Purdue Motorsports, a division of Purdue University, has established a partnership with INDYCAR’s official chassis manufacturer, Dallara, which was celebrated ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge two weeks ago. The new partnership will see Purdue Motorsports’ unique motorsports engineering program — the only undergraduate, ABET-accredited program in the country — and Dallara, the largest multinational Italian race car manufacturer, inside Dallara’s U.S. headquarters, located just one mile from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Eckhard Groll, the William E. and Florence E. Perry Head of Mechanical Engineering and Reilly Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue says:
“What is unique about this Purdue program is the combination of motorsports passion and engineering excellence, “Here in this building with Dallara, students will have hands-on instructional labs about aerodynamics, thermodynamics, design, controls and everything else that goes into a fast car.
Dan Hasler, Purdue’s chief operating officer for Indianapolis, commented, saying:
”This is a new model for academic institutions. “To be able to partner the only accredited motorsports engineering program in the United States with an industry leader benefits Purdue and our students, but creates potential talent and research opportunities for Dallara as well.”
The facility will create a pipeline of Purdue talent just steps from the iconic racecourse and in close proximity to many motorsports entities, teams and manufacturers throughout central Indiana. Purdue students will gain real-world knowledge and training while making critical connections to an industry leader. There was a Purdue graduate on every American-based IndyCar team in last weekend’s 109th running of the Indianapolis 500; Dallara, the exclusive chassis supplier of the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012, has several Purdue graduates on its engineering team; and many more Boilermakers have gone on to careers in motorsports in Indiana.
Purdue Motorsports will begin operations at Dallara in time for the start of the fall semester in the 2025-26 academic year.