Race day began early at 6:00 am. The car had been worked on until 10:00 pm the previous night; in the early morning hours students stumbled out of the hotel with their luggage. The race began at a high school near the hotel. Before being allowed to race, the Volt-Tech team had to get the following checked by the judges: the latch on the driver's canopy required reinforcement, additional covering was needed over the high voltage area, and one of the three solar panel feeds to the batteries needed to be repaired.
We arrived at the school parking lot a little after sunrise. Our trailer is the only one at the race that has transparant sides and roof. It was designed for SUNY New Paltz and it allows the solar cells on the car body to recharge while in tow. Thank you to SUNY New Paltz for loaning us the trailer.
Once the car was unloaded, it was parked while awaiting judges to check off remaining adjustments.
Once the judges looked at and checked out the modifications, Brittany and Joe begin to use zip ties to fasten the upper body to the lower.
Below is a group shot. Left to right: Mrs. Lord, Brittany, Tyler. Nick (in back), Myles, Joe, Chris, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Smith. The second photo shows the team with the judge who had been assigned to us and rode in Mr. Harris’s truck.
Here is a view of the parking lot which shows the many trailers and cars.
The Volt-Tech Solar Team wishes to thank all of its sponsors.
Although we were number 14, the last car scheduled to depart, we did not leave last. A few of the other cars were having repairs and alterations. Here is a video which shows a few of the cars starting the race.
Here is a video which shows team Volt-Tech preparing to depart.
A few miles down the road it was decided to trailer the car over some railroad tracks. Decisions to trailer the car were made throughout the race; there were various reasons for doing so: saving power over a steep incline, hazardous road conditions, and allowing the car to recharge its batteries while sitting in the sun. The procedure for putting the car on the trailer was to have the lead car pull off far enough in advance of the car so that Mr. Harris could pull the trailer in front of the car. I stayed far behind in the second chase car with my sign on the back warning of solar car ahead. A designated flag person from the team set up cones and flagged traffic to either slow down, or if on a two lane highway to flag cars to the far lane. Evidently Texas does not have a law about moving to the left lane when vehicles are on the shoulder. The rest of the team then would push the car into the trailer and secure it. The entire procedure took about 10 min. and then it would be repeated when the car was ready to go back on the road. The photo below shows Nick as flag person and the remaining team members preparing to push the car into the trailer.
Pulling onto the shoulder was dangerous and team members were careful to follow procedure. Here is a photo showing a semi-truck speeding by while team members are handling the car.
On the outskirts of town the land had some grass and clusters of what I believe were pecan groves. There were a few fields of crops which I was unable to identify. Most of the open land had fencing with cattle within. I noticed vines completely covering some of the trees and I asked the judge about it during one of our stops. She said that the vines were mustang grapes and that they are suitable for making jam. As we drove farther, the terrain changed to more arid land covered in mesquite trees and prickly pear. Here is a photo of a pecan grove. When I rolled down the window to take the picture many types of birds could be heard singing.
Our first required stop was in Springtown which was thirty or so miles away. You can see the time and the temperature on the school sign. We departed at around 9:30 am, so you can see that driving the car between 15 - 20 mph and trailering it took time. We were required to stay at least 15 minutes. While there the auxiliary battery was exchanged. You can see in one of the photos below Nick and Myles holding the upper part of the car up so that Chris can access the battery. The other photo shows Mr. Smith reading the amount of amperage created by the solar cells and distributed to the batteries. The reading upon arrival was near 2 and after 15 min. of sitting in the sun, it increased to over 4.5.
Shortly after departing Springtown, we ran into some rain and decided to put the car on the trailer. Shortly thereafter all entrants were required to trailer their vehicles through a congested area for 20 miles. The photo below shows the courthouse in Weatherford, Texas. I noticed several towns have tall buildings and water towers which are visible from a few miles away. The courthouse was an obvious beacon.
Joe talks about his experience driving the first leg of the race.
Once the car was permitted to be on the road again, Tyler took over as driver. Unfortunately, at one stop we made the car would not start again. It was decided to trailer the car for the remainder of the day's race. The race is determined by miles that the car runs, not by speed.
Our hotel was in Snyder, Texas and enroute team members were able to catch up on some much needed sleep. We passed open land and as we approached Snyder we found ourselves surrounded by wind turbines.
When we arrived in Snyder, we had to park the car at a parking lot at Western Texas College. The car was taken off the trailer and troubleshooting began. In a short time it was determined that a loose battery terminal was the cause of the car being unable to start. For the duration of the race, the batteries must be charged by solar only. The car was put on the trailer and the plan was to return early in the morning, move the car to the optimum spot for sun, and let it charge. Before going to our hotel, a hot dog dinner was provided.
Sunset in Snyder, Texas.
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