Electrek American Solar Challenge 2026: About the race, full schedule, and teams competing
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- The Electrek American Solar Challenge 2026 has drawn a record 46 collegiate teams from the US, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands, the largest field in the event's history ahead of its 1,500+ mile cross-country solar car race.
- The Formula Sun Grand Prix pre-qualifier runs July 21-23 at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota, a 3.1-mile road course ranked the second-best racetrack in America by Road & Track, replacing the hillier NCM Motorsports Park.
- The main ASC event follows an 8-day, 4-stage format from Minneapolis to Amarillo, Texas, tracing the Great River Road and Historic Route 66 — a route designated an official Route 66 Centennial Project to mark the highway's 100th anniversary.
- The race kicks off with a free public Display Day on July 24 at the University of Minnesota before cars hit the road July 25 and roll into Amarillo on August 1, with two vehicle classes: Single-Occupant (SOV) for efficiency and Multi-Occupant (MOV) for practicality.
- Electrek's five-year title sponsorship with the Innovators Educational Foundation, signed in 2023, guarantees funding through 2028, with additional 2026 sponsors including Blue Origin, Tesla, SpaceX, MathWorks, Caterpillar, and Generac.
- Event roots trace to 1987, when GM's Sunraycer won the inaugural World Solar Challenge in Australia, prompting GM to launch the Sunrayce USA collegiate events before rebranding to the American Solar Challenge in 2001 after GM shuttered its EV program.
Why it matters: The record 46-team field signals surging student interest in solar vehicle engineering at a time when major industry players — Blue Origin, Tesla, SpaceX — are directly funding the pipeline. Tying the 1,500-mile route to Route 66's centennial turns a niche engineering competition into a publicly visible, free-to-attend showcase spanning four states over eight days.
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