Recently in NASC Category

Oh Canada
We played all night
I really hate to leave you now
But to stay just wouldn't be right.

-- Neil Young (again)

Well, Michigan won the race. Principia finished a game second. Missouri S&T placed seventh, behind Calgary. The Germans, Waterloo and Minnesota came in third through fifth in some order. (Iowa State and a bunch of others finished behind S&T.)

Tomorrow (Wednesday), the S&T team will already be on the road back to Rolla. Fortunately, however, they are taking a different and (probably) more scenic route back: thru Montana. Meanwhile, we are going to jump on a big jet airplane and fly to St. Louis via Chicago.

Calgary is a big city that reminds us of the Pacific Northwest, without the water. Flannel seems appropriate right now, even in July. The University of Calgary was home to some events during the Olympic Games. Today we saw the Olympic flame and the oval where speed skating took place.

We might get a chance to put some kind of fitting wrap on this blog tomorrow or in the coming days. Or maybe that would just be overkill? Right now, our solar brothers (and sisters? we need some female team members!) are busy contemplating and celebrating a successful journey from Texas to Winnipeg to Moose Jaw to Calgary. We're sure the stories they now have to tell will last until they're old and embarrassingly successful and new sources of energy are available to all.

According to the latest official rankings posted last night on the North American Solar Challenge website, Missouri S&T begins the final full day of racing in seventh place. The standings and time are as follows (standings for elapsed time only and not taking into consideration other factors, such as penalties):

1. University of Michigan, 34:14:01
   
2. Principia college, 35:35:37
   
3. FH Bochum, 40:59:51
   
4. University of Waterloo, 42:05:46
   
5. University of Minnesota, 42:58:22
   
6. University of Calgary, 51:09:39
   
7. Missouri S&T, 53:19:54
   
8. Red River College, 59:19:39
   
9. Iowa State University, 63:52:37
   
10. University of Kentucky, 66:55:55
    
11. University of Arizona, 67:05:08
    
12. Northwestern University, 69:51:30
    
13. Queen's University, 73:16:45
    
14. Oregon State University, 83:03:21
    
15. Durham University, 90:56:48
    

The Missouri S&T Solar Car Team began the day Friday in sixth place, according to the official standings from the North American Solar Challenge organization.

The team is taking off from Sioux Falls, S.D., this morning and heading north toward Fargo, N.D. Bob has more details (and cool photos, like the one below) over at Experience This! and Lance is certain to post some Talking Heads-inspired observations about this long, strange road trip right here on Solar42, so stay tuned.

"Many hands make light work." The S&T Solar Car Team lifts the solar array during a stop at Sioux Falls, S.D. Photo by Bob Phelan and borrowed from Experience This!

Update @ 5;25 p.m. July 16, 2008: First, thanks to everyone for all the kind comments regarding the team's little mishap. The great news is that at last report, Solar Miner VI has an outside chance of reaching Sioux Falls tonight. The team members have pulled together to show how they can overcome adversity and continue to focus on the goal of running the race.

Below is an audio interview with Ray Luechtefeld, an assistant professor of engineering management and one of the team's advisors, from this morning's Omaha stop.

An electrical fire caused by overcharged batteries gave members of the Missouri S&T Solar Car Team a scare early this morning. But all team members are OK, and Solar Miner VI was scheduled to resume its participation in the North American Solar Challenge this morning.

The Missouri S&T team was spending the night in the basement of a Nebraska City, Neb., home and charging a set of auxiliary lithium ion batteries when the smoke detector went off at about 1:15 a.m. today. Team members called 911 and team safety officer Letha Young, a member of the Missouri S&T police department traveling with the team, retrieved a fire extinguisher from the team’s trailer. Young and other team members extinguished the fire before the Nebraska City Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene.

Six team members were taken to St. Mary’s Community Hospital in Nebraska City and evaluated for smoke inhalation. All six were released, and the team was set to resume the race at 8:08 a.m. from Auburn, Neb., in hopes of reaching Sioux Falls, S.D., by the end of the day.

Team members also notified race officials of the situation.

The fire occurred in the basement of the home of Bryan Kreifels of Nebraska City. Damage to the structure and contents amounted to $6,000, according to the fire department.

The batteries were used to power an on-board computer system that monitors the vehicle’s performance. The batteries were not part of the main battery pack that is powered by the vehicle’s solar cells.

Day one for the Missouri S&T Solar Car Team ended in the parking lot of a Family Dollar store on the outskirts of Vanita, Okla., about 70 miles short of Neosho, Mo. The team was beset by technical problems -- blown fuses, issues with the fairings -- that limited Solar Miner VI's speed to 40-45 mph.

"Tonight's going to be a real engineering night," says Lance Feyh, who is traveling with the team to post updates and interviews on this site.

Solar Miner VI just rolled into the first checkpoint about an hour behind race leader Minnesota. The car apparently blew a tire or had some kind of glitch that delayed progress for 10 minutes not long after crossing the Texas-Oklahoma border. Still, S&T is in third place behind only Minnesota and Michigan. Principia arrived at the first checkpoint right behind Solar Miner VI.

Earlier, Kentucky was in third place -- but no sign of them right now.

It's not clear if S&T is going to make the first stage stop in Neosho this evening, but they should be able to get there early tomorrow.

So far, it's been cloudy with a few sprinkles. "Once we get a day of open sun, we'll be able to fly," says team member John Clay.

Western Michigan failed to qualify, so they're loaning us three team members for the race.

We'll try to check back later this afternoon and/or, if we get a motel room, later tonight.

On May 16-18 we will be at Principia College in Elsah, IL having the car inspected. As there is no Formula Sun race this year, qualifying will be held only in the few days before the race, as will the final scruitineering of the cars. In order to give teams, like ours, a chance to correct anything that does not meet the regulations, NASC is putting on these events to check the cars before they arrive in Texas. We will be there with at least the teams from Principia College and Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

The Solar Car Team will be competing in the North American Solar Car Challenge in 2008 from July 13th to July 22nd. Here is the race route:

Start July 13th

Dallas,TX to Neosho, MO
Neosho, MO to Sioux Falls, SD
Sioux Falls,SD to Winnipeg
Winnipeg, to Medicine Hat
Medicine Hat to Calgary

Finish July 22nd

Keep checking back for further updates.