JagBytes

Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Shawna Woodall The School of Engineering and Technology displayed the IUPUI Motorsports Racecar for the grand opening and dedication of the Campus Center Wednesday, April 9. The car was rebuilt and designed by IUPUI students.

A small red racecar sat on the sidewalk at the intersection of Michigan and University throughout Wednesday during the Campus Center dedication.

Passersby stopped to take a closer look, bending down to peer inside at the racing technology, which included a crash cage and various manual controls.

The 1969 MGB-GT is the property of the IUPUI Motorsports Club, which during the past two years has rebuilt the car to its current form.

Pete Hylton, an assistant professor and the director of motorsports program at IUPUI, explained that when he rolled the GT out of a barn to bring it to Indianapolis, he could sit in the drivers seat and put his feet on the ground. There was no floorboard.

"We had to weld things so the car didn't fold in half [because] there was so little of it left," he said.

Last summer the car competed in the Sports Car Cup (SCC) of America. In three weeks the Motorsports Club is taking it to Virginia International Raceway to run in another SCC event.

The hood bears the IUPUI Jaguars logo and decal advertisements flank its sides.

"The graphics scheme was designed by an interior design major here," Hylton said. "It was driven by an organizational leadership major here at IUPUI. It's truly a student project."

For the past two years, the IUPUI Motorsports Program has offered a certificate, requiring 26 credit hours for completion. The program hopes to offer a four-year bachelor degree starting in fall 2008.

Caitlin Siem came to IUPUI from Michigan with the intent of going into the four-year program. The only campus that offers a four-year program in motorsports is the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Siem decided on IUPUI because she believes it will offer a more well-rounded program.

"I was going to go to the Charlotte one, but it's focused almost only on the technology," she said.

The program is waiting on one last committee to approve it at the Statehouse until it can be offered as an official degree.

The Motorsports Club, which is open to all students on campus, is running in the Purdue Grand Prix Saturday on April 19.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools