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Purdue University Northwest’s (PNW) Baja Racing team excelled at the fall 2024 Midwest Baja SAE competition in Michigan, including winning the top business presentation among over 200 colleges and universities.

In 2018, racing driver Robert Wickens suffered a violent crash which left him a paraplegic. He has since returned to racing with Bryan Herta Autosport, driving a modified car with hand controls. Purdue Motorsports Engineering professor Chris Finch describes how he worked with Bosch to supply a brake-by-wire system with proper feedback, so that Wickens can continue to compete and win.

Skateboards, bicycles, scooters and roller blades are common sights at Purdue University. Traversing campus in a timely manner requires a pair of wheels — and a little creativity — for the longer treks. Clacking through the engineering mall alongside the skateboards, scooters and roller blades is a motor-powered and accurate-to-scale blue, gold, green and black mini freight train, built by Ramon Pardo of the Electric Vehicle Club.

“Drivers, start your engines!” is the traditional call at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But what if the drivers were replaced by computers? Then you’d have the Indy Autonomous Challenge, a new competition featuring the world’s fastest autonomous race cars. Purdue AI Racing recently showcased its car maneuvering autonomously around the track at speeds up to 140 miles an hour.

Imagine driving 1,500 miles — from Nashville to Wyoming — without ever needing to refuel or recharge. That’s exactly what the students of Purdue Solar Racing accomplished in 2024: designing, building, and racing a custom solar-powered vehicle, which completed the American Solar Challenge for the first time in two decades.

Athreya Ramanan chose the major of Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE), which enables him to get hands-on with race cars while also learning how to get sponsors and manage a team.

Purdue University’s nationally renowned motorsports engineering program has a new home. Dallara, the largest multinational Italian race car manufacturer, will house Purdue's motorsports program at their U.S. headquarters in Speedway, Indiana, just down the street from the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

These three Boilermakers work behind the scenes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to execute “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” — the Indianapolis 500. David Letherman, senior manager of event personnel; Meredith Walker, senior manager of VIP and talent experience; and Louis Kissinger, senior manager of events and administration, share how the problem-solving skills they learned during their time at Purdue prepared them to host hundreds of thousands of people at the iconic IMS.

Lizzie Todd fell in love with IndyCar racing as an 8-year-old attending the Carb Day practice session ahead of the 2006 Indianapolis 500. The motorsports engineering alumna turned that childhood passion into a career, as she now works as a systems engineer for driver Pato O’Ward and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team.

Juncos Hollinger Racing is getting closer to the goals it set out since becoming a full-time IndyCar Series squad in 2022, aided by a unique partnership with Purdue University

In the racing world, they say who you know is everything. Because of his experiences as a Purdue motorsports engineering student in Indianapolis, Reed England knows a lot of people.

At the first motorsports symposium at Purdue University in Indianapolis, a wide array of topics were on the table. While machine learning and AI, electrification and hybrid technologies, driver safety, and autonomous racing were all discussed, one thing was made clear: the critical need for a skilled workforce.

Every year, the intrepid students of Purdue Baja Racing design and build their own off-road race car, competing against other universities in a series of challenges. In 2023, Purdue Baja capped a season of top finishes with a 1st place triumph at Backwoods Baja in Wisconsin.

Josefine Eskildsen’s racing career is accelerating as rapidly as the 350-horsepower touring cars she works on. A whirlwind 2023 is wrapping up for the 22-year-old Motorsports Engineering graduate, who just completed her second season with Bryan Herta Autosport. Already a full-time systems engineer for drivers Mark Wilkins and Mason Filippi, Eskildsen was a key member of a team that won a series-best three races this season in the International Motorsports Association’s (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Behind every successful driver is an equally hard-working crew chief. NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Team Penske Ford, relies on crew chief Jonathan Hassler (BSME '07) for information, decision-making, and in-race encouragement.

56-year-old Ramin Ansari had a long and successful career before deciding to enroll for a Ph.D. at Purdue University. He was surprised to learn that graduate students are eligible to participate in the Purdue Grand Prix, the prestigious annual go-kart race. So he assembled a team of fellow graduate students to make it happen.

Speeding toward the official launch of its first comprehensive urban campus in 2024, Purdue University is partnering with championship-winning NASCAR team Stewart-Haas Racing and driver Ryan Preece in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. The iconic Boilermaker gold and black will adorn Preece’s Ford Mustang, with Purdue University in Indianapolis serving as the No. 41 car’s primary sponsor at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of the most prestigious annual stops on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar.

There’s only one institution in the country providing an undergraduate motorsports engineering program that’s recognized by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology... in the “Racing Capital of the World,” no less. Located less than a 15-minute drive from where the Indianapolis 500 captures international attention every year, Purdue University in Indianapolis is helping launch racing careers and creating unparalleled opportunities for students.

Purdue University is announcing a full-season partnership with the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) to introduce its new urban campus in Indianapolis. The iconic Boilermaker gold and black will adorn the race car shared by Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan, racing legends and fan favorites throughout the state of Indiana and beyond.

To Kayli Peterson, who drives in NASCAR's Super Late Model and Modified series, the art of the comeback isn’t an unfamiliar concept. Winning, falling behind and getting back on top is all just part of success.

Ryan Blaney claimed the checkered flag in Charlotte at the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race, with Jonathan Hassler (BSME '07) atop the pit box. It's Hassler's first win for the #12 team, after being named crew chief at the beginning of last season.

Matt Kuebel (BSME '22) and Mike Koenigs (BSAAE '03) are engineers for Team Penske, who just won the Indy 500 with Josef Newgarden. Matt and Mike talk about how their experiences at Purdue gave them the persistence, grit, and determination to succeed at the highest level of motorsports.

