Teams from universities, companies and organizations from around the world begin the American Solar Challenge, and the winner will be the car with the best cumulative time between Chicago and Claremont, where the race will end July 23.

"It is exciting going 55 in something you actually built,' said 22-year-old Bryan Graham, on the Cal Poly San Louis Obispo team. "It is going to be great seeing everything work and the country along the way.'

The 2,300-mile race is the longest solar car race in the world and is held every other year in the United States. The contestants follow the route which is as much of Route 66 as possible between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. each day, traveling as far as they can. During the race in 2001, a few of the teams were able to drive more than 300 miles in one day, setting a solar-racing record.

The cars are required to obey posted speed limits.

To ensure the safety of the solar car and driver, as well as that all the rules of the race are followed, each solar car has a vehicle leading it and a vehicle following it. A race observer sits in the passenger seat of the follow vehicle to record any broken rules and also keep track of the car's time.

The rest of the car's team members are in either the lead vehicle or the follow vehicle. Depending on the design of the solar car, each one can only fit one or two people.

"There are usually four or five students in each team,' said George Douglas, spokesman for the American Solar Challenge. "There are usually always two of them with laptops open, calculating what they need to calculate, and two of them making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.'

When the cars stop at required checkpoints, the teams can switch drivers, rest, get refreshments and use the bathroom, and the observers can switch teams as well as add any penalty time to teams' scores if they break any of the rules. The checkpoints also give the public a chance to see the cars up close.

"It is a good way for people to see the power of solar energy. But the primary reason that the (Department of Energy) sponsors the race is that the young people that are involved in this race are the future of the country and it gives them a incredible challenge," Douglas said.

"The educational aspect is just amazing, and part of the (department's) mission is to promote science and math education. They want the nation to be able to hold its own in those fields.'

The race is held every two years because it takes at least that long to raise the money and build a car that will be able to meet the requirements of the race. Cars have been built for as little as $50,000 and as much as $1 million. The average cost of a competitive car is about $200,000, Douglas said.

Each team funds its own car, and there are two categories in the race to help even the playing field between those teams that raise a lot of money and those that don't.

Anyone can enter, but the vehicles must meet strict structural and safety requirements, and cars and drivers must pass a qualifier to be able to participate in the race.

The cars have to be able to go 125 miles in an eight-hour period with an average speed of 25 mph. The team's car that goes the farthest during the testing will be the team that gets to leave Chicago first.

"This gives a real advantage, because you don't have to pass another solar car,' Douglas said. "Most of the race is not on freeways so there is strategy involved in passing another car, because you not only have to pass the solar car, but the lead car and the chase car too.'

The winning team receives the American Solar Challenge Trophy. The University of Michigan is the defending champion.