The Solar Car Challenge

The Solar Car Challenge is an educational solar-vehicle racing program for high school students, organized in Texas by the nonprofit Solar Car Challenge Foundation. Its central activity is an annual competition in which student teams design, build, test, and race solar-powered cars. Although the event is based in the United States and has historically drawn most of its teams from American high schools, it has also attracted participants from other countries, including Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. The program developed from the Winston Solar Car Team at The Winston School in Dallas, Texas. Science teacher Dr. Lehman Marks became interested in solar-car engineering after seeing a collegiate solar-car project and concluded that high school students needed a separate competition designed around their age, resources, and educational needs. Rather than placing school teams directly against better-funded university programs, Marks created a lower-cost model using commercially available solar components and an integrated curriculum. The earliest version began as a classroom competition in the late 1980s, the education program was established during the early 1990s, and the first official national race took place in 1995. The Solar Car Challenge is structured as more than a single race. Each event is the culmination of a roughly two-year learning cycle in which students receive curriculum materials, participate in workshops, develop engineering and project-management skills, and prepare their vehicles for competition. The program combines physics, electrical engineering, mechanical design, fabrication, environmental studies, teamwork, logistics, and public presentation. The Foundation also provides technical support, including visits and guidance for participating teams. Race formats generally alternate between cross-country events and track competitions. Cross-country races typically begin at Texas Motor Speedway and travel over a long route, while track races are held entirely at the speedway. The usual pattern has been track events in even-numbered years and cross-country events in odd-numbered years, although the schedule has sometimes included consecutive track races. In 2023, the program's 30th-year activities included an approximately 1,400-mile, eight-day cross-country race from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth to Palmdale, California. In July 2025, the event was held around Texas Motor Speedway, with a cross-country Texas race scheduled for July 2026. The program has expanded substantially from its original school-based project. Organizers reported that more than 75,000 students had participated by 2023, with teams active in 39 U.S. states and several other countries. By 2026, the Foundation reported cumulative participation of approximately 85,000 students. The competition has also received recognition for educational innovation and has benefited from support associated with companies such as Texas Instruments, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, and Motorola Solutions. Earlier supporters reportedly included Oncor, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and Dell. Today, The Solar Car Challenge functions as both an event identity and the public-facing program brand of the Solar Car Challenge Foundation. Its positioning centers on hands-on STEM education, renewable-energy literacy, student-led engineering, and practical experimentation. The organization remains led by founder Dr. Lehman Marks and continues to use solar-car racing as a way to connect classroom learning with a visible, demanding real-world challenge.

The Solar Car Challenge grew out of an effort to make science education more practical and engaging for high school students. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dr. Lehman Marks, a science teacher at The Winston School in Dallas, Texas, became dissatisfied with an approach centered primarily on textbook instruction. After encountering a collegiate solar-car project associated with the University of North Texas, Marks's students became interested in building a solar vehicle themselves. Marks recognized that high school teams could not compete fairly against university teams with greater technical experience, larger budgets, and more advanced equipment. He therefore developed a separate educational competition based on commercially available solar components and a lower-cost engineering model. The project began as a classroom activity associated with the Winston Solar Car Team and developed into a broader program during the early 1990s. Sources commonly identify 1993 as the establishment of the education program, while the first official national Solar Car Challenge race was held in 1995. The race became the culminating activity in a multi-year education cycle. Participating schools receive instructional materials and support as students move through vehicle design, solar and electrical-system planning, mechanical construction, testing, troubleshooting, and race preparation. The program's educational scope extends beyond vehicle performance: teams must manage schedules, budgets, safety considerations, transportation, documentation, and collaboration among students and adult advisers. Over time, the competition developed two principal formats. Track races take place at Texas Motor Speedway, while cross-country races start there and follow extended routes. The normal schedule has generally placed track events in even-numbered years and cross-country races in odd-numbered years, but operational and scheduling considerations have occasionally produced consecutive track events. The cross-country format gives teams experience with endurance, route planning, charging and energy management, roadside problem-solving, and the practical limitations of solar-powered transportation. The program expanded from a single school-based initiative into an international educational network. By 2023, organizers reported participation by more than 75,000 students since the program's founding, with teams in 39 U.S. states and additional participation from Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. The 2023 event marked the program's 30th year and included an approximately 1,400-mile, eight-day journey from Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth to Palmdale, California. In 2025, the 32nd annual event was held around Texas Motor Speedway, and a cross-country race across Texas was planned for July 2026. The Solar Car Challenge Foundation, a Texas nonprofit recognized as a 501(c)(3) educational organization, administers the program. It supplies curriculum resources, organizes workshops, provides technical assistance, and coordinates the annual event. Corporate support has reportedly included Texas Instruments, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, and Motorola Solutions, with earlier supporters including Oncor, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, and Dell. The program has also received external recognition, including a 2003 designation by Business Wire as one of America's ten most innovative education programs, television coverage in 2007, an NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant in 2024, and recognition in D CEO Magazine's Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards under Innovation in Education. The program's continuing identity is tied to applied renewable-energy education rather than commercial vehicle production. Its solar cars are student-built educational projects, and its races provide a public test of lessons developed over the preceding two years. Under Marks's continuing leadership, the Foundation uses competition to encourage interest in engineering, clean energy, and collaborative problem-solving.

