SIUE Hosts Stage Point for Electrek American Solar Challenge, Draws Regional Media Coverage

SIUE Hosts Stage Point for Electrek American Solar Challenge, Draws Regional Media Coverage

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville served as a stage point for the Electrek American Solar Challenge on July 27 and 28, hosting more than a dozen collegiate solar car teams from across the U.S. and abroad, including the Netherlands, Canada, and Belgium, as part of the event's 1,500-mile route along the Great River Road and historic Route 66. The SIUE Solar Racing Team competed alongside the visiting teams, marking the University's return to national competition after several years.

The stop drew coverage from multiple St. Louis-area news outlets, which captured the cars arriving on campus, the community festival built around the stage point, and interviews with event organizers and SIUE student drivers about the engineering and endurance challenges of the race. Coverage noted the event's tie-in to Route 66's 100th anniversary and highlighted SIUE's continued partnership with the Innovators Educational Foundation to host the stop for a second consecutive year.

SIUE's solar car, Orion, was sponsored by Ameren Illinois.

For more SIUE media coverage, visit the university's In the News page.

Read and watch the coverage:

• KTVI/Fox 2: https://youtu.be/ER7W-9Vte3g?si=-0oY0Evyf4mHazdz

• The Edwardsville Intelligencer: https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/american-solar-challenge-siue-il-route-66-stop-22362480.php

• KSDK (July 27): https://youtu.be/j3bIf9mfc-Q?si=E7qGVIixkL-i0JoK

• KSDK (July 28): https://youtu.be/xisMUBz7kNs?si=HdANXFzokkRoxNlL

• KMOX Radio: https://www.audacy.com/podcast/total-information-am-2922c/episodes/siue-drivers-set-out-on-solar-car-challenge-c0b9d

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_0ca9a081-0579-48cf-a197-cb289bb712fe.html