DENTON COUNTY, Texas -- Rather than hiding from this record heat -- these teenagers are harnessing the power of the sun.
"We come from all different backgrounds and expertise," said Plano High School Student Shree Mukherje.
Mukherje is on a team from Plano, competing in the annual solar car challenge. Their mission? Get this car ready to travel cross country, from Dallas to Palmdale, California, -- that's more than 1,300 miles. The trip starts at the Texas Motor Speedway in Denton County.
The NBCUniversal Foundation, NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 are pleased to recognize the Solar Car Challenge as one of the winners of the 2018 Project Innovation Grant Challenge.
"During the trip, it's typically an eight-hour drive, so you just rotate out drivers and drive as long as your car works," said Caitlyn Prill a fellow competitor.
This is all the creation of Dr. Lehman Marks, he started the event 25 years ago. He hasn't lost any enthusiasm in that time. "Wouldn't you have liked to have built a car when you were in high school and race it at the Texas motor speedway or go from here to California? The challenge is immense," Marks said.
The first race was in 1995 -- just three cars circling Dallas County. Today, 30 teams from across the United States are represented. "They don't give up they've got that tenacity to be able to stick through this," Marks said.
It's a mission that puts science engineering and math to work in real-world situations. The same teens who built the cars will also take turns driving -- giving them even more incentive to double check the math.
"We actually built this car in about a month, it's been a great experience for us all, and we have been working very late nights to try to fix it," Mukherje said.
All those late nights will soon turn into even longer days. On Tuesday, all their work will be put to the test as they start the cross-country drive.