LIABILITY INSURANCE

Rule 7.4 requires teams to submit a Proof of Liability Insurance Certificate no later than June 1st. That means it must be in the Solar Car Challenge Office by June 1st. This insurance document will make it possible to secure a temporary Texas License for the team which is extremely important in a cross-country driving experience.

Most teams will be able to secure this insurance document under their school’s umbrella insurance coverage. If this is a problem, you can secure insurance through the Frederikson Agency [See Event Update 2026-4]. https://www.solarcarchallenge.org/challenge/updates.shtml

Failure to provide a Proof of Liability Insurance Certificate on time will automatically withdraw your race application.

TRAILER FOR RACE

The Solar Car Challenge highly recommends an enclosed trailer for a cross-country race. This provides security for your vehicle overnight.

The Race provides overnight security for all vehicles that are in the Impound [9:00 PM to 6:30 AM], but open trailers are always subject to tampering.

PRE-RACE PREPARATION

The key to driving a cross-country race is to thoroughly understand the road ahead of you. This means that teams should utilize a topographic software program so they can set up a plan to know which hills they want to drive over, and which hills they want to trailer over! Trying to drive over every hill will drain your battery early in the race day.

The "Cross-Texas Driving Adventure" will encounter hills in both East Texas and in Central Texas’ Hill Country. Please practice driving hills before you come to the race so that your drivers have experience making the best use of the energy in your batteries.

PRACTICE TRAILERING

Teams should practice trailering and un-trailering their solar car. This will be hugely beneficial when you are on the side of the road or in traffic.

Remember, when you plan to trailer, the first person out of the Chase Vehicle is the Team Safety Officer. Their job is to set up orange safety cones and begin flagging traffic around the convoy. After the safety cones are set up, the rest of the team can emerge from the vehicles and begin the trailering process.

This whole process can be streamlined with practice. We will be testing a team’s ability to trailer and un-trailer their vehicles at Station 6 during Scrutineering. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams demonstrating superior skills in trailering.

UPCOMING DEADLINES

June 1 - Deadline for Proof of Liability Insurance to be received in the Solar Car hallenge Office.

June 15 - Deadline to submit digital Team Scrapbook chronicling the development and production of your solar car. Send to: scrapbook@solarcarchallenge.org

July 1 - Deadline to submit video of Team’s Oral Presentation explaining their solar car project and highlighting engineering decisions. Send to: video@solarcarchallenge.org

TEAM SCRAPBOOK GUIDELINES

(1) Teams will email a digital copy of their Scrapbook to scrapbook@solarcarchallenge.org no later than June 15th, 2026.

(2) The scrapbook must be submitted in a pdf format so that multiple judges can have easy access to the document. Google documents will not be accepted.

(3) The Scrapbook will be divided into two Sections:
  (a) Section One: showing students working on all phases of the solar car project, including the a planning, design, CAD, fundraising, building, and testing.
  (b) Section Two: showing students design and engineering decisions through both narrative and photographs. Engineering decision-making is the cornerstone of your solar car project. Judges will want to see documentation showing your engineering challenges and how you resolved them.

We understand your decisions are often limited by budget, resource availability, and time for construction. The Judges will want you to explain these decisions in your scrapbook as well as during your team’s oral presentation.

(4) The digital Scrapbook will become the property of the Solar Car Challenge Foundation, and will become part of your official team documentation.

TEAM VIDEO PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

Rule 3.10: Video Presentation - Teams shall prepare a video presentation describing their solar car project. The team will have up to 8 minutes to give a full statement about the team’s project. Teams will be graded based on whether the presentation gave a full statement about the team’s project and engineering decisions made, whether all team members participated, whether the presentation was well prepared and rehearsed, whether the team was able to speak without the use of notes, whether the team used visual aids, and whether the team’s digital scrapbook adequately showcases the team’s progress and development of the vehicle.

Teams will be awarded up to 25 miles based on the quality and completeness of their video presentation, oral presentation, digital scrapbook, and registration packet. Penalties received during the event cannot affect miles awarded. Points will be awarded after the team passes Scrutineering.

Date Due: Presentations must be emailed to video@solarcarchallenge.org no later than July 1, 2026. Teams must submit their video in an mp4 format.

(1) Grading Criteria

1. Did the video presentation give a full statement about the team’s project?
2. Did the team explain their engineering decisions? For example: battery placement, array design etc.
3. Did the team show documentation supporting their engineering decisions?
4. Did all team members participate? [Every team member needs to speak]
5. Was the presentation well prepared and rehearsed?
6. Was the team able to speak without the use of notes?
7. Did the team use visual aids?
8. Was the video of the oral presentation sent in mp4 format to video@solarcarchallenge.org

(2) Video Guidelines

1. The video should be an uninterrupted record of the team’s oral presentation. It should be the same as if the team were being videoed in front of a "live" panel of judges.
2. Teams may use multi-media during their presentation if this media would have been used within their "live" oral presentation. Teams will receive a point reduction if they use professional editing or visual effects within their video.

ORAL PRESENTATION DURING SCRUTINEERING

(1) Teams will be scheduled to spend at least 5 minutes discussing their project with a Group of Judges. The Solar Car Team will be led by the Team Captain. (Advisors/Mentors may not attend).
(2) Oral questions may inquire into engineering decisions, construction issues & solutions, adherence to a production schedule, team management, CAD drawings, etc.
(3) It is recommended that teams bring a copy of their registration packet for reference.
(4) Teams will be assigned an Oral Presentation time slot during Team Check-In.

Copyright (c) 1995-2026 Lehman Marks. All Rights Reserved. Solar Car Challenge, 3505 Cassidy Drive, Plano, TX 75023 Questions about the challenge? Contact Dr. Lehman Marks, Event Director