Iowa State University’s solar car is ready to run in the annual race. Team member Nick Mohr says today the car heads for Chicago.The name of this year’s solar car is PrISUm Odyssey. The American Solar Challenge race goes from Chicago to L-A, July 15-25. First it’s off to Michigan for scrutineering and a qualifying event, and then the race. That’s right…he said the car will undergo “scrutineering.” That involves checking out the car against a long list of rules.Corporate and individual donations offset the cost of building the car, and ISU departments contribute staff, time and facilities at no cost. There’s no money in the prize, but the winner gets to take their solar car to a race in Australia later in the year. Mohr says the closest to a win for the Iowa State car was in 1999, when that year’s “PrISUm” placed fifth.
