Rossi, Rahal To Make Connections between STEAM, Motorsports with 1,300 Indiana Middle, High School Students at IMS

Science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math (STEAM) all played an important role in Alexander Rossi driving his Honda-powered race car to a scintillating victory in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil last May.

On Tuesday, May 16, the Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian driver will address Indiana high school students about how he and Honda Performance Development engineers utilize STEAM every time the No. 98 Honda rolls onto the racetrack during the Honda STEAM Connections Tour event in conjunction with Purdue University’s MSTEM3 Student Fair at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On Monday, May 15, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Graham Rahal will address Indiana middle school students about how STEAM high school curriculum aided his professional race car driver development. Both Verizon IndyCar Series race winners also will conduct a Q&A with the audience in the East Chalet.

The Student Fair, in its fourth year, will feature hands-on experiences and displays from area colleges that showcase how STEAM applies to exciting fields of study and careers.

“We anticipate more than 1,300 high school and middle school students during these two days,” said Danny White, director of motorsports at Purdue University’s Office of Engagement. “The STEM focus of these two days, where we can showcase the science, technology, engineering, and math behind motorsports, pays huge dividends in helping students understand real-life applications. And having marquee talent from Honda’s IndyCar program like last year’s Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi and Graham Rahal really gets the students’ attention.”

Additionally, Pit Rho Analytics – a leading machine learning and analytics firm that has developed a real-time strategy tool for use in motorsports – will engage students with a multimedia presentation about how Verizon IndyCar Series teams can gain insight and perspective for real-time responsive strategy decisions through data science. Pit Rho has worked closely with the NBC, ESPN and ABC TV networks to showcase the predictability of its analytics system.

“The objective that I want to communicate with the students is that with a STEAM background you can have a really fun career in motorsports or sports in general,” said Pit Rho senior analyst Andrew Maness. “The examples that we’ll use to tie that theme together is last year’s Indy 500 and how (team co-owner and race strategist) Bryan Herta recognized that it was more optimal to slow down than go faster. We’ll show a simple equation where you run slower lap times but you also don’t waste 40 seconds by pitting an extra time.”

An added feature will be an Instagram LIVE broadcast of each “Ted Talk” by the Honda drivers and Pit Rho. The Monday, May 15 telecast will begin at 10 a.m. ET and conclude at 10:45. The Tuesday, May 16, telecast will begin at 10:45 a.m. ET and conclude at 11:30. The telecasts can be accessed by following @STEAMConnections on Instagram.

The Honda STEAM Connections Tour of universities across the nation, in its second year, emphasizes the science, technology, engineering, arts, and math that play a critical role in motorsports and automotive development. The tour is organized and managed by STEAM Sports Group.

Visit IMS.com to purchase tickets for the 101st Indianapolis 500 Presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 28, and for more information on the complete Month or May schedule at IMS.