Dr. Andy Frank (a.k.a. Professor Fate, from "The Great Race"), a distinguished professor from the University of California at Davis,
was on hand to pass out the awards. Dr. Frank is the world leader in the development of plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles. It was an honor having him on hand to officiate the 2008 Solar Drag Race.
Additional details of the 2008 solar drag race will be added in the next couple of days. Please check back for
additional photos and information.
This year's event was successful because of the hard work put in by South Whidbey High School, Republic Middle/High
School, Wenatchee High School and Brook Solar's
Photon Phantom teams. Chehalis High School had assembled a solar array using the solar cells donated by REC Silicon,
but did not complete their race frame in time to compete in this year's event. Chehalis, Republic and Wenatchee
high schools all plan to have new light-weight modules made from the REC silicon cells ready to go for the race
in 2009. A delay in the delivery of lightweight composite panels prevented the racers from using the REC silicon
solar cells during the 2008 event.
Other teams that would like to create a light-weight solar array using the composite honeycomb structure
can contact
Composite Laminate Specialties, Inc., a manufacturer of high performance hydrofoil boat hulls and aviation
parts located in Pacific, Washington. A light-weight module reuires a much lighter support stucture and
theoretically should result in a much faster solar dragster.
Check out the 2007 photos or see the
2006 and 2005 photos.
The official solar drag race rules for the event can be found
by going here.
Welcome
Welcome to the web site dedicated solar drag racing. Unlike other solar races you may
be familiar with, solar drag racing is different. Solar drag racing uses only sunlight that can be captured
by the vehicle over a short 1/4 kilometer distance. No batteries or other pre-charged energy devices
are allowed. Racers start from zero and accelerate down a straight track. All of the racers to date have had
about one horsepower to work with. As the race develops over time, solar dragsters may eventually exceed
two horsepower. While one or two horsepower is not much power, it is theoretically enough power to accelerate the
racers from zero to more than 50 mph over the 820 foot distance. To achieve those speeds will require
efficient solar cells (or thermal engine), lightweight construction, aerodynamics and some type of
transmission system between the wheels and motor. Additional performance details can be found in the
calculations section listed on the menu to the left.
2008 solar drag race makes front page headline news at the Wenatchee World
The
Wenatchee World's headline news story covered the solar drag race in Wenatchee. Included with the news story is a
3 minute video of the 2008 event. It was
unclear if there was even going to be a race due to the heavy cloud cover. Although the racers were slower this year,
it turns out there was still enough sun to hold a competitive event.
2008 Race Results
South Whidbey High School chose to compete in the unlimited division and successfully
defended their title at the Fourth Annual Solar Drag Race that was held in 2008. Whidbey chose to compete in the
unlimited division because their open circuit voltages were greater than 50 volts and their solar
racer was worth more than $5,000.
Brooks Solar's Team Photon Phantom placed second in the unlimited division. It would have
been interesting to see if the race results would have been different had there been full sun.
Wenatchee High School won the high school division. Republic Middle/High School
competed well this year, overcoming technical difficulties with relays catching fire.
REC Silicon - Official Race Sponsor of the World's Only Solar Drag Race!
