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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Louis Schwitzer Award
The Louis Schwitzer Award (also called the Louis H. Schwitzer Award for Engineering Innovation and Excellence) is presented by the Indiana Section of SAE International to an engineer or team of engineers "for their innovative design and engineering excellence" and acknowledges "engineers with the courage and conviction to explore and develop new concepts in racing technology" in racing vehicles for the Indianapolis 500. The accolade also distinguishes engineers who were most responsible for designing and developing the winning concept to comply to IndyCar Series technical regulations, and awards "functional and recent permutations" that improve energy efficiency, performance or safety in chassis, drive train profiles by "emphasizing competitive potential along with future automotive industry possibilities." Although the award specifically recognizes new concepts, experimental ideas arising from previous winners are considered if the development in engineering improves it.

It was established at the 1967 event and renamed after automotive engineer, inventor and former chairman of SAE International's Indiana Section Louis H. Schwitzer by SAE before the 1978 race. Schwitzer also won the first automobile race to be held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909. Each year before the Indianapolis 500, an Indiana Section SAE International members committee meet with IndyCar Series technical officials to identify potential candidates. The committee interviews candidates and votes to determine the winner. The Indiana Section of SAE International provides $10,000 prize money to the recipient or team, who receive a plaque and have their names added to a permanent trophy on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. The presentation of the award is made annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the Indianapolis 500. It is currently sponsored by Cummins and Valvoline.

During the 58 years the award has been presented, there have been a total of 110 recipients. The inaugural winner was Andy Granatelli, who developed the gas-turbine run STP-Paxton Turbocar for the 1967 event. The award has been presented for two concepts in a single year just once: in 1977, to Bob Bubenik and Bruce Crower for developing the automatic clutch and flat-eight engine, respectively. Two years later, John Barnard and Jim Hall were the first team to be recognized for designing the Chaparral 2K chassis for that year's Indianapolis 500. Since then, another 24 teams have been recognized. Firestone tire engineer Cara Adams became the first female recipient in the 2019 edition. The award has been presented posthumously once, to Don Burgoon in the 2017 race. The 2020 winners were Tino Belli, Marco Bertolini, Ed Collings, Craig McCarthy, Antonio Montanari, Bill Pappas, Stefan Seidel and Brent Wright, who developed the IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device. The most recent honoree was engineer Andrew McDougall in the 2024 event; he was recognized for his work on the Xtrac Electric Servo Actuator.

