ASC '01
Formula Sun '01
ASC '01 Preview
Formula Sun '00
Sunrayce '99
'99 Preview
Speed Record
Road Rally
Sunrayce '97
Sunrayce '95
Sunrayce '93
Solar 300
GM Sunrayce USA

Sunrayce 99 Preview Run
June 20 - June 30, 1998
(See pictures from the Preview Run in our Photo Album)

The Solar Phantom Team joined race officials from Sunrayce and five other solar car teams in an 11-day, 1,505-mile trip from Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida to preview and test the planned route for Sunrayce 99. The Solar Phantom was the only car to complete the entire route using only solar power, conducting the trip in the form of an actual race. Other teams drove their car only for a few days, or traveled without the car, taking notes and making suggestions for route changes.

The Solar Phantom completed the course nearly flawlessly, experiencing only a few mishaps as the 18-month-old car traveled the route. Overall, the Phantom's performance was excellent, and a new motor controller that the team obtained during the past year provided the Phantom with enough torque to successfully climb several challenging hills in the first two days of the route. In fact, many of the Sunrayce 99 organizers marveled at the team's ability to navigate over the Blue Ridge mountain range in West Virginia.

Some of the obstacles that Rose-Hulman overcame during the preview run helped Sunrayce 99 organizers to finalize the route. A new Day 1 destination in Charlottesville, Virginia replaced the previous destinations of Lynchester and Lynchburg for the route. The team's recommendations for a different overnight stop in Atlanta, Georgia were also taken into consideration.

During a stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Solar Phantom IV became the first solar car to circle the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway, making four laps around the track at speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour, again only using power from the sun.

Other teams that participated in the preview run were Ohio State University, Clarkson University, Drexel University, the University of Missouri-Rolla, and Purdue University.