The sun can be unforgiving this time of year in North Texas.
But this week, high school students from across the country are hoping for a lot of it, as they get set for an "enlightening" competition at Texas Motor Speedway.
The track is playing host to the 2019 Solar Car Challenge, where 31 teams will showcase the work they've done over the course of an entire school year.
"We build them, we drive them -- this is all student driven," said Logan Wood, a member of the Solar Car team at Greenville High School.
Each of the cars, which are powered completely by solar panels, are designed and engineered by the students.
Once they get a stamp of approval from the judges, they'll have the opportunity to take their car on the 1.5 mile oval at TMS, to see who can complete a lap the fastest.
But winning is just part of the equation.
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"Whenever we win with a car, we're not done with it," said Wood, a three-time champion. "We strip this car down every year to push it even further and further."
They say the real prize is the journey to this point.
MacKenzie Becker joined the Solar Team at Coppell High School her freshmen year, intimidated by the thought of trying to build a working machine that could compete at the highest levels.
She's now an engineering student at Purdue University and a judge at the competition.
"I went home one day and I said, 'Mom, I think I want to try engineering,'" said Becker. "And my parents looked at me like I had five heads. I had never mentioned an interest in it up to that point. But I was really inspired by what I saw."
Event organizers say stories like Becker's are why they do what they do.
"What we're doing is changing the lives of every kid we touch," said Dr. Lehman Marks, Race Director.
The races begin Monday morning at TMS.
