Pocatello teens built a solar-powered vehicle and they’ll be competing in a national racing tournament

POCATELLO — Two Gate City students and 1 overseas speech student are headed to nan Lone Star State to harness nan powerfulness of nan sun to satellite Earth.

Chris Ulland, 18, and Logan Friesen, 17, some from Pocatello, and Krystof Oresky, 17, an speech student from nan Czech Republic, will each beryllium competing successful nan 2024 Solar Car Challenge successful Fort Worth, Texas. Another squad member, Matthew Land, was not capable to be nan competition.

The erstwhile Grace Lutheran School students and their squad built a solar-powered car for nan contest. They’ll beryllium racing them complete 4 days astatine Texas Motor Speedway, facing challenges posed by upwind conditions and imaginable car breakdowns.

The victor won’t beryllium wished by who places highest overall, but alternatively by which team’s car drives nan astir cumulative miles.

“Getting to build your car and going to title it, that is immoderate beautiful unthinkable experience,” Ulland says.

Ulland and Friesen will return turns racing nan conveyance and trying to get successful arsenic galore laps arsenic they can.

While 1 of them is driving, nan different students will person to activity connected ensuring nan car stays running.

“If something’s wearing retired aliases something’s coming loose aliases thing breaks, you person to spell and hole it arsenic quickly arsenic you tin truthful you tin get backmost connected way and get laps,” says Ulland.

The first 3 days of nan title are called “scrutineering”, which will find if nan students really qualify. The judges will behaviour a bid of tests connected each of nan team’s vehicles to make judge they’re gathering nan information requirements.

If a conveyance doesn’t qualify, nan squad will person to activity connected fixing it.

“That’s often nan much grueling portion and that’s wherever immoderate teams don’t qualify,” Ulland said.

While each of nan teams are location to compete against each other, Ulland said there’s a “community of sharing devices and helping each different out. We’re each successful present to title together.”

The situation will commencement Thursday, pinch nan scrutineering shape ending connected Saturday. The qualifying teams will past title from Sunday to Wednesday.

(from left) Ben Anderson, Chris Ulland, Logan Friesen and (in vehicle) Krystof Oresky guidelines by their car earlier adding nan star panels. | Courtesy Lisa Ulland

This is nan first twelvemonth students from Pocatello person formed a squad to spell to nan challenge. The team, called Russet American Racing, is nan only squad from Idaho competing. The 32 full teams successful nan situation travel from 12 states crossed nan country.

The students formed their squad erstwhile they heard astir nan title done their principal, Hanne Krause, who had travel from a schoolhouse successful Oregon that competed successful nan challenge. The squad started moving connected their car successful nan first semester, picking retired parts and designing it. In nan 2nd semester, they built nan car.

Logan says designing and building nan car was a learning experience, which progressive learning really to usage package to creation it. They besides learned to troubleshoot during nan building phase.

“Once we moved to really building, it shifted complete to trying to fig retired really are we gonna make this each fresh together?” says Logan.

Russet American Racing’s solar-powered conveyance was fresh to trial thrust connected June 15.

“Being capable to return a measurement backmost and look astatine what we’ve accomplished, it was really surreal. It was incredible,” says Ulland.

Ulland and Logan precocious graduated and will beryllium moving connected to college. Ulland will beryllium attending nan California Polytechnic State University and Logan will be Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.