Rob:  We’re all waiting for the day when we can ditch our gas guzzling cars and power our morning commutes using nothing but the sun.  Believe it or not, that day may not be as far away as you may think.  Our Russ Jowell was there as one Oklahoma town got its day in the sun as the first checkpoint in a one of a kind competition.
Russ Jowell:  Paul Hirtz and his team are busy making race day preparations here in McAlester
Paul Hirtz:  This is the first stop that all the teams have to make, they have to stay here for thirty minutes
Russ:  Paul and his crew are busy building the first checkpoint in a one of a kind cross-country grand prix, and they’re feeling the pressure because the lead cars are just five miles down the road.
Dan Saulsberry:  We have fifteen cars that were supposed to leave Plano this morning at nine o'clock
Russ:  The North American Solar Challenge is a bi-annual competition in which college teams from around the globe each build a solar powered vehicle that they drive from one end of the country to the other.   Starting in Plano, Texas, the route goes straight through the nation’s heartland with stops in Oklahoma, Missouri, South Dakota, and even crosses the Canadian border where the race concludes in Calgary.
Paul:  It really kind of comes down to the environment that they get thrown in such as today with all the weather they're going to be driving through verses when its beautiful sunny
Russ:  On this overcast day in McAlester, there is some concern amongst Paul’s crew about how the teams will fare.
Paul:  It doesn’t show any more rain above us, its all flying south of us.  It’s kind of like driving a car, if you drive slower you get better gas mileage, if you drive faster you get worse gas mileage, same thing for a solar car. The only difference is that they're using what energy they have available from the sun or from their battery pack and since they have to stretch that battery pack out from Plano all the way to Calgary, Canada, they don't want to burn it all up in one foul swoop.
Russ:  After overtaking Michigan, team Minnesota was the first to arrive at the checkpoint. The crew made judicious use of their thirty minute stop and as team member Morgan LaMoore showed us, all hands were on deck, or on shell in this case.
Morgan LaMoore:  The entire thing with the driver weighs only 620 pounds, so a lift built in would add a lot of weight to that.  The weight of the car is really important.
Russ:  As Minnesota was busy tweaking their car, team Michigan rolled into the checkpoint and crew chief Jeff Ferman rolled out a frantic pit crew.
Jeff Ferman:  We're just looking over the motor controller and we’re going to swap out tires with a bit better rolling resistance.
Time keeper:  24 minutes.
Russ:  As Michigan was busy rotating tires, Minnesota was nearing the end of their stop and lining up for the next leg of the race.
Time keeper:  One minute.  So we’ve got 45 seconds.  Fifteen.
Russ:  While the cars are efficient, acceleration isn’t one of their strengths.
Paul:  It just depends on how well they built them, how lightweight they are, the terrain they’re driving over, and the aerodynamic quality that they have on the car itself.  And the driver.
Russ:  Missouri S&T rolled in a little after one. 
Missouri S&T’s maintenance:  Shoulder height.
Russ:  Topping their maintenance list was throttle adjustments and the addition of ballast for Matt Bloom their next driver, who was understandably a little bit nervous.
Matt Bloom:  I’m a little nervous we had some problems earlier in the day but we got them taken care of.  I think it’s just going to be a smooth ride for the next four hours or whatever it is to Neosho.
Russ:  As S&T finished their pit stop, Lars Daniel and his teammates made berth right next door.
Lars Daniel:  I am from Buchlerhausen, Germany, from the University of Applied Sciences and we are here to try out the American race.
Russ:  The German team seemed pretty relaxed during their pit stop. Sure there were a few tweaks to be made, but they had plenty of time to take in that good old fashioned Oklahoma hospitality.
Lars:  So far the people are very kind and warm welcoming here so I like it very well.
Russ:  And after a quick half hour rest stop, Team Germany was back on the road.
Russ:  Almost.
Russ:  After a minor setback for a body patch, the team finally got back into the race, and wound their way through the roads of Oklahoma on the next leg of their journey, a journey which will take them another two thousand miles to their final destination.
Rob:  So Russ, are we going to be seeing other solar cars rolling down the road anytime soon?

Well Rob, I think we’re going to be seeing it sooner than you might think.  I think what this race showed, was that this solar technology does work in the real world outside of a lab.  As you saw, this race was not on some closed course somewhere.  It was on the very same roads that you and I travel to work on every morning and the teams had to contend with that so I think we’ll be driving solar cars to work sooner rather than later.

Rob:  So I have to ask, who won the race?

Russ:  Well I’m happy to report the University of Michigan did come out ahead.  They finished first with a time of just under forty-two hours from Plano to Calgary.  And as for our German friends, they came in third.