High school solar car race makes a pit stop at UTEP

The 2018 Solar Car Challenge made a stop at UTEP on July 20th.

The Challenge is a solar-powered car race where high school students from around the country compete in three different divisions: classic, advanced and electric-solar-powered.

High school students are in charge of building, maintaining and driving their cars 833 miles: from Fort Worth, Texas to Palmdale, California.

“Just being able to do this as a high school student is just really inspiring,” said Gabriel Graves, a member of the Liberty Christian Solar Car Team. “Most people think, ‘Okay, if you’re building a solar car, you got to be in college, right?’ But just being a high school student, it’s really cool to do.”

One team ABC-7 talked to has been on a years-long winning streak.

“I think we’re on a 16 year winning streak,” Ben Clark, part of the Houston Solar Race Team, said. “Fifteen or 16, yeah.”

All the students ABC-7 talked loved getting to participate in the friendly competition.

The Solar Car Challenge seeks to help motivate students who are interested in the fields of Science, Engineering, Technology and Alternative Energy.

It teaches high schoolers how to design, engineer, build and drive a roadworthy solar car safely.