Dell-Winston 2006 Solar Car Race Announces Winners

Fort Worth, Texas [RenewableEnergyAccess.com] Winners from among 18 high-school race teams from the U.S., India and Puerto Rico have been announced by the 11th annual Dell-Winston School Solar Car Challenge, a four-day closed track race that took place last week at Texas Motor Speedway. Co-hosted by Dell Inc. and the Winston School in Dallas , all participants built their road-ready cars to be powered exclusively by sunlight.

The top three winners in the Classic Division of 11 total were Saint Thomas Academy Experimental Vehicle Team with 399 laps and 598.5 miles; Choctaw Central High School Solar Car Project with 245 laps and 367.5 miles; and Sunshine Mountain Traveler with 227 laps and 340.5 miles. The top winner of the three in the Open Division was the Houston Solar Race Team with 416 laps and 624 miles. “The competition this year was tough,” said Leigh Springer, captain of the Houston Solar Race Team. “Our redesign of Sundancer’s body, some new solar cells from SCHOTT, and great teamwork gave us the edge we needed to keep our winning streak alive,” she said, referring to the energy from 856 SCHOTT Solar PV cells, which fed an 8-hp SLC150 New Generation Motor. This is the sixth year in a row her team has won this division. “The solar car challenge has taught more than 3,000 participating students about technology, teamwork and commitment; and it has inspired thousands of others to get involved in long-term science projects,” said Dr. Lehman Marks, race director and instructor at The Winston School, a private K-12 school in Dallas focused on realizing the potential of bright children through individualized learning. Statistics were uploaded daily, where parents and other fans tracked each team’s performance in real-time, using computers and related materials provided by Dell. “This hands-on, experiential learning program helps students develop 21st century skills, like teamwork, problem solving, math and science, that they’ll need to compete in today’s digital economy,” said Karen Bruett, vice president of Dell’s K-12 education business. The 10- to 12-student teams competing in the four-day competition come from Baton Rouge, La.; Choctaw, Miss.; Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; Ocean Springs, Miss.; Houston, Miss. (two teams); Newburgh, N.Y. (two teams); Decatur, Miss.; St. Johns, Ariz.; Mendota Heights, Minn.; Bangalore, Karanataka, India; Vasant Vihar, New Delhi, India, Round Rock, Texas; Ridgway, Colo.; Walnut, Calif.; Dallas, Texas; and Carthage, Miss.