interrupt Al Roker and tell him he was talking to the wrong kid? Should I point out the winning team was not there? Or should I just let everything play out? I decided to just let everything proceed and hope for the best!
People around the country knew the Houston Solar Car Team won the race and received great publicity for their school district. This, however, would not sit well with the State of Mississippi or the Houston, MS parents!
On the two day car trip back from New York City, I had phone call after phone call from irate Mississippi parents wanting to know what I had done with their kids. They thought I had kidnapped them! This even reached the point that the Mississippi Attorney General was supposedly planning to file some kind of charges against me!
This was all happening because the Houston Team never contacted “home” for two days after the close of the race. They were enjoying sightseeing in New York City. When they arrived back in Houston, MS, everything was straightened out and apologies made, but for two days after the NBC Interview, I was a persona non grata in the State of Mississippi!
The wonderful people of Houston, MS were to make this up to the Solar Car Challenge in 2003 when they hosted the whole race to a splendid banquet during the race, and presented the Solar Car Challenge with the Key-to-the-City, a citywide parade, and wonderful hospitality!
Should I Leave the Solar Car Challenge
In 2001, the Solar Car Challenge was gearing up for their cross-country race from Fort Worth, Texas to Columbus, Indiana. My preparations were delayed by a phone call from Alice Wessen, NASA’s JPL Education Outreach Coordinator. Alice was the wife of my old friend Dr. Randii Wessen, a scientist at JPL. Alice was asking me to consider a job with the upcoming Cassini-Huygens Space Mission.
I was invited to travel to the JPL facilities in Pasadena, California to visit with the Cassini Mission Staff. I learned I would actually be an employee of the California Institute of Technology, but loaned to JPL. My wonderful hosts wined and dined me at Cal Tech arranging for me to sit in the chair previously occupied by Albert Einstein. This is the way to gently “twist your arm.”
My hosts then took me to JPL’s Mission Control Room and introduced me to Bob Mitchell, the Cassini Mission Manager. Bob was a legend in Planetary Exploration. It was indeed a privilege to visit with him about the nature of the job. Bob explained the job was to coordinate the Cassini Mission Education Outreach to students and teachers around the world. We struck up a friendship; I was offered the job.
Bob then took me over to the Voyager Control Console where I could see JPL still monitoring these historic spacecraft launched twenty-five years ago. He also showed me the new Mars Rover Console being prepared for the upcoming Mars Sojourner Mission. This included a rover control station that trained technicians to drive the rover on Mars.
It took command signals seven minutes to reach Mars. If you are driving a Mars Rover, you have to really plan ahead because your signal to “stop” forward motion might not get there in time!
Of course, I asked to have a chance to drive the test rover located in the desert East of JPL. It only took me two minutes to drive the rover off a small cliff. There were roars of laughter from my hosts, but all the humor was good-hearted and well received.
This would have been a wonderful personal opportunity, but I decided I could do more good by returning to the Solar Car Challenge and expanding its outreach. I have often thought whether I made the right decision turning down this opportunity, but I think I have accomplished more “good” by helping to build the Solar Car Challenge Education Program.
The 2020 Crisis
The threat of COVID-19 forced the Foundation to postpone the 2020 Solar Car Challenge closed-track race at the Texas Motor Speedway. This would be hugely disappointing to so many high school seniors who would graduate without racing their solar car.
With this in mind, we awarded all graduating seniors the opportunity to come back and rejoin their high school teams. At least they could see their solar cars race at the speedway.
The COVID-19 crisis also affected our good friends at the Texas Motor Speedway. They lost almost one full year of business due to race cancellations and delays. This made it difficult for TMS to fully sponsor our 2021 racing event.
Racing at the Texas Motor Speedway was crucial to our Education Model. This opportunity was part of the “hook” engaging high school students in the STEM Project. Students were challenged to build roadworthy solar cars and then race them at a prestigious NASCAR facility!
The Solar Car Challenge Foundation and Individual Solar Race Teams stepped up and helped the speedway with financial contributions. The Speedway has helped make the Solar Car Challenge Education Program possible for over 15 years; now was the time for the Solar Car Challenge to help the speedway.
The 2021 Solar Car Challenge
Plans are moving forward for a 2021 closed-track racing event at the Texas Motor Speedway, but the shadow of COVID-19 and its new mutations create an element of uncertainty. I am not 100% sure the event will take place as of this writing. Of course, the key to this is broad acceptance of vaccinations, and full compliance with COVID protocols.
My Final Thoughts about the Solar Car Challenge
I have devoted over 30 years of my life building an education program to help motivate high school students in Science, Engineering, and Alternative Energy. I have used so much of my life-force, so many of my own dollars, and too much of my blood, sweat, and tears to help get this program “off-the ground.” I find myself now asking myself: “Is it all worth it?”
Of course it has been worth it! We have done so much “good.” I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people, and developed so many friendships. I only hope my efforts to help others have helped pay back my old friends who gave their lives in the Viet Nam War. The intervening fifty years have just flown by.