• 2025

  32nd annual event held at Texas Motor Speedway

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  The annual event was conducted around Texas Motor Speedway in a track-focused format.

• 2024

  NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  The Solar Car Challenge Foundation received an NBCUniversal Local Impact Grant.

• 2023

  30th-year cross-country event

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  Teams completed an approximately 1,400-mile cross-country race from Texas Motor Speedway to Palmdale, California.

• 2007

  Television coverage

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  CNN affiliate KLTV featured the competition in a news segment.

• 2003

  Named an innovative education program

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  Business Wire listed the program among America's ten most innovative education programs.

• 1995

  First official national race

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  The first official Solar Car Challenge race was held, establishing the annual competition format.

• 1993

  Solar Car Challenge education program established

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  The educational program developed from the Winston Solar Car Team and began operating as a structured high school solar-vehicle initiative.

• 1989

  Solar-car project begins as a classroom competition

  [1]Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org

  The initiative's roots are traced to a classroom solar-car competition associated with The Winston School in Dallas, Texas.

A hands-on renewable-energy and STEM education program that uses student-built solar vehicles and competitive racing to teach engineering, science, teamwork, and project management.

• Educational competition · 1995

  Annual Solar Car Challenge

  The program's principal offering is an annual solar-powered vehicle race for high school teams. Depending on the year, teams compete either on a closed course at Texas Motor Speedway or on a cross-country route beginning at the speedway. The event tests vehicle design, solar-energy use, reliability, driver preparation, logistics, teamwork, and students' ability to solve engineering problems under real operating conditions.

• STEM curriculum · 1993

  Two-Year Solar Car Education Cycle

  The Foundation organizes the race as the culmination of a multi-year educational process. Students learn about solar power, electrical systems, mechanics, fabrication, testing, safety, project management, and environmental technology while developing a functioning vehicle. Curriculum materials and structured preparation allow schools to participate even when they do not have the resources or experience of university engineering teams.

• Educational support · 1993

  Technical Workshops and Team Support

  Workshops, curriculum resources, and technical visits support teams throughout the design and construction process. Assistance is intended to help teachers and students address vehicle engineering, solar-array integration, troubleshooting, testing, and race preparation. The support model reinforces the program's emphasis on learning and participation rather than simply rewarding the fastest vehicle.

• 1995

  Launch of the official national raceProduct launch

  Background

  The earlier classroom and school-team activity had developed into a formal educational competition.

  Action taken

  The Foundation organized the first official national Solar Car Challenge race for high school teams.

  Aftermath

  The annual race became the public culmination of the program's multi-year STEM education cycle.

  Source

• 1993

  Create a separate high school solar-car competitionStrategy

  Background

  Marks concluded that high school students could not compete equitably against university solar-car teams with substantially greater technical expertise and funding.

  Action taken

  The program adopted a lower-cost, education-centered model using commercially available solar components and a dedicated high school competition.

  Aftermath

  This decision established the distinctive structure of the Solar Car Challenge and enabled it to grow from a classroom project into a national and internationally attended educational program.

  Source

1. 1Solar Car Challengeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Solar Car Challenge official websitesolarcarchallenge.org