Wylie East Solar Car Team Drives Away with Third National Championship in a Row

The Wylie East High School Solar Car Team charged ahead to a national championship, capturing its third consecutive Solar Car Challenge National Championship while debuting an entirely new vehicle built from the ground up by students.

After spending the school year designing, welding, fabricating, and assembling East Beast 2.0, the Raiders drove away with another first-place finish in the Advanced Classic Division during the 30th Annual Solar Car Challenge, a five-day, 619.8-mile journey across Texas.

Unlike previous seasons, when the team refined an existing vehicle, this year's championship came with a brand-new solar car designed to meet updated 2026 competition safety requirements. Students spent an entire school year building their solar car, tackling everything from fabrication to aerodynamics, and finished it just two days before the race.

"During the school year, the kids did a great job getting stuff done,” said Matthew Karlsen, Wylie East welding instructor and solar car sponsor.

Twenty-four high school teams, including 10 from Texas, competed in this year's challenge, which returned to its original cross-state format after several years of racing laps at Texas Motor Speedway.

Beginning in Fort Worth, teams traveled through Palestine, Round Rock, Fredericksburg, and San Angelo before finishing in Fort Stockton. Along the route, teams stopped daily for public displays as they drove along Texas highways, with two chase vehicles accompanying each solar car.

The winner is determined by the total miles successfully driven each day.

The Raiders quickly established themselves as the team to beat.

Wylie East finished first in its division on Day 1 after driving 157 miles before adding another first-place finish with 142 miles on Day 2. The team continued its dominance on Day 3, averaging speeds in the mid-40 mph range, and secured the championship on Day 4 with another first-place division finish and second overall for the day.

Throughout the race, students monitored telemetry, calculated battery usage during pit stops, and made strategic decisions to maximize every mile.

"The kids were incredibly consistent," Karlsen said. "During the race, they did their jobs. They got right to work calculating and making adjustments at every pit stop."

One of the biggest changes from previous competitions was adapting to life on the road.

"Going cross-country was awesome. It was like one big road trip with friends," said senior team captain Jayden Guild. "One difference from racing at Texas Motor Speedway was that we didn't have much space to work on the car. When you’re traveling, you had to be conscious about space and only get out what you need. Whereas at Texas Motor Speedway, we had a designated spot with our gear and equipment.”

Guild said the team began designing this year’s solar car immediately after last year's race.

"The only thing we kept from our old car is the wheels,” he said. “We started planning right after last year's race. We began building it during the school year and finished it just two days before the race."

Among the student-designed improvements was a custom wooden steering wheel, fabricated by co-captain Dylan Nord using the school's CNC metal cutter to create a cooler, lighter and more ergonomic design.

“Other teams have plastic or metal steering wheels, which are typically black and can get hot,” Guild said. “Since ours is wood, it stays cooler. It looks really awesome too.”

The championship ended with a dramatic finish.

As senior Trevor Scott drove the final stretch, Guild monitored the solar car from the lead chase vehicle. They could see the finish line about a quarter of a mile away.

"I was running telemetry, and the solar shuts down to zero," Guild said. "Trevor kept calling out, 'I'm at 10 percent... five percent... three percent... I'm out.' We got to about 50 feet from the finish line, going uphill. Trevor said, 'I'm coasting,’ then came, ‘I got no battery!' We barely made it across the finish line and ran out of battery right at the top of the hill."

Karlsen said the finish perfectly reflected the team's determination.

"The charge controller stopped charging with 15 percent battery remaining, but they kept going and crossed the finish line while coasting with zero percent battery left at 55 miles per hour."

Among the sponsors who helped the team get their three-peat were retired Wylie East welding teacher Tony Roseberry, his wife, Deanna Roseberry, and Charlie Livingston, a retired engineer.

Tony, who founded the Wylie East Solar Car program in 2012, received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Solar Car Racing during the closing awards ceremony.

"It was really special to be recognized in that atmosphere with that group of people," Roseberry said.

Karlsen and 2026 graduate Matt Davis were also honored with the Order of Solar Cell Award for their contributions to high school solar car racing. The plaque is presented to “those extremely special people who believe in high school solar car racing, and the great students who make it happen.”

Roseberry said watching the program continue to thrive after his retirement has been especially meaningful.

"One of my worries when I was thinking about retiring was that this program might die," Roseberry said. "However, Matt Karlsen was the perfect fit. His background in motorcycle racing fit like a glove. He's so good with the kids. I'm really proud of this team. They were determined to win, and they did."

Despite winning first-place trophies each day of the competition, the Raiders demonstrated that character matters more than a championship.

"The team won first-place trophies for all five days," Karlsen said. "But our students gave three of those trophies away to teams that kept competing despite major electrical or mechanical problems. That's a testament to how great these young adults are."

Nord said the gesture reflected the spirit of the competition.

"We did it to be nice," Nord said. "We have so many trophies that we wanted to keep the other teams' spirits up. They were working really hard, too, and deserved to be recognized."

The Solar Car Team has come a long way since its start in the 2012-13 school year.

“We’ve learned a lot of essentials and basics over the years,” Tony said. “In 2013, we were 10th place out of 10 teams. Then we were eighth, then fourth, then we had five second places. Now we have three national championships! I’m really proud of this team. They were determined to win, and they did.”

The 2026 Solar Car Team Members participating in this year’s race included Davis, Blake Gregory, Guild, Nolan Plunk, Nord, Trevor Scott, Jude Ramirez, and Wes Robinson.

“A lot of kids, including seniors who just graduated, worked hard on the solar car and didn’t get the limelight because they weren’t at the race: Cash Welch, Thomas Weir, and Dylan Meachem helped a lot,” Karlsen said. “I want them to know how much they are appreciated.”

The Wylie East Solar Car Team extends its gratitude to its sponsors: Farmers Electric Cooperative, Laser Wraps, State Farm, Gene Haas Foundation, Jimmy John's, and Golden Rule Auto Care. Their support helps power the program's success.

Follow the Wylie East Solar Car Team on their Facebook page.