2026 American Solar Challenge

Scrutineering

Before racing, we first had to pass through 11 rounds of scrutineering over four days: Safety, Driver Registration, Driver Operations, Lights & Vision, Body & Sizing, Electrical, Battery Protection, Mechanical, Dynamics, Array Testing, Impound, and ASC Support. Each of these sets of tests and inspections ensured that Delos was safe to drive or that the car — the ISC team — met all event regulations.

Delos passed almost every test with flying colors (all greens and yellows), but, during dynamics testing, we discovered some unrelated issues with the brakes and chassis that had to be addressed before we would feel comfortable with taking the car on the track. As a result, we voluntarily delayed our last couple rounds of dynamics testing until the second day of FSGP, and did not start racing until the second day as a result.

Formula Sun Grand Prix

Delos' first ever competition was at the 2026 Formula Sun Grand Prix in Brainerd, Minnesota. Although we only started racing in the last minutes of the second day, the car quickly proved itself the third day of the race, completing many 3.1 mile laps in just over four minutes a lap — faster than most other teams on the track.

While we were on track to finish all 60 laps required to qualify for ASC by the end of the day, two unfortunate accidents — including a collision with another team's car — forced us to take the car off multiple times for repairs.

By the end of the day, we finished 54 total laps (with four deductions), allowing us to provisionally qualify the car and three drivers for the American Solar Challenge!

American Solar Challenge

The 2026 American Solar Challenge started at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN and continued all the way down to Amarillo, TX over a span of eight days. After starting last due to our provisional qualification, Delos quickly made up time and passed multiple teams on the way to the first checkpoint in La Crosse, WI.

Unfortunately, while trying to pull over and let traffic through near Wabasha, MN, the car collided with a large tree branch on the side of the road, which caused significant failures in multiple key mechanical systems. While we worked around the clock to get Delos back on the road, the subsequent repairs took us until the next morning to complete, and Delos started back on the route a day behind.

We tried our hardest to catch up with the rest of the teams, completing almost three hundred miles in the third day of racing alone! Although Delos completed an impressive journey on day three, however, we were unable to reach the stage stop in Edwardsville, IL before it closed. By the rules of our provisional qualification, were subsequently disqualified from the rest of the competition.

Despite the setbacks, however, Delos — and the ISC team — performed above and beyond all expectations in this competition, and the car set a new standard for our team and our competitiveness in this and future races. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity to compete at ASC and represent the University of Illinois at the highest levels of solar car racing.