# 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 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 |
| 1967 | | Andy Granatelli | STP-Paxton Turbocar |
| 1968 | | Dan Gurney | Low cost racing engine |
| 1969 | | Colin Chapman | Lotus Type 64 |
| 1970 | | Bruce McLaren | McLaren M15 |
| 1971 | – | Josef Karasek | McNamara chassis |
| 1972 | | Dan Gurney | Eagle chassis |
| 1973 | – | Smokey Yunick | Stock block engine |
| 1974 | | A. J. Foyt | Coyote chassis |
| 1975 | | Parnelli Jones | Parnelli VP6J chassis |
| 1976 | – | Roman Slobodynskyj | Lightning chassis |
| 1977 | – | Bob Bubenik | Automatic clutch |
| 1977 | – | Bruce Crower | Flat-eight engine |
| 1978 | – | Roman Slobodynskyj | Laydown Lightning chassis |
| 1979 | | John Barnard | Chaparral 2K chassis |
| 1979 | | Jim Hall | Chaparral 2K chassis |
| 1980 | | Geoff Ferris | Penske PC-9 chassis |
| 1981 | – | John Ward | Eagle chassis |
| 1982 | | Geoff Ferris | Penske PC-10 chassis |
| 1983 | | Vernon Gleasman | Gleason-Torsen differential |
| 1984 | | Robin Herd | March 84C chassis |
| 1985 | | Ron Kociba | Buick V6 Turbo engine |
| 1985 | | Joe Negri | Buick V6 Turbo engine |
| 1986 | | Mario Illien | Ilmor-Chevrolet V8 engine |
| 1987 | – | Stuart Grant | Goodyear Racing radial tire |
| 1988 | – | John Lindo | Tilton Carbon-Carbon clutch |
| 1988 | – | Ray Sorce | Tilton Carbon-Carbon clutch |
| 1989 | – | Anthony Purnell | Intelligent dashboard |
| 1990 | – | Luciano Aguirre | Beadall racing helmet |
| 1990 | – | Tim Halsmer | Beadall racing helmet |
| 1990 | – | Mike Held | Beadall racing helmet |
| 1990 | | Bill Simpson | Beadall racing helmet |
| 1991 | | Don Halliday | Truesports 91C chassis |
| 1992 | | Alan Mertens | Galmer 9200 chassis |
| 1993 | | Nigel Bennett | Penske PC22 chassis |
| 1994 | | Mario Illien | Mercedes-Benz 500I engine |
| 1995 | – | Chris Munroe | Tire monitoring system |
| 1995 | – | Don Nowicki | Tire monitoring system |
| 1996 | – | Ed Rothrock | Racing EyeCue |
| 1996 | – | Dave Schnelker | Racing EyeCue |
| 1996 | – | I-Fu Shih | Racing EyeCue |
| 1996 | – | Ning Wu | Racing EyeCue |
| 1997 | – | Roger Allen | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engine |
| 1997 | – | Ed Keating | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engine |
| 1998 | – | John Melvin | GM Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program |
| 1998 | – | John Pierce | GM Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program |
| 1999 | | Giampaolo Dallara | Dallara chassis |
| 2000 | | Paul Burgess | G-Force GF05 chassis |
| 2001 | | Robert Hubbard | HANS device |
| 2001 | | Jim Downing | HANS device |
| 2002 | | Ronald Faller | SAFER barrier |
| 2002 | | Jim Holloway | SAFER barrier |
| 2002 | | John Reid | SAFER barrier |
| 2002 | | John Rohde | SAFER barrier |
| 2002 | | Dean Sicking | SAFER barrier |
| 2003 | | Giampaolo Dallara | Dallara IR3 chassis |
| 2004 | – | Steve Eriksen | Honda HI4R-A engine |
| 2004 | – | Steve Miller | Honda HI4R-A engine |
| 2004 | – | Steve O'Connor | Honda HI4R-A engine |
| 2004 | – | Yasuhide Sakamoto | Honda HI4R-A engine |
| 2005 | – | Erskine Carter | Delphi Earpiece sensor system |
| 2005 | – | Glen Gray | Delphi Earpiece sensor system |
| 2005 | – | Andy Inman | Delphi Earpiece sensor system |
| 2005 | – | Tim Kronenberg | Delphi Earpiece sensor system |
| 2005 | – | Bruce Natvig | Delphi Earpiece sensor system |
| 2006 | – | Thomas German | Rear wing adjuster tool |
| 2006 | – | Justin Horning | Rear wing adjuster tool |
| 2006 | – | Tom Janiczek | Rear wing adjuster tool |
| 2007 | – | Erskine Carter | Delphi Accident data recorder 3 |
| 2007 | – | Glen Gray | Delphi Accident data recorder 3 |
| 2007 | – | Andy Inman | Delphi Accident data recorder 3 |
| 2007 | – | Tim Kronenberg | Delphi Accident data recorder 3 |
| 2007 | – | Bruce Natvig | Delphi Accident data recorder 3 |
