We pulled in to Calgary at about 2:30 this afternoon. We were the fourth team to cross the finish line (Michigan, FH Bochum, and Waterloo were ahead of us). The crowds in Calgary were unlike any we have seen before. The entire day, there were groups of people standing along the road to get a glimpse of solar cars driving by. As we approached Calgary, the crowds got larger and more frequent, until our arrival at the University of Calgary, where a crowd of several thousand was waiting at the finish line.

This morning was a little bumpy. We blew more fuses on the power trackers, forcing us to stop for 15 minutes just as we pulled on to the Trans-Canadian Highway. After the fix, we were greeted by a 20-MPH headwind, forcing us to significantly reduce our target speed. However, this was still faster than most teams that passed us while we were stopped (just about everyone), so we ended up passing them throughout the day.

Our strategy team had played the day a little conservatively to make sure we had enough power left for the last large hills in to Calgary. As a result, we had 25% of our battery left when we entered the Calgary city limits, allowing Adem to drive the car wide open at the speed limit. We even had enough power to turn the headlights on at the end, just for fun!

Once the race ended, the celebrations began. Socializing with the teams now that they are not concerned about the race is even more fun than it was before. The traditional swapping of team t-shirts also occurred; much of our team got shirts from FH Bochum and Iowa State. We plan to eat dinner with the Principia team tonight, which will be an

Ready-Set-Go

excellent closure to this race where so much help was exchanged.

Our run today was not fast enough to change our overall standing (something drastic would have had to happen), so we finished the race in 5th place. Considering all the problems we have overcome, we are very happy with the finish we had. A special thanks goes out to all of our families, supporters, and sponsors for allowing this project to happen. Almost every single team member would agree that this has been the single most valuable experience of their lives to date, and it would not be possible without all of you.

Stay tuned for more reflections and summaries on the race!

--David Towey
Crew Chief

 

NASC2008 Final Results

Iowa, Durham and Oregon State did not meet the required number of laps for qualifying, but did qualify enough drivers, and meet all safety requirements so they were allowed to continue provided they made it to McAlester without trailering. Iowa met this requirement, and are now considered a regular entry with a 2:35 penalty for not finishing qualifying. Durham and Oregon did not meet the requirement to get to McAlester, so they are now non-competitive entries. They will be allowed to continue on the event, but will not be ranked higher than other teams.

Final Results
Winnipeg Timing Data | Sioux Falls Timing Data | Neosho Timing Data

Rank	Car Number	Team Name	Total Time
1	2	University of Michigan	51:41:53
2	32	Principia College	61:38:45
3	1	FH Bochum Solar Car Team	63:47:55
4	24	University of Waterloo	64:00:06
5	35	University of Minnesota	65:41:48
6	65	University of Calgary	75:42:53
7	42	Missouri University of Science and Technology	81:20:36
8	9	Iowa State University	91:12:59
9	95	Red River College	92:15:02
10	8	University of Arizona	98:26:12
11	3	University of Kentucky	100:33:24
12	100	Queen's University	106:36:20
13	11	Northwestern University	113:58:11
14	175	Durham University	134:07:06
14	256	Oregon State University	145:20:00

times may include penalties and are subject to change due to jury protest