C.O. high school students build, race solar-powered car, striving to overcome setback

Next month, they plan to take part in 925-mile cross-country race from Teas to California

(Update: Adding video, comments from the team)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) --  The Central Oregon Solar Car Team is a group of high schoolers who enjoy the challenge of building and racing solar-powered cars.

The Oregon Solar Car Team's current car, the Alpha Centauri, has been in development for almost five years.

Students from Mountain View, Caldera and Trinity high schools are on the team, but it's open to any high schoolers.

 Next month, they plan to take part in a 925-mile cross-country race, the Solar Car Challenge.

 "I have very high expectations for this vehicle," Mechanical Team member Nathan Stevenson said Sunday. "We've dedicated a lot of effort and a lot of time into it."

The team is entering their solar-powered car in a cross-country race from Texas to California, coming up next month. 

Electrical captain Kai Elgie explained how he got into the team.

"My mom was forcing me to come, so I was like, all right, I'll go check it out -- it looks fun," he said. "I had no idea anything then, and like that's why I think this is such a good thing to learn is because I had no idea how to do any of this."

The Alpha Centauri underwent a big setback when it was damaged in a crash -- not on the race track, but in its trailer, as they were in a crash as the team headed home from a race last year.

Team Captain Caden Cooper walked us through the repairs, and how they improved the car as a result. 

"The carbon fiber body was crushed and our solar array was damaged pretty badly," Cooper said. "So this year, we've decided to totally remake the body and totally remake the solar array." 

Next month, the team is participating in a cross-country race from the Texas Motor Speedway to Palmdale, California. 

Coach Tom Stueve talks about the progression he's seen throughout the members of the various teams.

"Each team continues to make the strides, to make things even more rigorous on themselves, because they're trying to adjust," he said. "And that's why racing exists." 

Last summer, the team drove 500 miles -- 327 laps at the Solar Car Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway.

This year, the team is pushing the boundaries, wanting to accomplish more distance for the upcoming race -- with a goal of racing all 925 miles.

While the team is developing skills working on the car, they're also gaining valuable lessons off the track. 

Financial Captain Jackson Knipe said, "As financial captain, I've learned a lot more about how to raise money, as well as communicate with companies and people in the business world in a professional manner."

The Oregon Solar Car Team, which is a nonprofit, is still looking for sponsors to help with the upcoming season. So far, they have raised about $20,000 for the race, and hope to raise $10,000 more.

The team captain, Caden Cooper reached out to NewsChannel 21 to provide details about the team's efforts and its setback:

"Everything in our car is built by us, and we are technically a 501C3 non-profit organization," he wrote.

"Last summer, we attended the Solar Car Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway. We drove a distance of 500 miles, completing 327 laps, earning us third place in our division!

"This July, we will be participating in the cross-country race from the Texas Motor Speedway to Palmdale, California. This will be our team’s first time attending the cross-country race, which will present us with new challenges.

"Unfortunately, on our way back from this year's race, the trailer containing our solar car was rear-ended. In the crash, our car's body and solar modules sustained significant damage.

"Despite this setback, our team morale has stayed high, and we are eager to repair it!" Cooper wrote.

"Our goal is to drive all of the miles of the 925-mile race this year. There are many improvements we would like to make to our car for the upcoming race to achieve this goal.

"A few of the updates we are working on are creating a new solar array with a goal to double the output, remaking our carbon fiber body, and we're working on developing a telemetry system to communicate data from the solar car to the rest of the team."