Solar Car Challenge turns 30
630 miles, zero gas, and a car that breaks in your own parking lot
The annual Solar Car Challenge hits its 30th anniversary with a 630-mile road race across Texas in July, as high school teams compete in solar-powered vehicles they designed and built themselves. Founder Lehman Marks says the real goal is building engineers, not better solar cars.
Emmanuel Fabrice Omgbwa Yasse AI-assisted
2026-07-23 · Last updated: 2026-07-30 · 1 min read
On July 19, dozens of high school teams from around the country will line up in Fort Worth, Texas, to start a five-day road race covering 630 miles to Fort Stockton. The vehicles look nothing like a normal car. Most are flat, wide, and low, with a single driver crammed under a solar panel. Some look like space probes that escaped the clean room. And the only fuel they can use is sunlight.
The Solar Car Challenge marks its 30th anniversary this year, growing from a single frustrated teacher's experiment into a nationwide program that has engaged more than 85,000 students across 39 states and several countries, including Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain, and Singapore. Over 260 active high school solar projects exist today. The program's growth parallels government investments in technical training, such as France's €360 million AI education initiative.
The race that is not about the car
Founder Lehman Marks, a Texas educator, started the program in 1993. In the late 80
- Source : The Verge
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