A blur of cars and people fills a garage at Texas Motor Speedway as teams work through their checklists and make quick fixes.
The organized chaos had a reason. Teams of high school students from across the nation prepared their vehicles for the Solar Car Challenge, an annual event held July 17-23 in Fort Worth, which aims to educate participants in science, engineering and alternative energy.
Students spent the past year working on their cars.
Before race day, the teams’ cars must go through “scrutineering,” a series of six tests that are evaluated by judges and ensure all rules are followed and each vehicle is safe to operate.

The Falcon EV team from Fort Worth Country Day toiled away in the garage. Co-captains Jason Pham and Andrew Lobo worked quickly and calmly as they prepared their car.
“Scrutineering is actually way more intense than the race day, or that’s how it felt,” Pham said. “Because right here we have a test to pass to be able to race, and we want to race. This is the most important step for us.”

This isn’t the first time Pham and Lobo participated in the challenge. Their team has competed for the past three years, they said. The difference is both students stepped up into team leadership.
“It’s definitely a lot more work, but it’s definitely a lot more rewarding too,” Lobo said.

The event is a competition, but teams help each other and foster a collaborative atmosphere, both captains said.
“Everyone plays fair,” Pham said. “Everyone wants the best for each team because we want to compete at each other’s best, not their worst. That’s what the event is about.”
Mary Abby Goss is a multimedia fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at maryabby.goss@fortworthreport.org.
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