| 2008 | – | Nick Belonogoff | Variable ratio rack and pinion steering technology |
| 2008 | – | Andrew Heathershaw | Variable ratio rack and pinion steering technology |
| 2008 | – | Andrea Toso | Variable ratio rack and pinion steering technology |
| 2008 | – | Soungjin Wou | Variable ratio rack and pinion steering technology |
| 2009 | – | Jeff Horton | Head and neck support extension |
| 2010 | – | Charles Becnel | Mezzo microChannel radiator |
| 2010 | – | Tino Belli | Mezzo microChannel radiator |
| 2010 | – | Patrick Luke | Mezzo microChannel radiator |
| 2010 | – | Christophe Marques | Mezzo microChannel radiator |
| 2011 | – | Robert Bell | Honda refueling safety interlock system |
| 2011 | – | James Goodloe | Honda refueling safety interlock system |
| 2011 | – | Roger Griffiths | Honda refueling safety interlock system |
| 2011 | – | Marcelo Martinelli | Honda refueling safety interlock system |
| 2012 | – | Steve O'Connor | Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine |
| 2012 | – | Mark Kent | Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine |
| 2012 | – | Steve Miller | Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine |
| 2012 | – | Matt Wiles | Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Engine |
| 2013 | – | Dale Harrigle | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Race Tire |
| 2013 | – | Brett Schilling | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 Race Tire |
| 2014 | | Andrea Toso | Dallara Advanced Driving Simulator |
| 2015 | | Chris Berube | 2015 Chevrolet Aero Kit |
| 2015 | | Mark Kent | 2015 Chevrolet Aero Kit |
| 2015 | | Aaron Melvin | 2015 Chevrolet Aero Kit |
| 2015 | | Charles Ping | 2015 Chevrolet Aero Kit |
| 2016 | – | Tino Belli | Rear Beam Wing Flap |
| 2016 | – | Aaron Melvin | Rear Beam Wing Flap |
| 2016 | – | Alex Timmermans | Rear Beam Wing Flap |
| 2017 | – | James Borner | PFC Carbon Disc Brake System |
| 2017 | – | Don Burgoon † | PFC Carbon Disc Brake System |
| 2017 | – | Darin Cate | PFC Carbon Disc Brake System |
| 2017 | – | Paul Rankin | PFC Carbon Disc Brake System |
| 2017 | – | Mark Wagner | PFC Carbon Disc Brake System |
| 2018 | | Chris Beatty | Dallara DW12 UAK18 Universal Aero Kit |
| 2018 | | Tino Belli | Dallara DW12 UAK18 Universal Aero Kit |
| 2018 | | Antonio Montanari | Dallara DW12 UAK18 Universal Aero Kit |
| 2018 | | Andrea Toso | Dallara DW12 UAK18 Universal Aero Kit |
| 2019 | – | Cara Adams | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 race tire |
| 2019 | – | Brett Schilling | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 race tire |
| 2019 | – | Phil Severyn | Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 race tire |
| 2020 | – | Tino Belli | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Marco Bertolini | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Ed Collings | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Craig McCarthy | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Antonio Montanari | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Bill Pappas | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Stefan Seidel | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2020 | – | Brent Wright | IndyCar Aeroscreen cockpit protection device |
| 2021 | – | Terry Trammell | Biomedical engineering for driver safety |
| 2022 | – | Luca De Angelis | EM Marshalling System |
| 2022 | – | Luca Pierrettori | EM Marshalling System |
| 2022 | – | Taylor Prohaska | EM Marshalling System |
| 2022 | – | Simone Pusca | EM Marshalling System |
| 2023 | – | Selda Gunsel | Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel |
| 2023 | – | Bassem Kheireddin | Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel |
| 2023 | – | Jung Fang | Shell 100% Renewable Race Fuel |
| 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 |