INDIANAPOLIS – The Delphi engineering team of Erskine Carter, Glen Gray, Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg and Bruce Natvig received the 41st annual BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award on May 18 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for its development of the Delphi Accident Data Recorder 3 (ADR 3).
The award, presented to engineers by engineers, honors early racing pioneer Louis Schwitzer, and acknowledges individuals with the courage and passion to explore and develop new concepts in racing technology. BorgWarner sponsors this prestigious $10,000 award, which is presented by the Indiana Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Delphi Accident Data Recorders have been required safety devices on Indy cars since 1992. The third-generation ADR3 offers significant improvements from the previous design, providing a 37-percent reduction in size and weight, double the sample speed and memory, and 31 additional external signal inputs.
“I would like to thank you for your passion for safety,” Gray said of the Indy Racing League. “It makes us want to go back to our offices, our labs, to work on improvements.”
SAE International also supports the Louis Schwitzer Award by providing a $1,000 scholarship to the engineering school of the winner’s choice. The winner’s name will be added to a permanent trophy on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
“It (ADR 3) is the ultimate ‘Big Brother,’ recording every move a driver makes,” said Steve Holman, award selection committee chairman. “This data allows incredibly accurate analysis of crash data.”
This is the second time in three years that this Delphi team has won the award. It also was honored in 2005 for development of the Delphi Earpiece Sensor System.
“We just do our job,” Carter said. “We love what we do. We don’t love accidents; we love racing.”
