American Solar Challenge 2003 - July 7th - July 8th
Inspection Process
Our hotel in Schaumburg is luxurious - complete with a whirlpool, fitness room, business center with free internet, elaborate breakfast with a Belgium waffle maker, and clean supersized rooms with kitchenette - all for $60 per night per room. Monday morning we arrived at Ryan Field in Evanston and began the inspection process for qualifying our solar car. We completed all inspection areas (Electrical, Mechanical, Body, Sizing, Solar Array, Dynamic) by mid-afternoon and encountered only one problem: our rear end needed to be reinforced to keep it rigid in sharp, hard turns. With the help of a local machinist, we were able to add appropriate supports to the rear suspension. Fortunately, we were able to work on the concourse inside the stadium so we didn't get wet when it rained.
The media has shown much interest in our solar car. Chicago's ABC 7 (WGN) News filmed our brake test, a DVD Magazine group filmed our car, and several team members were interviewed by the Chicago-Sun Times. I found out on Tuesday that the Weather Channel broadcast nationally a short segment from the ABC 7 footage.