Solar racers cruise across America

Solar cars race along Highway 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles

By Richard Stenger
CNN Science and Technology

(CNN) -- Move over NASCAR. Another wheeled competition is taking the nation by storm, or more accurately, by sun. Rather than burn gas and belch fumes, these racing machines soak up rays as they muscle for position in the longest solar race in the world.

Resembling flat, alien spaceships, the racers are steadily moving along historic U.S. Route 66 on a transcontinental marathon from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California.

Built by engineering majors, international scientists and high school students, the cars often travel at speeds in excess of 55 mph, using less electricity than a typical hair dryer.

The contest, which began Sunday, inspires fierce technological rivalry. Secrecy is of utmost importance -- teams guard their prized roadsters, even sleeping in tents beside them.

Going mobile with modems

EXTRA INFORMATION How the sun powers a solar car     RESOURCES Visit the American Solar Challenge Web site for race updates and team information

In vans equipped with a computer and modem, team members chase their drivers, constantly monitoring the car's sensors and tweaking their strategies accordingly.

"The name of the game is efficiency; we have to play that game with our toys and our brains," said Tim Reid, a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Rolla, whose team had commanded a sizeable lead within two days.

The Solar Miner III had cruised 328 miles on Sunday to St. Louis, Missouri, more than 120 miles ahead of the next racer, Midnight Sun VI of Waterloo University.

Before noon Monday, the Solar Miner reached the city of Rolla, Missouri, well ahead of the pack, said Mike White, a veteran race Volunteer who was keeping statistics on the 30 entrants.

"I kind of caught the bug and I've been involved ever since. It's a fun project to be in. You get to see a lot of emerging technologies," he said.

Solar cars use less electricity than a typical hair dryer

The position for the team is familiar territory in more ways than one -- they placed first in the last biennial cross-country solar car race in 1999.

Teams go to great lengths to maximize the use of solar power. At the checkpoint, the Missouri-Rolla team tilted the car over and pointed the solar cell collectors to the west, squeezing every bit of energy possible from the setting sun. Other teams spray water on the solar panels, to magnify the sun's rays.

Students from Montreal to Puerto Rico to London have spent months or years preparing for this year's American Solar Challenge, a 2,300-mile odyssey that should conclude with a dash for the finish line on July 25.

Adding to the mix is the first professional team, Associazione FUTURA from Italy; and the first high school competitors, Solar Shadow II from Los Altos High in California.

After crossing the Great Plains, the 30 cars will climb the Rocky Mountains and cruise through the Southwestern desert.

Jockeying for the lead

The drivers tend to be short -- anyone approaching six feet in height finds the contraptions cramped. But weight is not a serious factor. Cars with drivers under 180 pounds have ballast added to compensate, "making sure this isn't a jockey race where you stick the lightest person in the car and run with it," Reid explained.

The high-tech machines are equipped with electric motors that approach 99 percent efficiency, using solar energy four times more effectively than conventional auto engines use gasoline.

With the latest engineering innovations, some of the cars cost more than $250,000. But the Solar Miners hope to win with brains as well as brawn, just as they did two years ago.

While other teams squandered precious power speeding over hills, leaving them stalled on cloudy days, the Missourians rationed their electrical supply, slowly but methodically working themselves into the lead.

"It was kind of like the tortoise and the hare. We were the tortoise and we won," Reid said.

CNN Chicago Bureau Chief Jeff Flock contributed to this report.