North American Solar Challenge 2005
Race Diary
Friday, July 29
A Very Enjoyable Ride
Working our way back home along the wonderful Montana mountain
ranges at the conclusion of the Sol of Auburn’s sixth cross-country race gives
me an opportunity to take a look back at the highlights of our most recent foray
into the world of solar car racing.
The record will show that we finished fourth in the stock class and 12th overall
in the 2005 North American Solar Challenge. There were forty-two teams
registered at the beginning of the year. The reality of the daunting
systems-engineering task requiring a careful merging of aerodynamics,
electronics, dynamic systems, finances, and project management, reduced that
number to 32 just before the Formula Sun Grand Prix in May. Four other teams
dropped out before the final event brochure printing deadline about a month
before NASC. Attrition due to the battery of very demanding safety and
performance evaluations in the week prior to the dropping of the green flag
culled the number of participants to 20. Two more did not make it past the first
day * such are the demands of building a vehicle capable of driving at highway
speeds in the world’s longest race on less than the used to power a hair dryer!
Of these remaining 18 teams, only 14, including the Sol of Auburn, drove through
the entire 2495 miles from Austin to Calgary.
The Sol of Auburn achieved several ‘firsts” during the course of NASC2005:
-- Averaged 300 miles per day on every full day of racing. In contrast, the 2003
car went past 300 miles just one day.
-- Led stock class for the best part of three days.
-- Arrived at the stage stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba more than a day ahead of
schedule.
-- Crossed international borders.
-- Averaged over 34 mph for the race. In 2003, our average was just under 25
mph. As a point of reference, Michigan, the overall winner averaged 46 mph by
running the speed limit the entire duration of the race with their
gallium-arsenide array.
-- Did not endure a single late night emergency work session during either
scrutineering or the race itself. Sol of Auburn alumni will find this
achievement the most impressive of all!
-- Left each stage stop with a fully-charged battery pack.
It was fun running with the lead pack in the stock class and watching other
teams’ scout vehicles running alongside trying to monitor our speed to adjust
their strategy. While there is a lot of satisfaction derived from running the
race to the best of our ability, as a team we collectively recognize that there
is a lot of room for improvement. I am pleased to report that the Sol of Auburn
team served as very capable ambassadors, augmenting the image of AU’s
engineering program and that of AU in general. The number of people lining the
race route was unbelievable, culminating in the staggering turnout of thousands
at the finish line in Calgary. NASC2005 was a very enjoyable ride indeed!
Submitted By: Sushil Bhavnani
Wednesday, July 27
Friends,
Today at 12:45pm MST we crossed the finish line in Calgary. We placed
fourth in the stock class and placed 12th overall. The last official
business we have with NASC is the "five hour" awards banquet on Thursday
from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Our team is leaving immediately after the
banquet and heading back to Auburn.
If you would like photos from this trip, please contact us in August
once school resumes. We have enough digital photos to fill two DVDs.
Thanks for tuning in to our race this summer on the internet. We
greatly appreciate your interest and support of our solar car project.
God Bless and War Eagle!
Chris Trueblood
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Tuesday, July 26
Friends,
Our solar car cruised into Medicine Hat shortly after 10:00 MST today.
Yesterday, we stopped for the evening about 80 miles east of Medicine
Hat and slept in the Prairie Pride Motel ($55 per night per room -
Canadian dollars). Saskatchewan has amazing countryside and very few
people.
We're currently charging our batteries for tomorrow's final run to
Calgary (180 miles). I believe that we are currently in fourth place in
the stock class. Our shortcomings over the past few days were not a
result in poor performance of our car; rather they were a result of
superior performance of our top three competitors (Cal Sol, Stanford,
Iowa State). Driving into strong winds up a slight grade definitely
brought aerodynamics to the forefront of solar car racing.
We had our first breakdown the morning we left Grenfell (two days ago).
When we attempted to leave Grenfell, our motor controller malfunctioned
and would not send power to the motor. We suspected a manufacturing
defect, replaced the motor controller with a spare, and our car worked.
