Solar Car Challenge racing through Burnet County
Teams, volunteers, and helpers pose before the start of the 2025 Solar Car Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway with students’ handcrafted cars on display. Courtesy photos of the Solar Car Challenge
High school students from around the country are gearing up for the 30th annual Solar Car Challenge, which will see them race across Texas and through the hills of the Highland Lakes.
The young drivers will be racing solar-powered vehicles of their own creation, speeding across the state in the name of science, and passing through Burnet County along the way.
Racers and their rubber-burning machines will travel along Texas 29 through Bertram and Burnet on the morning of Tuesday, July 21, taking a brief respite from the 631.7-mile race at the Highland Lakes Squadron Commemorative Air Force Museum, at 2402 S. Water Street, in Burnet.
According to the challenge map and itinerary, students will begin racing at 9 a.m. on July 21 in Georgetown on Texas 29 near I-35, then make their way through Liberty Hill, Bertram, and Burnet, and travel roughly 37 miles before stopping at the CAF museum.
The Burnet County stretch is just one leg of the five-day race, which begins on July 15 in Fort Worth and is planned to end in Fort Stockton on July 23.
Pilot cars will accompany the Solar Car Challenge participants to ensure a safe trip and safe driving.
What is the Solar Car Challenge?
The Solar Car Challenge was created in 1993 by Dr. Lehman Marks to give students a way to pursue unique opportunities in science, engineering, and energy.
Through years of ideating, fabricating, and trial and error, students build solar cars from scratch to be “scrutineered” by judges. The scrutineering process, which takes place at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth in July, serves as a checkpoint for teams to see if their cars are ready to race or not.
Once they get the green light, teams prep to begin a long-distance race to see whose car can go the furthest.
This year’s race stretches 631.7 miles from Fort Worth to Fort Stockton over five days, and features 24 teams from seven states, including Texas, California, Oregon, Michigan, Florida, New York, and Washington.
Teams will face mechanical breakdowns, uncertain weather conditions, and rough terrain along the way to accumulating the most points possible. At the end of the checkered flag, the team that drove the most miles will be declared the winner.
Along with potential races through Bertram and Burnet, the solar cars will be trailered and transported along U.S. 281 in Marble Falls and Round Mountain, landing in Johnson City to begin the next stretch of the race.