They look quite different from "regular cars" and only hold their drivers, but that didn't stop a fleet of solar cars from racing from Chicago to Los Angeles during this past summer. The 10-day 2,300-mile American Solar Car Challenge is the longest solar vehicle race in the world. It traveled along historic Route 66. The original starting field was 30 teams. Five teams failed to pass the technical and safety inspection, and five failed to qualify because they did not reach minimum performance levels. Two classes were available for the cars, and the winners were University of Missouri-Rolla in the open class and North Dakota State University in the stock class. Unofficial race results show Rolla's car, Solar Miner IV, made the trip from Chicago to the Los Angeles area in a cumulative time of 51 hours, 47 minutes and 39 seconds, for an average speed of 43.3 mph. The NDSU vehicle, Prairie Fire GT, was the only solar racer powered by an electric motor built by a conventional electric motor manufacturer, Bodine Electric Company (Chicago, Illinois).