Inside Iowa State

July 22, 2005

Fusion vies for top spot in stock class

by Anne Krapfl

Team PrISUm was heading into friendly territory July 20, when day 4 of the 2005 North American Solar Challenge passed through Iowa. After three days of racing (Austin, Texas, to Holton, Kan.) Iowa State's car, Fusion, was in 9th place overall and second place in its class, trailing the Auburn University entry by about 8 minutes.

Photo by Stefano Paltera/North American Solar Challenge

Twenty university teams qualified for the 2,500-mile race to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on July 17; 13 cars made it through the Topeka, Kan., checkpoint July 19. Iowa State is competing in the "stock" class. Entries in the "open" class have more expensive solar systems.

The Iowa leg of the race is about a 30-mile stretch on Highway 12 between Sioux City and Akron, where the cars cross into South Dakota. The solar car race ends July 27 in Calgary.

Visit the News Service Central Web site for daily updates on the team's progress.