Recipients

Key
† Indicates posthumous award
Louis Schwitzer Award winners
Year Image Winner(s) Concept Ref
1967 Andy Grantelli on a mobility scooter in the pit lane of a race track Andy Granatelli STP-Paxton Turbocar
1968 Dan Gurney in racing overalls smiling at the camera Dan Gurney Low cost racing engine
1969 Colin Chapman in a black and white photograph sporting a mustache and looking to the left of the camera Colin Chapman Lotus Type 64
1970 Bruce McLaren in racing overalls looking slightly to the right of the camera Bruce McLaren McLaren M15
1971 – Josef Karasek McNamara chassis
1972 Dan Gurney in a black and white photograph wearing racing overalls Dan Gurney Eagle chassis
1973 – Smokey Yunick Stock block engine
1974 A. J. Foyt at the 2015 Indianapolis 500 looking to the right of the camera A. J. Foyt Coyote chassis
1975 Parnelli Jones at the 2015 Indianapolis 500 Parnelli Jones Parnelli VP6J chassis
1976 – Roman Slobodynskyj Lightning chassis
1977 – Bob Bubenik Automatic clutch
– Bruce Crower Flat-eight engine
1978 – Roman Slobodynskyj Laydown Lightning chassis
1979 John Barnard wearing a light blue striped shirt and a navy blue and beige tie John Barnard Chaparral 2K chassis
Jim Hall wearing rectangular glasses and a baby blue T-shirt with the top button undone Jim Hall
1980 The Penske PC-9 on display in the Collings Foundation Geoff Ferris Penske PC-9 chassis
1981 – John Ward Eagle chassis
1982 The side view of a blue, red and white racing car with the number 1 in white on its side being driven on a race track Geoff Ferris Penske PC-10 chassis
1983 The Torsen differential taken from a road car Vernon Gleasman Gleason-Torsen differential
1984 A black and white photograph of Robin Herd looking at the right of the camera Robin Herd March 84C chassis
1985 BuickV6Indycarengine Ron Kociba Buick V6 Turbo engine
Joe Negri
1986 Mario Illien sitting on a chair and talking to the press at a press conference Mario Illien Ilmor-Chevrolet V8 engine
1987 – Stuart Grant Goodyear Racing radial tire
1988 – John Lindo Tilton Carbon-Carbon clutch
– Ray Sorce
1989 – Anthony Purnell Intelligent dashboard
1990 – Luciano Aguirre Beadall racing helmet
– Tim Halsmer
– Mike Held
Bill Simpson signing an autograph on a table Bill Simpson
1991 A red racing car adorned with sponsors logos and the number 11 in white on the front wing is primarily stationary in the shade and partially in sunlight Don Halliday Truesports 91C chassis
1992 A black and white racing car adorned with sponsors logos and the number 3 in black on the front wing sitting in a museum Alan Mertens Galmer 9200 chassis
1993 A red and white racing car with sponsors logos adorning it and the number 4 on the front wing sitting in a museum Nigel Bennett Penske PC22 chassis
1994 Mario Illien on the grid wearing white clothing and looking to his right Mario Illien Mercedes-Benz 500I engine
1995 – Chris Munroe Tire monitoring system
– Don Nowicki
1996 – Ed Rothrock Racing EyeCue
– Dave Schnelker
– I-Fu Shih
– Ning Wu
1997 – Roger Allen Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engine
– Ed Keating
1998 – John Melvin GM Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program
– John Pierce
1999 Giampaolo Dallara speaking into a black microphone he is holding in his right hand with his left hand out Giampaolo Dallara Dallara chassis
2000 The G-Force GF05 car painted in navy blue, orange and white Paul Burgess G-Force GF05 chassis
2001 A black carbon fibre HANS device attached to the back of a racing helmet on a helmet anchor Robert Hubbard HANS device
Jim Downing
2002 A white-colored SAFER barrier retrofitted in front of a concrete wall Ronald Faller SAFER barrier
Jim Holloway
John Reid
John Rohde
Dean Sicking
2003 Giampaolo Dallara wearing a Tan blazer, white buttoned-up shirt and an orange tie Giampaolo Dallara Dallara IR3 chassis
2004 – Steve Eriksen Honda HI4R-A engine
– Steve Miller
– Steve O'Connor
– Yasuhide Sakamoto
2005 – Erskine Carter Delphi Earpiece sensor system
– Glen Gray
– Andy Inman
– Tim Kronenberg
– Bruce Natvig
2006 – Thomas German Rear wing adjuster tool
– Justin Horning
– Tom Janiczek
2007 – Erskine Carter Delphi Accident data recorder 3
– Glen Gray
– Andy Inman
– Tim Kronenberg
– Bruce Natvig
2008 – Nick Belonogoff Variable ratio rack and pinion steering technology
– Andrew Heathershaw
– Andrea Toso
– Soungjin Wou
2009 – Jeff Horton Head and neck support extension
2010 – Charles Becnel Mezzo microChannel radiator
– Tino Belli
– Patrick Luke
– Christophe Marques
2011 – Robert Bell Honda refueling safety interlock system
– James Goodloe
– Roger Griffiths
– Marcelo Martinelli
2012 – Steve O'Connor Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine
– Mark Kent
– Steve Miller
– Matt Wiles
2013 – Dale Harrigle Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Race Tire
– Brett Schilling
2014 The Dallara Advance Driving Simulator inside a building Andrea Toso Dallara Advanced Driving Simulator
2015 A red racing car adorned with sponsors logos on pit road is being pushed back into the garage Chris Berube 2015 Chevrolet Aero Kit
Mark Kent
Aaron Melvin
Charles Ping
2016 – Tino Belli Rear Beam Wing Flap
– Aaron Melvin
– Alex Timmermans
2017 – James Borner PFC Carbon Disc Brake System
– Don Burgoon †
– Darin Cate
– Paul Rankin
– Mark Wagner
2018 A red, white and blue racing car being driven at high speed on an oval race track Chris Beatty Dallara DW12 UAK18 Universal Aero Kit
Tino Belli
Antonio Montanari
Andrea Toso
2019 – Cara Adams Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 race tire
– Brett Schilling
– Phil Severyn
2020 – Tino Belli IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device
– Marco Bertolini
– Ed Collings
– Craig McCarthy
– Antonio Montanari
– Bill Pappas
– Stefan Seidel
– Brent Wright
2021 – Terry Trammell Biomedical engineering for driver safety
2022 – Luca De Angelis EM Marshalling System
– Luca Pierrettori
– Taylor Prohaska
– Simone Pusca
2023 – Selda Gunsel Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel
– Bassem Kheireddin
– Jung Fang
2024 – Andrew McDougall Xtrac Electric Servo Actuator

Statistics

Multiple winners
Name Wins
Tino Belli 4
Andrea Toso 3
Erskine Carter 2
Giampaolo Dallara 2
Geoff Ferris 2
Glen Gray 2
Dan Gurney 2
Mario Illien 2
Andy Inman 2
Mark Kent 2
Tim Kronenberg 2
Aaron Melvin 2
Steve Miller 2
Antonio Montanari 2
Bruce Natvig 2
Steve O'Connor 2
Brett Schilling 2
Roman Slobodynskyj 2

See also