Kansas High Schools Cultivate Competitive Electric-Car Culture.

Byline: Steve Everly

Jan. 19--This spring, dozens of drivers will strap themselves into electric cars to try to prove that their vehicle is the best designed, engineered and manufactured of them all.

The race will take place in Kansas -- not a state that comes to mind when electric cars are mentioned. But the real surprise is the people who drive and make the vehicles: Kansas high school students.

The Sunflower State is home to what's considered the country's largest electric car program in high schools. This year, 50 Kansas schools are participating and are expected to field an estimated 75 cars at races in May and June.

"They've put these students out in the forefront -- this is the Soap Box Derby of the 21st century," said Mark Murphy, a Eugene, Ore., resident who is a director at ElectraThon America, which sanctions electric car races in the United States.

While California and the West Coast are the spiritual home for electric cars, Midwestern teen-agers have embraced the idea of designing and building…