Corona Attempts Racing on Last Day

by George Zamora

OCALA, Fla., June 29, 1999 -- New Mexico Tech's Corona will attempt to finish up Sunrayce 99 today under its own sunshine-provided power as it undertakes the 82-mile-long last leg from Ocala, Fla. to Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

After considering yesterday's forecast of severe thunderstorms for northern Florida, New Mexico Tech Solar Racing Team members opted to transport Corona on the back of a trailer into Ocala, Fla. and it proved to be a wise choice: None of the 29 competing teams was able to complete yesterday's rain-soaked 199-mile leg on their own power and all had to be trailered into the finish line.

Corona remains at 27th in the overall standings going into today's final run of the solar-powered road rally.

Teams from colleges and universities throughout North America, including New Mexico Tech, have been racing through five Eastern Seaboard states the past ten days, from Washington, D.C., toward this afternoon's finish at Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort, just south of Orlando, Fla. The team with the lowest cumulative time over the 10-day road rally wins Sunrayce 99.

The top three finishing teams will receive trophies and cash awards. Scholastic achievement awards will also be granted for technical innovation, engineering excellence, artistic talents, teamwork, and good sportsmanship.

The biennial solar-car race was created by General Motors and the U. S. Department of Energy in 1990 to promote educational excellence in mathematics, science, and engineering by offering students a unique and highly valuable "hands-on" educational opportunity. Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) joined GM and the DOE as a co-sponsor of the event in 1993.