Tuesday, July 15, 2008

THANK-YOU to TERRELL, TEXAS

The day that we were scheduled to come home from the race, we had an accident in the bus about thirty miles outside of Dallas, Texas. This delayed our return home almost two days. We had no idea what we were going to do or even how we were going to transport about twenty-five people to the nearest hotel. Luckily, the town that we were in, Terrell, Texas, was extremely friendly and more than helpful. They not only provided us with transportation, but they also treated us to lunch and a movie. We are also from a small town, so it was great to have that same hospitality so far away from home. We don't know what we would have done without them. Our team is so thankful they were there to help us. We want them to know that we appreciate what they did very much and we will never forget their hospitality. If we had to choose the place where we wanted to break down again, it would definitely be there! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!

*We also owe another thanks to Dana Skelton, the fine art and district project manager, and his wife for* helping us find a hotel.

The team posing for a picture. Thank-you to Debbi Gamble with the Terrell Tribune for being interesting in our team and our solar car.

Another thank-you to Don Ledbetter, the General Manager of Student Transportation for the Durham School District, and to Shemika, our always friendly bus driver who took us wherever we needed to go.

She was there to pick us up on the side of the road after our accident.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

AWARD'S BANQUET

Through our efforts and team work we placed 1st in the Open Division, 1st in the Classic Division, as well as several daily trophies and a GE Engineering Award.

Sundancer Taking A Victory Lap Around The Track

JUDGES ALL AROUND

Our team would like to recognize all the judges that helped in the Dell-Winston Solar Challenge. We appreciate all that you do in making our time there safe and enjoyable.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Roddy the Camera Man That Can!!

Our thanks go out to Roddy for all the team photos during the Dell-Winston Solar Challenge. We appreciate your effort in making this challenge such a memorable experience. It just wouldn't be the same with out you there.

Our Honorary Solar Car Members


It was a wonderful priviledge to have Dr. Coker and Mrs. Janet Coker, our honorary solar car members, visit us at the Texas Motor Speedway. Their company was an amazing addition to our team and made our racing experience better than we could ever imagine.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

DAY 6

Josh Griffin also helps another team by driving their car for a while! Doesn't he look good in a pink car?! :)

Today is the last day of the race. We are all tired but it has been fun. We are looking forward to a great, sunny day. This morning at the driver's meeting we received another trophy for Sundancer I. So far we have won seven. Tonight is the closing banquet where the over-all winner will be announced. We are hoping to bring home our eighth victory.

Making last minute adjustments before the race began.


Wednesday, July 09, 2008

DAY 5

Jonathon helped out another team today by filling in as one of their drivers. This morning at the drivers meeting, when the results from yesterday were announced, we were glad to find out that we had completed the most laps in the Classic Division in the morning session. We also found out that Sundancer I completed the most laps in the open division. We are so proud of our drivers and all of their hard work.

We would also like to thank Schott Solar for making all of this possible. We are glad they are interested in our team and our solar car and also that they have continued to support us.


Sundancer II crossing the finish line!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

ALL OF THE TEAMS AT THE DELL-WINSTON SOLAR CHALLENGE 2008

DAY 4

We arrived at the track around 7 o'clock this morning and it was already hot! Before the race starts each day all of the teams have a drivers meeting. This is where the race officials announce the standings from the day before. We are happy to let you know that we recieved three trophies. Two were from Sundancer II completing the most laps in the morning and afternoon sessions in the classic divison. The other was from Sundancer I completing the most laps in the open divison. Sundancer II completed 90 laps while Sundancer I completed 132. We are hoping today goes just as well as yesterday!

Monday, July 07, 2008

DAY 3

Even though it's only the first day of racing, we are feeling very confident about both cars. We are having great lap times and charging well. We won the first new competition yesterday which was seeing who could carry their car 15 ft. the fastest. We did this is only 10.5 seconds!

Also, last night at the awards banquet, we received the first place trophy from last year that we didn't get while we were in Newburgh, New York. That was another great way to start off the race. We would also like to send out a special thank-you to our Superintendent Dr. Coker and his wife for coming all the way to Texas to show their support for our team!

Sunday, July 06, 2008

DAY 2

Today, the second day of scrutineering, we finally completed all of the stations and are getting ready for the race tomorrow. We only had to make a few minor adjustments to our cars. We have all qualified to drive not only our cars but also some of the other cars. A few teams did not have enough drivers, so we volunteered to drive for them a few days. It will be tough competing against our own car, but we have to show true sportsmanship. We are about to go to the hotel and get ready for the opening banquet which is tonight at 7 o'clock. Hopefully the race will get off to a good start tomorrow morning.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Arrival in Texas

After breaking down about one hundred miles outside of Dallas, TX, in the bus, on July 4, it was very hard to find help. When the team from Biloxi passed us, they immediately pulled over to help. Thanks to them, the bus was fixed and we were able to make our way into Dallas and settle in for the night. We are currently setting up and preparing for scrutineering which will start at three this afternoon. The heat is smoltering and it's only 10:15 in the morning! With one more day of scrutineering (Sunday), the race will officially start on Monday morning and will end on Thursday. After that, we will rest for the night and start home on Friday morning. To all those who are keeping up with us, please pray for everything to fall in place and go well, and also the safety of our competitors and ourselves.
*Houston Solar Race Team



The broken down bus!

Thank you Mister bus mechanic man from Biloxi!

Finally coming into Dallas!

Saturday morning.. Inspecting any possible problems before scrutineering.