The team claimed its second first-place finish since 2021 and earned this year’s Practicality Award
Original post by Bret Yager
Posted Aug. 11, 2026 at 3:24 p.m.
Appalachian State University’s solar vehicle racing team, Team Sunergy, made history at the international 2026 Electrek American Solar Challenge (ASC), becoming the only team to capture the first-place win twice in the competition’s multi-occupant vehicle (MOV) category. The team qualified for the road race with a second-place finish in the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) just days earlier and took home ASC’s MOV Practicality Award.
Racing Highway 66 from Minneapolis to Amarillo, Texas, in a significant test of its new vehicle, Autumn, the student-powered team demonstrated it could build an improved two-person cruiser from the wheels up — once again employing the teamwork, strategy and endurance needed to overcome the challenges inherent on the long road to the podium.
Read more about Team Sunergy’s 2026 ASC win: https://today.appstate.edu/2026/08/11/sunergy
“The perseverance, determination and Appalachian grit that this team demonstrated are what won us the race. It should make every Mountaineer proud.”
Team Sunergy advisor, Jim Dees