A group of Central Oregon high schoolers are showing off their engineering skills in a solar car race spanning from Texas to California.
The Oregon Solar Car Team works year round — building and testing their car, Alpha Centauri, and getting sponsors. They work on everything from the electrical system to the mechanics.
They took off this week for the first ever “cross-country” race from Fort Worth, Texas, to Palmdale, Calif. — 950 miles.
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“I think it’s been huge for our team,” said team captain Caden Cooper, a senior. “I mean, we’ve been working some of us for four years straight just to get to this moment and it’s been amazing to drive a car. We built on highways, you know, through different states passing, you know, crossing through borders in a solar powered car. It’s been huge.”
The car has already driven more than 329 miles as of Tuesday with four days of racing left to go. The team was sitting in second place in the advanced division.
The students are from Mountain View, Caldera and Trinity Lutheran high schools and Baker online academy.