We were delayed about 45 minutes, but at least we had working hardware.
We have taken hundreds of pictures but have not had an appropriate
connection to upload them to the web site yet. Please be patient as we
will try to upload photos by this evening.
War Eagle
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Monday, July 25
Canada is very cold in the morning. We stopped in Grenfell,
Saskatchewan were all the locals loved the solar car. We will head
towards Medicin Hat today. We will post photos once we get to Medicine
Hat.
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Sunday, July 24
We arrived at the Brandon, Manitoba, checkpoint earlier today
just
after 1:00pm. Currently, we're traveling on the Trans-Canada Highway 1,
on our way to Saskatchewan.
We have very strong headwind against us, so we're running a little
slower than we'd like to. The car's doing fine otherwise.
The temperature here is 80 degrees, and the roads are very flat.We
haven't seen any bison or moose yet, but we're hoping to see some
today or tomorrrow.
We'll keep you updated!
War Eagle!
Submitted By: Mustafa Ali
Saturday, July 23
Friends,
Yesterday (Friday) we arrived in Winnipeg at 2:45pm. We flew through
Customs at the Canadian border and then cruised through Manitoba's farmland
and suburban communities at twice the speed of sound. Although our drive
into Winnipeg was fast, we still finished third in the stock class. Cal Sol
is currently about 1.5 hours ahead of us; Stanford is about .5 hours ahead
of us; and Iowa State is about .5 hours behind us.
NASC is trying to correct their timing errors that you see on their website.
We were listed as "trailering" the other day; and then they modified the
numbers and magically we were listed as first place in the stock class. I
don't know why NASC struggles with adding numbers, but it is becoming a
serious problem, especially with such a close race as this one.
We greatly appreciate your complaints to NASC about neglecting Auburn. NASC
now has a few photos of Auburn on their website, as well as including us in
their "Reports from the road" section. However, we were "reported" as
having battery problems, which is entirely incorrect. Our car has not had
any noteworthy problems since we left Austin.
While I'm complaining, I will add that our Sprint internet cards do not work
in Canada. Therefore, our internet access on the road will be nonexistent.
We will rely on phone calls and motel internet to keep you up-to-date on our
progress.
Today (Saturday) we woke up at 8:30AM which allowed us to sleep for over
nine hours! Our car, along with other cars, has been on display today at
Red River College in Winnipeg. We have been relaxing, and five guys (Matt,
John, Kyle, Mark, and Michael K.) have been playing street hockey with other
schools. Vickie and Kenny agreed to wash everyone's clothes at a downtown
laundromat.
War Eagle
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Thursday, July 21
Chase van report:
The country roads in the Dakotas and Minnesota are lined with corn -
hundreds and hundreds of miles of corn. We saw a cell phone tower in
the distance a few minutes ago, and about every 5-10 minutes a car
passes our caravan. Aside from playing "I Spy" between the solar car
driver (Mark Whitt) and the vans, our ride has been rather uneventful.
By the way, we had a flat tire this morning and changed it in 4 minutes.
I'm scheduled to drive SOL this afternoon after we reach the Fargo
checkpoint.
I haven't had time yet to respond to the scores of emails I've received
from you and from our web site, but I'll get to it soon, maybe.
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Wednesday, July 20
Friends,
We ran well today, as we passed through three states and drove 317
miles. Tonight we are staying in Sioux Falls. Cal Sol (Berkeley)
currently leads the Stock Class, but we're only about 7 minutes behind
them. Tomorrow we will continue towards Canada, and most-likely land
near the US border in North Dakota.
Our cell phone and internet service may be intermittent when we cruise
through miles and miles of corn fields and small towns, such as Nora, SD
- population: 5.
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Wednesday, July 20
We are on our way to the Checkpoint in Sioux Falls, still in first place in the Stock Class. Iowa State, Cal-Berkeley, and Stanford are proving to be very worthy competitors. We went over the 1000-mile mark earlier today. Mark Whitt started off in the driver's seat this morning; Mike Kulbacki is currently piloting Sol.
