Next: Pre-1993 team t-shirt

This next one does have a story with it, one that I won't get into just yet.

We (meaning the solar car team preparing for the 1993 race, of which I was a part) had these printed as a sort of morale booster. The back shows an image of our old car that competed in the 1990 race (on the right) and our design for the 1993 car (on the left - pretty close to how it came out). The signposts on this road actually say each of the stage stops in the race.

The thing is, we printed this waaaaay before the race, and wouldn't you know it, one of the cities changed, and our shirt was "wrong." But it ended up preserving the original route in a strange way.

Also, I remember having this printed at the major local t-shirt printing place. They did a nice job rendering it, etc. Then, whaddya know, several months later, we see a shirt for some frat party or something, and it features one of the cars on it! They had stolen our art for another t-shirt! We called and complained, but I really don't remember what ever came of it.

Oldest Stuff First - 1990

These photos are of a windbreaker/raincoat thing that was used by our school's original solar car racing team. The event they competed in was the "GM Sunrayce USA" and was held in 1990.

Whilst working in our dilapidated solar car garage circa 1992, I found some spare ones of these and appropriated one for me. Unfortunately, the damn things protect from rain about as well as cheesecloth. But I saved it for some reason.

This is one of those garments that can be folded down into the front pouch, for what it's worth.

The word on the front is not a typo. The name of the car was "PrISUm" because "ISU" (Iowa State University) is in the middle, and because a "prism" is a device that deals with light, making it appropriate for a solar-themed event. The name was a result of a naming contest among, I believe, middle schools in the Ames, Iowa area.

Um, Mission Statement and stuff

I have a lot of things related to solar car racing, mostly just collecting dust around my house and around my cube at work.

I started my addiction in 1992, when I joined the solar car racing team at my university. After racing in Sunrayce 93 and Sunrayce 95, and finding a dearth of jobs for my actual major, I started working as the coordinator for "Sunrayce Headquarters" and did so for Sunrayce 97 and Sunrayce 99. My last official interaction was for the American Solar Challenge in 2001.

I figure I must have 100 t-shirts, as well as hats, jackets, pins, etc. I am going to post pictures here for some reason. It may make it easier to part with the physical things if I do this, and Lord knows we could use the space.