2016 Louis Schwitzer award handed out at IMS

The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for the final Sunday in May and, this year, the 50th annual Louis Schwitzer award was awarded o members of the INDYCAR fraternity for development of the rear beam wing flap on the Dallara DW12 chassis that’s been in use since 2012.

This year of course is the second season for aero kit development by engine makers Chevrolet and Honda to enhance and fit the spec Dallara DW12 chassis.

While many of the aero pieces developed for the two manufacturers’ engine partners have aided the car, there have been difficulties, in particular on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. When several Chevrolet cars left the tarmac during practice for the 99th Indy 500 last year, Dallara looked for a way to alleviate the cars’ ability to become airborne after a spin and crash, as occurred on occasion at this track in 2015.

So Dallara, INDYCAR and Pratt and Miller put their collective heads together to produce a passive safety device for the rear wing of the car, one that would remain flush with the beam wing of the race car under normal conditions. Should the car spin out, the rear beam wing flap deploys automatically, thereby increasing drag, slowing the spin and preventing the car from becoming airborne. Once the car’s operation is back to normal, spring-loaded hinges return the device to flush position.

Presented by the Indiana chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the 50th annual Louis Schwitzer award has been given to INDYCAR’s chassis expert Tino Belli, to Arron Melvin from Pratt and Miller Engineering (his second consecutive award) and Dallara designer Alex Timmermans. Their names are placed on the perpetual trophy and the trio share a $10,000 award from BorgWarner, sponsor of the Schwitzer prize and SAE.

During early practice for the 100th Indy 500, the rear beam wing flap had its first usage, when Spencer Pigot’s No. 16 Honda suffered two cut tires and spun out, engaging the piece and ensuring that the rookie driver for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing remained close to the ground without becoming airborne. No doubt that particular occurrence caused the Indiana section of SAE to look further into the development of the piece and helped ensure its selection.

Interestingly, despite the propensity for Chevrolet-designed cars to “fly” from the oval track last year, its aero kit was the recipient of the 49th Schwitzer award in 2015.

“We designed this flap in the hope that it would work well, but never to achieve any kind of award. That the flap did its job and saved Spencer Pigot from injury is reward enough,” noted Timmermans.