Submitted By: Sushil Bhavnani
Tuesday, July 19
Today was a great day! It started out slow because it was cloudy, but later on the sun came out. We checked into our Topeka checkpoint, and then continued onward. Currently we're about 50 miles north of Topeka, where we will be stopped for the evening.
The car is doing well, we've had no problems, and we're having a good time! Right now we still hold unofficial lead in stock class, although it's too close to call right now.
The place where we're stopped does not have very good cellular reception, so the internet is not working. Once we get a connection on the road some time tomorrow, we'll post more pictures for you!
War Eagle!
Submitted By: Mustafa Ali
Monday, July 18
Greetings,
We are pleased to inform you that the Sol of Auburn crew completed more
miles today than any other day in the team's history, and we covered the
distance under partially cloudy skies. Everything went smoothly, and
this can only be attributed to the wonderful group that composes our
team. We finished the day just North of Tulsa, Oklahoma and we will
head towards Topeka starting at 8:24am.
The public support over the entire course has been almost unbelievable, and there have been many people lining the roads as we pass through various towns on our trip. Tonight, while charging, several families stopped by to see the car and to learn all the intricacies that we could afford to tell them. Aside from some bad chicken, tonight was very relaxing for the team, and we will be up with the sun to get an early start on charging tomorrow.
Submitted By: Matt Chapman
Monday, July 18
It is now 3:15PM and I just got out of the car after just under 6 hours of driving. The sun did finally come out about mid-day and we are now racing under partly cloudy skies. Mark is now driving Sol up Route 69 North around Eufala, Oklahoma.
Reliability continues to be on our side, as the only time we have stopped has been to change drivers, as no driver is allowed to drive for more than 6 hours per day. Therefore, everyone behind us must also have stopped by this time to change drivers. Our driver change was very efficient, lasting only 2 minutes from the car stopping to rolling again.
It is 96 degrees outside and we are cruising towards the first checkpoint of the trip in Broken Arrow. Keep up withour website and the NASC website for update!
Submitted By: Michael Kulbacki
Monday, July 18
Friends,
Monday morning in northern Texas was slow for many solar cars. We have
been under never-ending clouds that appear to follow our car. It is
raining now but we're still running. Our next checkpoint is in Broken
Arrow, OK.
We currently have five solar cars ahead of us, but on this 1,421 mile
stage the order will change quite frequently.
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Sunday, July 17
A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT STEP
Although the first stage of NASC2005 is much smaller than the next two, it is a very pleasant feeling to have run 200+ miles non-stop. Unless I'm mistaken, that is a first for the Sol of Auburn. Running with the lead pack has other advantages. We get to enjoy the hospitality of the Stage hosts, including airconditioned lounges and barbecue, a luxury that is not accessible to teams that arrive late and have to scramble to set up their charging arrangements.
The team is in good spirits and we look forward to a long and successful run tomorrow to start Stage 2 ... all 1400 miles of it!
Sushil Bhavnani
Submitted By: Sushil Bhavnani
Sunday, July 17
Friends,
At 2:12 this afternoon, we arrived in Weatherford, TX (212 miles from
our start in Austin). This first day served as Stage 1; we were the
eighth car to arrive and placed second in our class behind Iowa State by
about 5 minutes.
The car ran very well considering that we had good sunshine about 25% of
the day; ran through three rainstorms; and were greeted in Weatherford
by an intense but brief storm. We're currently charging our batteries
through our solar cells and staring faithfully at the cloudy sky.
Check the website this evening for photos from today's run.
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Sunday, July 17
Friends,
We're on the road now and have been for about 25 minutes. We started
3rd after Minnesota and Iowa State. We're currently cruising at 45 mph
on Hwy 183 leaving Austin. I hope the sun comes out soon...
