The University of Michigan Solar Car Team reclaimed its title as national champions after it won the American Solar Challenge, an 8-day, distance-based race from Tennessee to Wyoming. The U-M team covered 2,120 miles before crossing the finish line in Casper, Wyoming. U-M had won six consecutive American Solar Challenges before finishing second in 2018. This is the first U.S. race they’ve competed in since then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It feels outstanding to be national champions again,” said Daniel Benedict, the team’s project manager and recent U-M computer science graduate. “For the past year, all of our consciousness has been dedicated toward this vehicle. All that hard work paid off, and I couldn’t imagine a better ending.”

The new solar car, called Astrum, was first built to compete in the 2023 World Solar Challenge in Australia, where it finished fourth. The U-M team got Astrum in shape and it ran smoothly through another 31 laps before time was up. They hadn’t qualified with laps alone, but race officials make the final determination based on a number of factors. And what they saw in the Michigan team convinced them that Astrum was a reliable car, and that the students were capable of navigating difficult, high-pressure situations. Astrum was cleared to race.

Astrum is the 17th car made by the Michigan Solar Car Team since its founding in 1989. The team has won the American Solar Challenge 10 times, had podium finishes in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge seven times and won the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge in 2015. With more than 90 students from schools and colleges across the university, it is one of the largest student organizations on campus.