Not every internship showcases your work at 200 miles per hour on national television! For Purdue mechanical engineering student Zachary Nelson, an internship with IndyCar team Juncos Hollinger Racing is making his motorsports dreams come true.

32 of the 33 teams in the Indy 500 have a graduate from Purdue University in Indianapolis, home to the only undergraduate motorsports engineering program in the country.

From Chip Ganassi to Rahal Letterman Lanigan, IndyCar teams open their doors to Boilermakers every year. Purdue ME students Zach MacNab and Jennifer Short talk about their summers on the racetrack.

EVGrandPrix's first "Test and Tune" event for high school students will be held Monday, April 10, at 1:00 p.m. at the Allison Innovation Center and Demonstration Track, located at 5100 W. 10th St., Indianapolis.

This year's Purdue Motorsports reveal event is bigger than ever! Purdue students will unveil FOUR new custom-built race cars that will compete against other universities this summer. The event is open to the public, and will take place in Loeb Playhouse on Tuesday, April 4, at 5:30 p.m.

During the school year, Jennifer Short is a typical mechanical engineering student at Purdue. But when the racing calendar begins, her true passion for motorsports takes over. She discusses her recent internship with 14-time INDYCAR champs Chip Ganassi Racing.

Every year, the students of Purdue SAE design, build, and compete with custom race cars. This year, the Purdue Formula team finished 2nd among all competing universities. In this episode of the official This is Purdue podcast, we go behind the scenes of their first ever live unveiling event, and discuss why students devote their time to building race cars.

They say “slow and steady wins the race.” But does that apply to motorsports? For 30 years, Purdue Formula have been pushing their custom-built race car up the mountain, and in 2022, they reached their best-ever podium finish: 2nd place overall.

After finishing two degrees at Purdue, and working at the highest levels of NASCAR and INDYCAR, Angela Ashmore had just one goal left: winning the Indy 500. And she did it! Hear her story on the official This is Purdue podcast.

Nathan O'Rourke (BSME '04) has attended every Indy 500 since he was four years old. Today, he's the lead race engineer for for Andretti Autosport's No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, driven by Colton Herta.

Not every internship showcases your work at 200 miles per hour on national television! For Purdue mechanical engineering student Zachary Nelson, an internship with INDYCAR team Juncos Hollinger Racing is making his motorsports dreams come true.

Purdue has influenced the Indy 500 since its marching band first played there in 1919. Check out this collection of stories showing how Purdue and the Indy 500 go hand-in-hand.

At the age of 11, Bill Pappas saved enough money to attend his first-ever Indianapolis 500. In the years since, this Purdue grad has worked with some of the biggest names in racing - Juan Pablo Montoya, Emerson Fittipaldi and A.J. Foyt - and now serves as VP of competition and race engineering for INDYCAR.

As a lifelong motorsports fan, Morgan Fuller always has his eyes on the finish line. But his racing experiences at Purdue have taken him beyond the finish line, and on to internships with both Tesla and SpaceX!

Every year, Purdue students design, build, test, and compete with custom race cars. This year, they're hosting a public event to unveil three of their new race cars for 2022. The event will take place in Fowler Hall on Friday, April 15, at 4:00 p.m.

The power of a dream is undeniable – but without hard work, a dream will remain just that. Lifelong racing fan Angela Ashmore (BSME '10, MSME '13) put in her work, and is now living her dream: working as an engineer for Chip Ganassi Racing’s #8 IndyCar team.

Purdue University and Juncos Hollinger Racing have announced a new partnership that will expand experiential education opportunities for Purdue students who want to explore careers in the motorsports, auto and mobility industries.

More success for Purdue's student auto racing teams! Purdue Formula SAE scored a 6th place finish at the most recent in-person race event at Michigan International Speedway. Combined with their previous 2nd place in the Design presentation, the team finished a combined 3rd overall – the best result in their 29-year history!

Designing and building a race car from scratch is a huge accomplishment. Changing from a 2-wheel-drive design to 4-wheel-drive requires even more perseverance. Doing so remotely, during a pandemic? That's a freaking miracle. Purdue Baja Racing not only pulled this off, but finished as a top ten team in the 2021 Baja SAE competition.

The Indy Autonomous Challenge will bring together collegiate teams from around the world next October to run autonomous race cars around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s famed 2.5-mile oval. For the challenge, Purdue is partnered with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to form Black & Gold Autonomous Racing.

The pressure couldn't be any higher -- your first race as a top-level crew chief, and it's the Daytona 500. Your driver takes the lead, and manages to avoid crash after crash. How can you keep your team focused on the finish line in front of more than 100,000 fans? Actually, high-pressure scenarios like this are no big deal for Chris Gabehart. After all, if you can graduate from Mechanical Engineering at Purdue, you can accomplish anything!

Purdue Motorsports will again showcase its evGrand Prix for high school and college divisions. And for the second year, autonomous karts will take to the makeshift track inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds for the Student Karting World Finals presented by Hoosier Racing Tire.

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels took the driver's seat of two student-designed electric race cars, at a demonstration at the Purdue Grand Prix Track. He drove 10 laps in a battery-powered go kart, and 10 laps in a mini-Formula electric race car, powered by a 300-volt battery.

There's something unique about the high-pitched whine of a fully electric race car, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds, showing off insane amounts of torque instantly. "There's a lot of hype about electric vehicles taking over," says Matthew Flanagan, president of Purdue Electric Racing. "And after being involved with this car, I can say I totally believe it!"