Chris Trueblood
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Sunday, July 17
July 17, 2005 9:02AM:
We're off! The 2005 Sol of Auburn just departed from the start line to compete in the longest solar car challenge in the world! We know that all of you want the most current information about the race as it happens, so we'll be updating these webpages every day:
AUBURN SPECIFIC LINKS:
Sol of Auburn 2005 Website:
http://www.eng.auburn.edu/organizations/SOA/
Auburn Race Diary:
http://www.eng.auburn.edu/organizations/SOA/July2005_Diary.html
Daily-Updated Photographs:
http://www.eng.auburn.edu/organizations/SOA/photos-2005-july.html
GENERAL LINKS:
GPS Tracker:
http://americansolarchallenge.org/event/asc2005/standings/race.html
Richard King's Reports:
http://americansolarchallenge.org/event/asc2005/reportsftr/index.html
North American Solar Challenge Website:
http://americansolarchallenge.org/index.html
We want to thank you for all your support and encouragement. Please keep your emails coming!
WAR EAGLE!!
Submitted By: Mustafa Ali
Friday, July 15
Friends,
Friday for our team was quite relaxing. We took time this morning to
improve a few mechanisms on our car, such as rewiring the motor's air
gap adjustment hardware. We drove almost 40 miles around Austin in the
solar car for one final test before the race. Our test run went
extremely well, and I will officially say is that Auburn's solar car
will perform competitively.
On Saturday from 9:00am to 3:30pm all teams will display their cars at
the Bob Bullock Museum near the State Capitol. We anticipate greetings
from several Engineering administrators who are flying out to Austin to
visit us.
Sincerely,
Chris Trueblood
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Thursday, July 14
War Eagle!
As expected, our performance in May at the Formula Sun Grand Prix allowed us to not have to requalify for the North American Solar Challenge. Therefore, while other teams are pressing just to get their car's into the race, we are instead spending the time making our car even more competitive and reliable than it already is.
Through the generosity of Mr. David Markley (Auburn Engineering Alum) of
Fallbrook Technologies in Cedar Park, Texas, one of several garages bays
at their facility was made available for us to work in, preventing us
from having to work in our hotel parking lot, which would have been
quite cramped. Mechanical work has nearly been completed, and
electrical work continues.
We are quite happy with the progress we have made since we finished the dynamic inspection, and look forward to completing our work by early tomorrow morning. After work is completed, we anticipate scouting the first 40 or so miles of the route in the caravan vehicles to prepare for the start of the race Sunday. We also anticipate doing some on-the-road testing of the car tomorrow to break-in / test the motor and controller.
Stay tuned to the website (http://www.eng.auburn.edu/organizations/SOA) for frequent updates and the most up to date news.
Thanks for your support and WAR EAGLE!
Michael Kulbacki
Submitted By: Michael Kulbacki
Wednesday, July 13
Friends,
This morning we completed all of the inspections and testing that are required of all teams before we're allowed to approach the start line this Sunday. Since Monday we have passed the electrical station, battery protection station, body and sizing station, driver station, mechanical station, solar array station, safety and support vehicle station, and dynamic station.
Of the 27 teams that are attempting to race this summer, we were the second team to pass all inspection stations and be fully qualified. The University of Minnesota was the first team to be fully qualified.
Our strategy for the next three and a half days is to relax and prepare the solar car for take-off Sunday morning. We won't be waking up at 5:15am, either!
Check the web page (www.auburn.edu/solarcar) after lunch today for some more photos. We will also post the six Sprint PCS phone numbers on the web site so that you may call us if you feel the need. Additionally, the official American Solar Challenge web site (www.americansolarchallenge.org) has photos, news stories, and a GPS tracking page for the teams during the race (http://americansolarchallenge.org/event/asc2005/standings/race.html).
War Eagle,
Chris Trueblood
Submitted By: Chris Trueblood
Saturday, July 9
Auburn, AL: The team left Auburn earlier today. After setting out for Lake Charles on the way to Austin at 9:00 this morning, we had to make a fairly long detour due to the approach of Hurricane Dennis. Police reversed traffic flow on Interstate 65 Southbound between Mobile and Montgomery to assist in evacuations. We're heading west into Mississippi before resuming our trek towards Lake Charles.
Submitted By: Michael Kulbacki