The Colfax High School (Colfax, California) Design Tech program incorporates both academic instruction and practical use of advanced technology to prepare students for the wide range of occupations that involve working with metal, wood, computers, and electronics. In this article, the author describes how Colfax students applied academic learning, developed flexible thinking, and acquired marketable skills in the school's Design Tech program while using advanced manufacturing technology to build solar-powered drag racers. The students learn to use a computer numerical control (CNC) router that is used to build the wooden body as well as a CNC plasma cutter that is used to build the metal chassis of the drag racer.