Sunseeker at Gilmore Car Museum this weekend
July 28, 2003
KALAMAZOO -- Kalamazoo-area residents have an opportunity to see Sunseeker and meet members of the team, when the car is on display Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 2 and 3, at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich.
The car show at which Sunseeker is appearing will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is $3 per person. Children age 10 and under are admitted free.
Fresh from its top-five finish in the world's longest cross-country solar-car race, Western Michigan University's Sunseeker returned to campus at this morning, July 28, stopping for a brief cruise through downtown Kalamazoo.
After making several "victory laps" through downtown, the solar car and other race vehicles came through campus on West Michigan Avenue, past WMU's Bernhard Center and Seibert Administration to the Promenade area at the center of the campus. There, they were greeted by members of the campus community, friends and family, with welcoming comments by President Judith I. Bailey and Michael B. Atkins, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The Sunseeker team returned from California after capturing fifth place in the biennial American Solar Challenge, a national event in which 20 teams from some of the top college and universities in the nation competed. Using only solar power, the teams raced along 2,300 miles of Route 66 from Chicago to Claremont, Calif. The University of Missouri-Rolla won the race. WMU was the only Michigan school to have its car qualify for the race this year.
Besides the fifth-place finish, the team brought home five major ASC awards, including a pre-race award as the Inspectors' Choice, which was presented after qualifying events in Chicago, and four post-race awards presented Thursday, July 24, at a final awards ceremony.
The Sunseeker team took the top prize in the "best design" category as well as the team sportsmanship award, an award for having the "most improved" entry and a second-place trophy for speed in the final leg of the race.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu